On social media, time is money. So, how can we get more followers, more shares, and more likes faster for less money? With a killer strategy. Here's a few ways you can get more bang for your buck with your social media marketing campaigns.
1. Mine Your Data to Find Your Future
Comment feeds on your social media platforms are ripe with free, qualitative data about your customer base, spoon-fed to you by none other than... your customer base. Mine those comments for insights into what your customers like and don't like. You can also measure audience engagement and sentiment with a tool like Brandwatch. Use all of these different kinds of data to develop new product ideas, see where you can expand your upper funnel to invite more people to join your party, and determine if your brand's audience is shifting in any way, possibly requiring adjustments in your brand voice and messaging.
2. Mind the Exits
Each social icon you place on your website is technically an exit point and should be treated as such. Once a visitor clicks that button, they have departed from your onsite experience, potentially for good. To avoid this fate, carefully consider which social buttons to place on your site, as well as how many social network icons - or exit signs - you want to offer. Also consider location. For example, if you're hiring, put a LinkedIn button on your Careers page, not on your home page. For platforms like Pinterest, place Pin It buttons on easily shareable images, rather than vaguely on your home page, for a more targeted exit.
3. Only Socialize in Appropriate Circles
No need to have a brand profile on every social media platform known to man. Time-manage by limiting your social media activity to only those social platforms where your target audience already exists, or that you actively monitor for customer service interaction. Once you've identified the social networks that make sense for your brand and target audience, build a community on those sites and only direct site visitors to those communities - remove all other inactive social network buttons from your site.
4. Spend Smart
Spend your budget in the right places. Most of your customers will be on Twitter and Facebook, so those platforms should almost always be monitored. However, the cost of monitoring those two channels regularly can often offset call center costs. If your customers get their issues resolved via social media, they don't need to call support. If you post answers to frequently asked questions online, more customers will be able to quickly get the answer they need without picking up the phone - or worse, turning to a competitor who offers more information.
However, these customer service aspects of social media monitoring shouldn't be considered a part of your social media budget. Your social budget should be reserved for promotional campaigns. For example, if you have to choose between a paid Facebook campaign and a coupon campaign for a new product, see where you'll get the most ROI and spend your money there. Basic social monitoring should continue regardless of which option you choose.
5. Mind Your Consumer Decision Journey
Did you know you can gauge where customers are in their buying cycles based on the kinds of questions they ask via social media? Use your social channels to move customers through the consumer decision journey by outlining which questions indicate that a prospect is at a certain point in the buying cycle. Then train your team to recognize the pain points and hurdles reflected in each question, and where to send these prospects on your site to ensure those pain points are addressed, so buyers can easily move to the next stage of the funnel. Lastly, keep in mind that buyers should not be dependent upon your customer service team to direct them to the information they need to complete a purchase. Make sure that your prospects can easily find a path to the content they are looking for or share their love for your brand with other potential customers all on their own, without the help of your customer service team.
Although social media is often considered a free platform, you should treat it like the most valuable tool in your arsenal of advertising, marketing, customer service, and lead nurturing solutions. Invest wisely in both people and content to make effective use of the social platforms that are appropriate for your brand. The upfront cost you invest in the above recommendations will pale in comparison to the rewards you reap in the long-run from implementing an effective social media marketing strategy.