Do you know that over 86% of Singaporeans aged 16 to 44 actively engages with at least one social media platform?

This upward trend will only continue into the post-Covid-19 era. If you have not included social media marketing into your suite of marketing strategies, it is time to reconsider. 

Here are five things you want to know about Social Media Marketing.

1.    What is Social Media Marketing?

Social Media Marketing is defined by Wikipedia as the use of social media platforms and websites to promote a product or service. The terms E-marketing and Digital Marketing are sometimes used interchangeably. 

As with traditional Marketing, it is recommended to kickstart a Social Media Marketing Campaign by first setting up your goals. What do you want from your social media campaign? 

Create Brand Awareness?
Drive Sales?
Lead Generation?
Customer Support?
Public Relations?
Etc.?

Every platform attracts a different group of users and can be effective in many ways if you use the platform wisely. If you are just starting out, it will be challenging to manage a number of social media platforms simultaneously. The best integrated marketing campaigns engage 1 to 3 social media platforms and concentrate on generating intriguing content to its target audience. 

2.    What Social Media Platforms are there?

There are many social media platforms, and even more being developed right this moment. Check out the following report by Hootsuite for the most-used social media platforms in 2020.

Every social media platform offers different content and thus attracts a different user segment. Whatsapp, FB Messenger and Line are primarily Chat applications whereas Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat provide image-heavy content. Skype, LinkedIn, and Twitter are used widely for B2B outreach whereas Facebook, Instagram and Line are more effective in driving B2C sales campaigns. 

Consider building a Customer Avatar or Persona as you plan your Social Medial Marketing Campaign. A Customer Avatar will help you to zoom in on the demographics, consumption patterns and online behaviour of your customers. Know where and how they search for information will help you to position your Brand strategically, and effectively. 

3.    Common Social Media Metrics

One key advantage of Digital Marketing versus Traditional Marketing is the availability of Data. Most, if not all, Digital Marketing strategies should be data-driven. Data such as demographics (I.e., Age, Gender, Annual Income, etc.) and purchase patterns (I.e., Average Basket Value, Customer Lifetime Value, etc.) will be helpful in steering your Social Media Marketing campaigns towards your target market and achieve your campaign goals. 

Since every campaign has slightly different goals, there is no hard and fast rule on which metric to use in evaluating your campaign. You should understand the common metrics and select the most appropriate metric according to your goals. Alternatively, you may consider hiring a Digital Marketing Strategist like Visual Studio to drive and manage your Digital Marketing Campaign for you.

4.    Common Social Media Marketing tools

The good news is there are many tools available to help you with your social media marketing. While most of these tools work on a subscription basis, many provide free accounts with limited functions. Usually, these free accounts are good enough to get you started. 

Popular content generation tools include Ubersuggest, Socialanimal and Google Trends. These tools will help you understand the trending topics using keywords that your Customer Avatar might be interested in or searching for. 

To make your content attractive, try adding interesting images and pictures to your post or ads. Some common design & image editing tools include Canva, Adobe Spark and Pixabay. You can use these tools to customize a digital banner, design an article header or even create an Facebook ad. 

Most social media platforms come with a variety of tracking tools. Google Analytics is one of the most common and insightful analytical tools. It measures your advertising ROI as well as track social networking sites and applications. If you are using Facebook for your business, you need to use Facebook Analytics (Also known as Facebook Insights). This Facebook tool tracks likes, page views, and tells you who your audience is and how they are interacting with your page.

5.    What is Community Management?

One key feature of Social Media Marketing is spontaneous engagement with your community, otherwise known as Community Management. It may include your potential clients, existing customers, or the public in general, and you need to manage such engagement well. 

Managing community engagement well will attract Fans to your Brand. This will generate valuable Social Capital in the long term. Remember the terms Impression and Reach? Every time you engage your community, it creates more content and potentially more Impressions and Reach for your Business.

However, you might want to be careful when dealing with negative comments on social media. Bad comments can spread quickly like a Fire. When faced with a complaint, do not sit on it because the drizzle might become a thunderstorm by the time you decide to draft a reply. Consider drafting a Community Engagement policy (I.e., Reply to all complaints within 48hours, task somebody to view and respond to all comments) to guide your responses and engagements.  

In the modern digital landscape, Social Media Marketing should be part of your Integrated Marketing Strategy. It is a long-term project but one that can bring tangible results and benefits to your Brand. Start exploring the various platforms and increase your company’s visibility today.