How Startup Businesses Can Grow Effectively with Social Media Marketing

• Updated on: 2019-05-03
• Read original article here

For startups, social media can be overwhelming. But the thing is, you don’t need to have millions of followers or have a high-end brand campaign to utilize social’s media’s budget-friendly tools.

Social media is an excellent way to connect with your followers and prospects. If you don’t have a substantial presence in these major networks, you’re missing out on an audience that’s ready to connect with your brand. Startups can grow effectively with social media marketing if done correctly.

Remember, utilizing social media for your business doesn’t have to be a daunting prospect. By following these tips, you have the potential to reach broader markets, generate brand awareness, and drive in sales.

So let’s get into it.

They say that every great business strategy starts with a good plan. Social media marketing for your business is no different. Since you can already get started with organic posts (they’re free, after all) it’s tempting to begin posting. Startups can grow effectively with social media marketing only if they have a plan in mind.

But without a plan at the back of your mind, you have no clear idea in what you want to achieve with those social media posts. You also have no means to measure how you can get there. That’s why it’s crucial to have a clear vision of what you’re trying to achieve.

You need to:

Create social media goals and objectives: Your goals must be within the SMART framework- specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Base your objectives on metrics that have a real impact on your business. Do you want to acquire new customers, or boost your conversion rates?

Make a social media audit: If you have been doing social media for a while now, it’s crucial to take a step now and then and evaluate your current progress.

Find inspiration: Now that you know how your competitors are doing online, have you checked out other businesses? Why not take inspiration from the successes of several start-ups in different industries? Where do you find these success stories?

Create a social media calendar: Creating a social media calendar helps send out the right content to the proper channels. Try the 80/20 rule. Use 80 percent of your content to educate, inform, and entertain your followers. Then use the remaining 20 to promote your brand.

Keep in mind that you do not need to share all your content everywhere. But the question is, how do you choose the type of material to post on each social platform? I’ll keep saying it startups can grow effectively with social media marketing when it’s done right.

Here is a general guideline on the type of content that you should post in major social media platforms:

Facebook: Creating a Facebook page builds brand awareness, create excitement on social media campaigns, and keep the conversation going for your audience. Recently, videos and live videos have proven to be the best type of content.

Instagram: Your success on Instagram depends on the kind of content that you put out there. Since it’s a highly visual platform, don’t expect to post low-quality content for your feeds and Stories, and expect engagement to pour in.

Twitter: Twitter is a platform wherein you can share valuable content, create proficient connections and build relationships.

Linkedin: LinkedIn is a professional network that you can utilize to seek out potential employees, customers, and develop your brand’s industry experience.

Research the competition. What are your competitors currently up to on social media? While you don’t need to be copying them, learning how others have done it is an excellent way to decrease your learning curve.

Using competitive analysis and social listening strategies can give you a keen understanding of what’s working and what isn’t for a business that’s similar to yours.

While various social media platforms let you micro-target your audience, you first need to understand who your audience is. Compile relevant data about your current customers and dig deeper with your social media analytics.

That way, you’re creating a solid picture on who’s interested in your brand, and interacting with you online. Afterward, you can review your social media plan and come up with more ways how you can reach more people like them. Startups can grow effectively with social media marketing especially when you know who you are trying to reach and you can tailor your messages to them.

Social media is highly competitive. If people don’t hear from you for a while, they might entirely forget about you.

Therefore, you should maintain a posting frequency, but this varies per platform.

Post on the times wherein you get the most engagement. While you may not know this from the beginning, this is an excellent starting point.

Start with a higher frequency, and use your analytics to know what are the best times to post content.

Afterward, create a clear posting schedule, and don’t wait the last minute to come up with your content. Plan ahead.

Here’s the thing, social media can be brutal. A lot of people in the past have already been criticized and bashed for saying the wrong things. After all, it only takes a click to unfollow a piece of content that isn’t up to standards.

That’s why, at this point, quality is critical. The type of content that you create and share to your followers will represent your brand.

A poor quality photo can hurt your business. Blurry Instagram photos don’t delight users at all and might make them unfollow you.

New trends emerge, and consumer behavior can change in an instant. That’s why it’s crucial to stay on top with the latest trends and changes so that you can adjust your social marketing accordingly.

Social media is always growing, and each month, there are more active users than before. While it isn’t necessary to be present in every social network, you need to come up with a much better strategy so that you can clearly define your goals, find your audience, and choose the sites that are right for you based on those factors.

Don’t hesitate to use data to gain insight into your prospective customers, industry, and competitors. Doing so helps you learn about the passions and interests of your followers so that you can come up with more effective social media strategies in the future.

So that’s it! Hopefully, the creative ideas presented in this post will help you. Startups can grow effectively with social media marketing if you follow these easy tips.

The original version of this article was first published on V3Broadsuite.