Social media presence is crucial for many businesses. Yet, few recognize the pitfalls that can hinder brand growth on these platforms. This article dives into the 9 best social media marketing practices to ensure your campaign thrives.
1. Choose The Right Social Media Platform
It’s tempting to default to familiar social media platforms. While comfort with the interface is understandable, neglecting platforms where your target audience thrives can be detrimental. Remember, each platform caters to specific demographics.
Just like your business has an ideal customer, so do social media platforms. Take LinkedIn, for example, geared towards professionals and B2B (business-to-business) marketing. If networking is crucial for your business, overlooking LinkedIn could cripple your social media strategy.
Other platforms such as TikTok and X bring in a younger crowd. This could be beneficial for your business if your target audience is between 20-29 years old. The key is to find which social media platforms your potential customers are most active on.
2. A Social Media Strategy Can Save You
Just like a business plan, a social media strategy acts as your roadmap to success. Randomly posting on professional accounts is a recipe for wasted effort. Building a following takes time and requires targeted content.
A strong social media strategy should consider these key elements:
- Target Audience: Who are you trying to reach? Understanding their demographics and online habits is crucial for crafting engaging content.
- Content Calendar: Consistency is key. Plan your posts in advance, considering content types like images, videos and text, aligned with “content writing best practices” for each platform.
- Social Media Audits: Regularly evaluate your performance. Track metrics like engagement and follower growth to see what resonates with your audience.
- Competitive Analysis: Learn from your competitors! Analyze their social media presence to see what works for them and identify potential gaps you can fill.
Invest the time upfront to craft a sound social media strategy that aligns with your overall business goals. This will prevent costly mistakes and ensure your efforts are driving results.
Feeling overwhelmed? Consider partnering with a content and social media marketing agency to develop a winning plan.
3. Pay Attention To Comments
One of the biggest social media blunders is neglecting comments on your posts. Engagement is very important; after all, fostering a brand community is a key objective of social media marketing. Interacting with your audience, both positive and negative, is crucial for building that community.
Customers appreciate when brands go beyond the generic “Thanks for your comment!” replies. Responding to comments allows for one-on-one conversations and fosters stronger connections with customers. When your audience feels valued, their brand loyalty increases.
The key is to maintain a friendly yet professional tone as your professional social media presence grows. While the occasional negative comments can be frustrating, remember your brand identity and always respond with empathy – the voice your customers want to hear.
4. Go Beyond Social Media Automation
Once your social media strategy is set up and you have a few different accounts for your business, it’s best to utilize automation tools. You’ll be able to organize and keep track of posts and scheduled content all in one place.
Automating social media posts can be a time-saver but a purely “set it and forget it” mentality can backfire. Human error and software glitches are real: a misplaced click on a scheduling tool can be a speedbump at best, or at worst, damage your brand reputation.
For instance, imagine scheduling a post about a sale promotion happening next week but it goes live prematurely. Customers may miss the actual window or lose trust in your future announcements.
To avoid such mishaps, don’t forget to incorporate a human element into your social media strategy with these suggestions:
- Double-check your schedule: Regularly review upcoming automated posts to ensure accuracy in timing and content.
- Factor in external events: Consider potential delays or disruptions that could impact your planned posts (e.g., product launch delays).
- Maintain flexibility: Be prepared to adjust your automated schedule as needed to stay relevant and responsive to current events.
Even with automation, best practices in content writing still apply. Ensure your scheduled posts are engaging, informative and aligned with your overall social media strategy.
5. Content Proofreading Matters
A good rule of thumb before posting anything on social media is to fiercely proofread it to ensure each message is clear to your audience. Typos, grammatical errors and misinformation can damage your brand image. Every post – even deleted content – becomes part of your digital footprint and can linger as screenshots or in your audience’s memory.
Luckily, you don’t need an English degree to edit your own posts. (However, if you do have one, that’s helpful!) Either way, here are some tips to help you with your editing process:
- Double-check your work for typographical and grammatical errors, sentence length and flow, language and voice. Consider having a colleague proofread your post for an extra layer of polish.
