How to do social media marketing?
How to do social media marketing?
In today’s digitalized era, social media marketing has become a key tool for successful product promotion and brand awareness building. However, it requires a specific approach and strategy. A few universal steps cannot summarize it.
In general, effective social media marketing begins with identifying and defining the target audience based on demographics, interests, and behavior.
Next comes selecting the right platform because not all social networks are suitable for every type of business. You need to choose those where your target audience is most active.
Then, all you need to do is create and optimize your profile, and you’ll start crafting quality, relevant, and engaging content.
Moreover, don’t forget to engage with the community, building relationships and increasing trust. Then, all you need to do is to remain consistent.
Sounds simple, right? However, social media marketing goes much deeper and represents a more complex science.
Benefits of social media marketing
Social media marketing brings several advantages that are a crucial part of the strategy for many companies and brands:
- Brand awareness building
- Effective and fast communication with customers (comments, messages, and responses)
- Instant feedback
- Precisely targeted advertising to the audience
- Opportunities for publishing various forms of content (photos, videos, and text)
- Easy performance analysis
What are social networks?
Social networks, as important tools for communication, marketing, and relationship-building in the digital world, are platforms that allow users to create, share, and interact with content online.
For the average user, social networks serve as a place to share experiences, and opinions, and gather information about the lives of celebrities, travel tips, and restaurants.
However, online marketing specialists view social networks as advertising and sales channels with enormous potential, where they can effectively promote their products and services with minimal costs.
Popular social media
Each social network has its specific characteristics and focus, providing various opportunities for personal and professional use.
This means that each requires a different communication style, hence a different type of social media marketing that considers users’ preferences and expectations.
Types of social media marketing
Different types of social media marketing allow businesses to innovatively approach building relationships with customers and increasing their online visibility. Which specific strategies can shape a dynamic and successful approach to communication on social networks?
- content marketing
- influencer marketing
- social media advertising
Individual marketing strategies can be combined and tailored according to the specifics of the target audience and the company’s objectives.
Content marketing
Content marketing is a strategy focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content to reach and engage a defined target audience. This type of marketing provides useful, valuable, and relevant content for potential customers.
The goal of content marketing is to provide content that addresses problems, answers questions, and interests the target audience, rather than directly promoting products or services. Instead, it aims to establish the brand as an authority in the field and build relationships based on trust and mutual interest.
Typical forms of content marketing include blogging, video creation, podcasts, infographics, e-books, and other content formats that can be shared and distributed through online channels.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that leverages the influence and popularity of individuals, known as influencers, to promote products, brands, or services.
You might be wondering, what is an influencer? The term refers to a person who typically has a powerful reach and the trust of their audience on social media, blogs, or other online platforms.
Trust and the relationship, that an influencer has established with the community, built influencer marketing. Followers perceive their recommendations as authentic.
Target audience of influencer marketing
When selecting an influencer, it is crucial to consider the target audience, their relevance to the brand, their reach, and the engagement of their followers. For example, to reach Generation Z, companies often opt for TikTok influencers.
Brands should approach influencers professionally, aiming to build relationships and transparent communication. Demonstrating interest in their content and values and proposing mutually beneficial collaboration methods is crucial.
Collaboration with influencers can take the form of sponsored posts, contests, product reviews, or long-term partnerships. The essence is for the content to align with the influencer’s style and interests and to be authentic. This way, it will be attractive and relevant to their followers. Additionally, transparency plays a key role, as sponsored content should be clearly labeled.
Influencer marketing in Slovakia
Slovak influencers, whether bloggers, YouTubers, or social media personalities, are gaining increasing reach and followers.
An advantage of influencer marketing in Slovakia is its ability to effectively and relevantly target the audience, leveraging local culture and language.
On social media, the personal opinions of influencers often blend with commercial elements, making it challenging for regular users to distinguish between advertisements and native content.
For this reason, the Slovak Influencer Marketing Code was established, setting ethical and professional standards for influencers and brands operating in Slovakia.
It provides recommendations and guidelines regarding transparency, credibility, and responsibility in collaborations between influencers and brands, aiming to ensure fair, honest, and adequately labeled campaigns.
Advertising on social networks
Advertising on social networks represents a form of digital advertising where businesses or advertisers pay to display their content on specific social media platforms.
In paid advertising on social networks, advertisers can pay for:
- Impressions (CPM – Cost Per Mille): Cost for one thousand ad impressions.
