In the modern world of business, using social media is one of the most effective marketing initiatives and also a great tool for customer service. I discussed the importance of this in my last blog. In this blog, I will be discussing the things that have to be considered when using social media as a digital marketing initiative. This includes great opportunities created and possible risks of using social media and a digital marketing initiative.
Sponsored Posts
Social media is a powerful initiative as it allows companies to reach far more people than they would through any other channel of communication. This is because the digital world we live in allows people to be connected through social media at all times. Something that will boost that reach is investing money into sponsored and boosted posts. Doing this will allow companies to receive a much larger reach. This is because social media can be used as a sales conversion funnel. If a company were to produce entertaining or engaging content on their social media channels, this could be a great influence for a customer to buy a product (Valos et al, 2017).
Analytics
One of the most important things when using social media as a digital marketing initiative is to analyse all of the metrics being received through posts, followers, likes shares etc. All of this is valuable free data that helps businesses further understand their customers (Tuten and Solomon, 2015). This is because it helps them discover what content, products or services that their customers like or dislike. If a business were to track and analyse their data to understand what their customers like, this gives them the opportunity to make accurate changes and only produce things that their customers like or will enjoy. If a business failed to analyse their data and metrics, they would be unaware of what their customers like and dislike. This can cause the business to keep posting things on their social media that their followers may dislike or not connect with which creates a negative attitude towards their brand (Dinesh, 2017).
Using the Right Channels
Not only is using social media to generate traffic to a website effective, businesses must make sure they are using the most effective social media channels (Tuten and Solomon, 2015). This can be done by analysing which social media platform is generating the most consistent likes, shares and engagements with the posts (Flores, 2013). Making sure the company are using the most effective social media channel allows them to generate more relevant traffic (Farris, 2010). Another way of making sure of this is by understanding their market and what social media they use. If their target audience is older, it is likely that Facebook would be the most effective, but if the audience is younger, Twitter or Instagram may be more effective.
Competitor Analysis
Another thing to consider with using social media as a digital marketing initiative is to analyse competitor social media. In order to be more successful, businesses must try and be more productive than their competitors over social media (Brown, 2014). This can include understanding their market better than their competitors, being more active and producing more interactive content. If a competitor has a far stronger social media it is likely that consumers are more likely to trust that brand instead. If a business’ competitors have a weak social media with a small following and low interaction, it is important to not copy their strategy.
Please find links below to resources that may help you further understand how social media is used as a digital marketing initiative and the benefits and risks of using it:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/11/the-top-10-benefits-of-social-media-marketing/#671f3b5a1f80
https://www.business.gov.au/info/run/advertising-and-online/pros-and-cons-of-social-media
References
Business.gov.au. (2015). Pros and cons of using social media for business. [online] Available at: https://www.business.gov.au/info/run/advertising-and-online/pros-and-cons-of-social-media [Accessed 5 Apr. 2018].
Brown, S. (2014). Six important factors to consider for a social media strategy. [online] Abacus Marketing. Available at: https://www.abacusmarketing.co.uk/six-important-factors-consider-social-media-strategy/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018].
DeMers, J. (2014). Forbes. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/08/11/the-top-10-benefits-of-social-media-marketing/#671f3b5a1f80 [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018].
Dinesh, D. (2017). 7 things to consider before your next social media campaign. [online] Lucidpress Blog. Available at: https://www.lucidpress.com/blog/7-things-consider-before-next-social-media-campaign [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018].
Farris, P. (2010). Marketing metrics. 2nd ed. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall/Pearson Education.
Flores, L. (2013). How to measure digital marketing. 1st ed. Palgrave Macmillan.
Russell, J. (2018). 5 Social Media Security Risks and How to Avoid Them. [online] Hootsuite Social Media Management. Available at: https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-security-for-business/ [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].
Tuten, T. and Solomon, M. (2015). Social media marketing. 2nd ed. Harlow: SAGE.
Valos, M., Maplestone, V., Polonsky, M. and Ewing, M. (2017). Integrating social media within an integrated marketing communication decision-making framework. Journal of Marketing Management, 33(17-18), pp.1522-1558.