- Read your draft aloud. If you stumble over a sentence, chances are it might sound awkward to your audience too.
- Leverage technology. Grammarly and other tools can assist with editing.
To demonstrate attention to detail and professionalism, make sure to take the time to go over each post on your professional social media content.
6. Find Your Unique Social Media Voice
Choosing a brand voice for your social media marketing can be tricky. Every time you post, you exercise that voice and gain impressions from your followers. It’s important to keep in mind that you are working on your professional social media, not your personal accounts.
Before diving into social media, define your brand’s voice. This isn’t just about what you say, but how you say it. Consider your brand personality – are you playful, informative, or authoritative? How do you want to come across to your audience? Whatever direction you take, you should figure out your vibe and stick with it. Consistency is important so that you’re using the same voice no matter where your brand shows up.
A mismatched tone can alienate your audience. Ensure your voice resonates with your target audience and reflects your brand’s unique identity.
7. Choose Targeted Social Media Hashtags
As part of the best practices in content writing, hashtags have become a cornerstone of social media discovery. They act like digital signposts to help users find content relevant to their interests.
By incorporating trending hashtags, your posts gain exposure to a wider audience who might not have seen them otherwise.
However, simply using hashtags isn’t enough. Here’s how to leverage them effectively in your professional social media strategy:
- Targeted Research: Identify hashtags most relevant to your business and target audience. Popular hashtags can be competitive, so consider incorporating niche hashtags specific to your industry. For instance, a bakery might benefit more from #sourdough than #food.
- Audience Insights: Understand your target audience’s search habits. Analyze what hashtags they follow and use competitor research to see what resonates with them.
Similar to SEO keywords, marketers need to prioritize choosing relevant hashtags that accurately reflect their content and target audience. This ensures their posts reach the right people, avoiding the pitfall of overloading posts with irrelevant tags.
8. Social Media Trends Drive Engagement
Understanding what your audience consumes allows you to tailor content that resonates with them. These trends can spark creative ideas to keep your social media presence fresh and engaging.
While trends can be fleeting, some overarching themes emerge each year. By keeping your finger on the pulse of these trends, you can:
- Align your content with relevant topics to ensure it remains fresh and interesting for your audience.
- Capitalize on trending conversations to spark interaction and increase visibility and engagement.
- A view of current trends allows you to adapt your social media strategy and stay ahead of the curve.
Staying informed about social media trends isn’t just about chasing fads. It’s about strategically aligning your content with what your audience cares about.
9. Enable Strategic Social Media Posting
Consistency is key in professional social media. However, bombarding your audience with frequent, low-quality posts can backfire, leading to decreased loyalty and a damaged brand image.
Make sure that your business implements a strategic posting frequency. This plan can address the following:
- Short Attention Spans: Oversharing can overwhelm your audience. Aim for quality content delivered at regular intervals to keep them engaged.
- Content Quality: Rushing to post can compromise creativity. Take the time to craft thoughtful, valuable content aligned with content writing best practices. This will resonate more with your audience.
Well-spaced, high-quality posts create anticipation and encourage your audience to look forward to your content. Research optimal posting frequencies for your industry and target audience. This will help you develop a methodical and purposeful social media posting schedule. Remember, quality over quantity is the golden rule.
Final Thoughts
Think of social media as an extension of your marketing toolbox. Just like any other tool, it requires investment to yield results. Research your target audience, prioritize customer service, and maintain consistent engagement – these are the cornerstones of a successful digital campaign. When you incorporate these social media and content writing best practices, you’ll be well on your way to social media success – and maybe even have some fun along the way!
Do you need help figuring out where to begin with your social media marketing? Our team of experienced digital marketing team can help! Three Girls Media offers a complimentary 30-minute, no-obligation consultation with our CEO Erika Taylor Montgomery. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you achieve your business goals.
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