Let’s get the bad news out of the way first – it’s getting more and more difficult for content to get noticed by your target audience.
Changes to Google’s algorithms, increase in paid search – meaning that the chances for your content to catch the attention of your target audience are poor. Moreover, there’s no point in talking about organic reach on social media? It’s nearly dead. More than 50% of all content shared on social media sites gets zero likes and only 0.1% of all content cross 1000 shares.
And, what with the recent changes to the Facebook newsfeed, it’s highly difficult today than ever before to get your brand’s content in front of the audience who matter to you.
How Social Media Marketing Doesn’t Work?
- Create new content.
- Share it with your audience on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
- People buy your products.
Sorry, to burst the bubble, social media marketing doesn’t work that way. The consumer journey isn’t a linear process and it takes more time and effort to get your target audience to click on the “Buy” button.
SO, WHAT’S THE GOOD NEWS?
Enter Social Media Ads! A reliable way to increase leads and boost your sales.
Did you know that the number one activity among mobile internet users is spending time on social media? Yes, social media sites triumph the time spent on Google and email!
Here are a few mind-boggling social media usage statistics:
- According to Statista.com, the number of social media users worldwide is expected to reach a whopping 2.77 billion people by 2019.
- Facebook is the most widely used social media platform with a 79% market share, followed by Instagram 32% and Pinterest 31%. LinkedIn and Twitter have 29% and 24% market share respectively.
- 51% of Instagram users check the platform daily, with 35% confirming that they access it several times a day.
- 22% of the world’s entire population uses Facebook.
- Nearly 80% of the time spent on all social media devices today happen on mobile.
From these numbers, one can understand that social media is pretty big and is getting a lot bigger. If you don’t advertise on it, you’re missing out on a massive chunk of your target audience.
Why use Social Media for Marketing?
Today, almost everyone is hooked to social media. Be it the young hip millennials or the older baby boomers and every other generation in between, today almost everyone has at least one social media account.
For businesses, this presents an excellent opportunity – the potentials offered by these networks to grow your business are endless. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Snapchat – these are a few of the top social media networks that you need to have an active presence. Be it any business, established or startup, big or small – all brands need to have an active social media presence if they want to thrive.
Every one of us is guilty of this. You scroll through your Facebook or Instagram feed, only to get gorgeous pictures of sponsored ads. The picture is so tempting that you give in to it and click on the ad to reach the site of the brand and end up buying.
That’s the power of Social Media Advertising in a nutshell. It reaches out to your audience right where they are and helps them in converting.
Now, that you’re convinced to jump on board with Social Media Marketing Agency, here are the best tips from our social media marketing team to help you nail your social media ads.
Build a Game Plan and Stick to It
Just like you don’t shoot in the dark when it comes to social media ads, you need to have a solid strategy. Define your long-term and short-term goals. For starters, create a quarterly goal – define the number of ads you want to post every month/week, identify content and allocate the budget for it.
At the end of the period, review your feedback and then revise your ad strategy to boost results. Also, remember that the ultimate goal of all your social media ads is not to just attract customers but to get them to convert. Tailor all your ads to meet this goal.
Choose Social Media Platforms after Plenty of Thought
You have to understand that organic reach is declining rapidly, and short-term strategies never work. Instead, look to build a sustainable marketing strategy that works over a long period. Just because there are plenty of popular social media platforms, it doesn’t mean you have to use them all.
Be selective to choose the right social media networks that suit your brand. Think about your goals – do you want to engage with customers? Do you want to build brand recognition? Do you want to generate new leads?
Depending on the answers to the above questions, you can pick the right platforms that work for you. For instance, if you’re a fashion brand, then LinkedIn is not the place for your ads. On the other hand, Instagram and Pinterest are the ideal platforms for you, as you can partner with influencers to increase the reach of your products.
On the other hand, if you want to engage and interact with your audience, then Twitter ads work out the best for you.
Be Clear of Whom you Want to Target
Knowing your audience and identifying them is half the battle won. It never works out if you do generic ads with the aim of captivating your entire audience set. You need to identify buyer personas and target the right people, at the right time, in the right places with the right message.
Start by familiarizing yourself with the demographics of your target audience. Here are a few classification categories:
- Age
- Gender
- Social status
- Geographical location
- Occupation
- Generation
- Income levels
Ok, with that said, identifying and defining your buyer personas takes time and resources. But, that’s well worth the effort.
Build and Grow your Social Media Follower Base
This one doesn’t happen overnight. But, you need to work your way to build your follower base. If you want your social media ads to work best, then you need to have an organic fan base. To build your follower base, you need to post organic and relevant content. Be genuine. Let the authenticity of your brand shine and your posts should reflect the personality of your brand and products.
Promote posts organically. Connect with your audience, answer their queries, and slowly over time, you would have created a significant follower base.
Modify the Voice of your Ads to your Target Audience
If you want to engage with your audience successfully, then you need to talk their language. By language, we don’t mean the spoken language but the tone and voice. If you want your ads to resonate with them then you have to focus on what they care the most about.
This is why it’s essential that you spend time identifying the right buyer personas.
Use A/B Testing to Tweak your Social Media Posts
The key to a successful Social Media Marketing Agency advertising strategy is to continuously tweak your social media posts and ads based on customer feedback. The easiest and most effective way to do this is with the help of A/B tests. It helps to refine even the minutest details of your ads and posts, thereby making it highly optimized and effective.
In A/B testing, you show different versions of the same ad to two different sets of your audience. Based on the feedback, you then tailor your content and pick the one that’s most effective. For instance, if 20% of people clicked on Version A, whereas 60% clicked on Version B then you can know that Version B is what works.
Diversify Spending across Several Social Media Platforms
You would have heard the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” This applies to social media advertising. Instead, of spending all your marketing budget on one social media platform, you can diversify it across the appropriate platforms to generate better ROI.
Make Smart Use of Metrics
By using metrics smartly, you can boost your social media ad performance significantly. The idea here is to gather and collect key measures, evaluate them, optimize and use them to improve future ads.
Be Consistent
This is one of the most important factors when it comes to social media advertising. You can’t post once in a blue moon and expect it to give huge returns. You have to identify the time when your target audience is likely to be online and reach out to them at the right time.
For instance, if you sell products that are for young mommies, then posting ads during school drop and pick-up hours isn’t the best strategy.
According to research, here are the best times to post on different social media networks.
- Facebook – Wednesday to Sunday, in the afternoons, post-lunch.
- Twitter – Weekday afternoons or evenings.
- Pinterest – Weekday and weekend evenings.
- Instagram – Monday to Friday, post-lunch or early evenings.
- LinkedIn – Tuesday to Thursday, early evenings.
Facebook even has introduced a feature where you can choose the time you want your ads to be actively shown. Use this feature to reach out to your audience at the right time.
Finally, Keep on Evolving
Social media is a rapidly evolving platform. What works today, may not work tomorrow or the day after. You have to be on your toes and keep on updating your social media advertising strategy to get the most out of it.
For further guidance and support on the best social media advertising strategy for your business, give us a call at +91-124-4382-633 or reach out to our Social Media Marketing Agency to help you out.