Digital Marketing is a complex web of different marketing strategies involving SEOs and inbound marketing but not all these strategies apply to all the business and not all these marketing strategies work together. There is some marketing strategy which goes hand-in-hand together, one of which is content marketing and Social Media Marketing.
2014 was the year when social marketing must have started. In 2021? It is one of the most effective marketing strategies.
Which travel, lifestyle, or Fashion brand exists today on Social Media platforms without a vibrant online presence?
Your Social Media platforms are one of the best ways to connect with your target audience and your content is the bridge that consumers would want to walk across to connect with the brands they like. The content you post on social media has the power to turn around your brand into a household name and your followers into fans. It is just not enough to be present on different social media platforms the way you stand out on these platforms is what counts.
As mentioned above social media strategies are no one cookie-cutter that will guarantee success they differ based on your brand and audience. However, there are specific steps that you should follow to deliver effective content.
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- Identify and set your goals
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- Plan your social content
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- Build a content calendar
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- Promote and distribute your content
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- Measure your results.
A Well planned social media content strategy would generate you 3 times as many leads as outbound marketing, drives six times higher conversion rates, and has the potential for a 7.8-fold boost in web traffic. The reality is, content marketing is a customer-centric strategy. From well-researched papers to podcast series, content s changing the relationship between the brand and consumers.
Importance of Content Marketing
Content helps you to educate your audience, ensuring that they are making smart purchasing decisions.
A strong piece of content helps you become more visible online.
Quality content can be linked all over the web, increasing traffic to your website.
Content Marketing helps you know who you are marketing to
Content marketing is the secret to understanding your customers. The data you see as people move along the customer journey-engagement rates on social media posts, most liked videos. By tracking which contents are most shared you are learning more about your customers. With this insight gain, it is possible to
Improve personalization-which we truly believe is the foundation of building a customer-brand relationship
Does content marketing drive Social Media Strategies?
Your social media are one the most effective ways to connect with your target audience. Social media gives you a direct pathway to connect with your customers and start conversations and get feedback and get new leads. However, it is all fueled by strong content creation.
Great content encourages your audience to learn more. This helps you to connect deeper with your target audience and you will also gain visitors to your website, where you can collect their information and bring them into your sales funnel.
Different types of contents in Social Media Marketing
At times it is challenging to post fresh social media posts every day, which gets monotonous for the brands and customers as well. But fresh, quality content that gets user’s attention and keeps them informed is important.
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- Videos
In the year 2020 videos alone had to drive 82% of digital traffic. Reaching and engaging with a large audience. And there are so many options to choose from:
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- IGTV
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- Live Video
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- Reels
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- Tik Tok
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- YouTube channel
Pro tip: You can share videos on various platforms. For example, you can put up a video on Youtube and share it on Facebook, and put the link on Instagram.
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- Articles and Blog Posts
If you a company blog, share the articles to your social media feeds with links. For Instagram, post an appealing on-brand graphic that fits the content. On LinkedIn, blogs and articles are a great way to share your expertise.
Pro Tip: By creating a blog that is engaging to your audience and imparting knowledge you can increase your reach. You can also write about relevant topics and ask for suggestions from your audience.
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- Product Photos
Get creative and find new ways to share photos of your product appealingly and attract eyeballs. You can also add product details with the product photo.
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- Infographics
Visual infographics posts can be a great way to share a piece of complex information in a simplified form. For example, if you have new sales results or market research to share, consider presenting them in an Infographic post. Infographics work very well for Pinterest.
Other types of Content Include
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- Influencer Content
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- GIFS
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- Animation
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- User-Genrated Content
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- Client Feedback
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- MeMes
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- Customer Photos
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- Press Mentions
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- Polls and surveys
Not all these content strategies are relevant all the time, Social media marketing is a strategy that is fast changing many new trends keep on following, and since it is a part of the everyday life of the customer it should be updated frequently.
The last step for an effective social media content strategy is measuring the results of all of your efforts. Tracking your social media engagement is vital to creating a strategy with longevity. Keeping a proper track helps you tweak and optimize your plan over time. For an effective strategy, you should analyze your content every month. Understand which content was proved to be more engaging for the audience. Few social media metrics to measure are:
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- Awareness- The amount of reach your content had.
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- Engagement-The amount of likes, comments, and subscribe you had.
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- ROI-Conversions and referrals from external sources.
Effective planning of content for social media marketing is an ongoing process, but the important thing is taking the first step. Plan out your process with ideas and stick to deadlines. Start with what you have. Create a strategy and then stay consistent in your engagement. Keep growing your content strategy as you learn more about your customers, engage with them, and develop a relationship with them.