- Clicks (CPC – Cost Per Click): Cost for each click on the ad.
- Achievement of a goal (e.g., conversion) (CPA – Cost Per Action): Cost for achieving a specific goal (purchase, registration, or app download).
It may include various formats, such as in-stream ads, carousels, or banner ads. Unlike content and influencer marketing, it can precisely target ads to the intended audience.
Advertisers can set targeting criteria based on demographics such as age, geographic location, interests, and user behavior.
Compared to organic content, ads on social networks typically achieve faster reach and results.
Marketing on social networks and combining different forms
Nevertheless, it is worth considering the combination of different forms of marketing. Individual strategies can complement each other and provide the brand with a wider reach and better results.
Content marketing helps build the brand and generate organic content, while influencer marketing can enhance brand credibility through relevant personalities. Social media advertising then complements these strategies by quickly expanding the brand and content among the target audience.
Communication through social networks
Communication through social networks involves mutual interaction between individuals, brands, or organizations through various social media platforms.
Why is this communication important?
- Users of social networks have the opportunity to interact with content through comments, likes, shares, and reactions. This interactivity increases engagement and reach.
- Active presence and communication on social networks contribute to building a strong brand identity and awareness.
- Communication allows for obtaining feedback from customers, which can be a valuable source of information for improving products or services.
- Social networks ensure rapid content distribution, meaning information spreads across a wide network of users.
- The importance of communication through social networks also lies in maintaining a connection with the target audience.
Successful campaigns on social networks
Successful campaigns are often characterized by creativity, relevant content, and effective targeting.
For instance, Red Bull created the “Red Bull Stratos” campaign, where skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of space to break the sound barrier. The brand produced a series of posts, including videos, photos, and live streams on social networks, covering the entire preparation process to triumph. The result was incredible media attention, public interest, and brand expansion, demonstrating the power of content marketing with effective emotional engagement with the audience.
The cosmetic brand Glossier collaborated with influencer Emily Weiss, the founder of the blog and media startup “Into the Gloss.” Glossier is known for its natural, “no-makeup” philosophy. With Emily, they created content focused on education and sharing beauty tips, emphasizing simplicity and naturalness. The campaign leveraged the power of influencer marketing and demonstrated how effectively collaboration with the right influencer can influence consumer behavior, and increase brand awareness, and interest in products.
In our Krásnô studio, we’ve crafted a successful campaign for Visit Liptov aimed at attracting people to the Liptov region during the winter season. In addition to a creative slogan, the cornerstone was video production. We rolled out the campaign in 3 countries and in three language variations.
Social media management
Social media management is the process that involves the management and administration of content, interaction with followers, monitoring campaign performance, and building an overall brand presence on various social media platforms. What aspects does social media management include?
- Content planning: It involves creating content tailored to the target audience and optimized for specific social media platforms, including post graphics, using relevant hashtags, and tracking trends.
- Engagement with followers: Responding to comments, messages, and questions from followers helps build community and increases follower engagement.
- Performance monitoring: Tracking analytical data such as engagement metrics, reach, and conversions is essential for evaluating campaign success and adjusting strategies based on results.
- Targeted paid advertising: Advertisers can create targeted campaigns for specific demographic groups and monitor their success based on analytical data.
- Brand building: Maintaining a consistent brand image across different platforms ensures a unified and recognizable brand presence online.
Social media marketing trends
Current trends can change and evolve depending on technological advancements, shifts in user behavior, and other factors. Brands must keep pace with them and adapt their strategies according to the needs and preferences of their target audience.
Which social media marketing trends are currently prevailing?
- Dominance of video content: Companies are investing in interactive video formats (live videos, vlogs, and short video clips) to engage their audience.
- Focus on micro-influencers: Brands are turning to micro-influencers instead of major celebrities, who have smaller but more loyal and engaged communities.
- Interactive content: There is an increasing demand for interactive content, including polls, quizzes, Q&A sessions, and live streams, enhancing user engagement and interaction.
- Ephemeral Content: Content with a short lifespan (stories on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook) allows for authenticity and spontaneity.
- Chatbots and automation: With the rise of chatbots and automation, the ability for instant communication with customers and faster handling of requests is increasing.
- Direct platform purchasing: Social media platforms are striving to facilitate direct purchasing processes on their platforms, allowing users to buy directly from advertising campaigns or brand profiles.
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