Social starters
If you still haven’t yet made the jump to a social platform, you might be wondering where on earth should I start? Well, brands really have to be on their toes if they’re going to stay up-to-date with the newest media trends and invest some real resources to keep up the pace and momentum. It can be a confusing place out there, with diverse audiences and fragmented platforms, not to mention an ever -growing competitive field. But we’ve learnt a fair few things over the years from looking after our client’s social media and digital marketing, so we’d like to share with you a few pointers in how to start off on the strong foot.
1. Channel your messages
Right message, wrong channel is a mistake we see often. Every social channel has it’s own tone and you’ll need to tap into it’s flow. In fact, the latest social app might not be right for you – do you know if your customers are using it. or is it just the latest millennial craze? Social may move at lightning speed, but you don’t have to. Choose wisely. Quality wins over quantity because in the end, you’re interrupting your customers’ conversations, so make sure you have something great to say every single time and choose the right place and time to say it.
2. Balance your content
'Targeted content' means content that links your brand values and story to specific audience groups. It’s the polar opposite of ‘shot in the dark’ content; content that’s been created for content’s sake. Your content needs to flow from both your brand story and your knowledge of your customers.
If you only speak from brand identity you start to broadcast, advertise and self-promote, which will ultimately come across as talking down to people instead of engaging them in a meaningful conversation.
If you only speak from customer knowledge you may miss adding any real value of helping those potential customers to see how your brand value is a perfect fit to their needs.
Having both aspects in mind as you plan and create your content is a holistic strategy that is more likely to produce content that creates real connections with people. It takes you beyond an “okay, that was interesting” response to a “wow, that really works for me” response.
3. Automate whatever you can
Aim to continually maintain a fresh flow of content. This means planning out your social stragegy weeks or even months ahead, and using automation tools to schedule the delivery of your content at its optimal times. Planning and automating helps keep your content organized and consistent.
4. Combine paid search and social ads
You’ll want to start combining social ads with PPC search ads on Google with RLSA (remarketing lists for search ads). With RLSA you can target customized search ads only to people who have recently visited your site when they search on Google. It increases click-through and conversion rates by 3 times and also reduces cost-per-click by a third.
However, RLSA doesn’t target people who are unfamiliar with your brand. And this is where social ads come in. Social ads help more people become familiar with your brand; they start the process of biasing people towards you. Although they may not need your product right this instance, later when the need arises, people will either do a branded search for your product, or do an unbranded search but click on you because they remember your memorable or inspirational content.
We love social marketing. It’s fun, fast-paced and challening. These are just a few of the things we stick to that help to create a great social strategy with long-lasting growth in a ever-changing digital world.
If you would like a creative, passionate agency to take your brand onto social platforms, create exciting content and talk to new audiences, speak to our social team: social@hive.agency
