2019 is set to be a massive year for social media marketing. The December 2018 statistics released from www.socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-december-2018/ report that as of December 2018, Facebook had over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide and Instagram a massive 600 million active users. These numbers are growing more and more each day and with stats like these it’s obvious that having a strong presence on social media is crucial for ALL business. As traditional media platforms such as TV and radio become increasingly irrelevant, businesses need to be present where their audience is hanging out – and that is definitely online! But with SO much information out there, it can be extremely overwhelming to know where to start. That’s why I’ve come up with this super handy 6 step guide to social media marketing for 2019!
1. Define your ideal customer
Before you start any sort of marketing, it’s crucial that you take the time to define your ideal customer. This person should be your dream customer. Think about who you love to work with and write out a profile for who this person is. You can include details such as their age, gender, hobbies and interests, income level, career, lifestyle, family, fav tv shows/blogs/books and social platforms they’re most active on. List out their struggles and pain points and then write out exactly how your product or service can solve these. It can even help to give them a name. Once you have done this, consider this ideal customer before creating and developing any marketing materials.
Download our FREE Ideal Customer Avatar Worksheet here!
2. Choose your social media platforms
Once you have a good understanding of who your ideal customer is, choose which social media platforms you will be active on. Unless you have a large marketing team at your disposal, it will be difficult for you to try and be present on all platforms. Not only will it be overwhelming but it’s likely that won’t produce high quality work as you’ll be spread way too thin. Remember, it’s quality over quantity so research which platforms your ideal customer is most active on and focus on those.
3. Set your goals
Having clearly defined goals will keep you accountable and allow you to formulate a clear road map for your digital marketing. Remember, your goals should be SMART, that is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Start out by identifying your key business goals and from there, break these down into quarterly and monthly social media goals. For example, if your business goal is to increase profit by 20% this year then your social media goals might look something like this:
Quarterly Goal: Gain 40 new leads by the end of the quarter
Monthly Goal: Increase traffic to our sales page by 2000 hits by the end of the month.
Once you have written out your goals, you can develop a strategy and road map for how you plan to achieve those goals. Remember to review your goals regularly and modify your strategy accordingly.
Check out our previous blog post: How To Set Social Media Goals That Get Real Results
4. Create a content calendar
A content calendar is a resource that allows you to plan out your marketing content each month. Having a content calendar will allow you to organise and plan exactly what you will share with your audience and on which platforms. It will also allow you remain consistent, never miss important dates and save time in the long run. Each month you can review your progress, determine what worked well and what didn’t and then modify your calendar accordingly.
5. Be social
Don’t forget the main purpose of social media is just that, to be social! Make sure that you are taking the time to actively engage with your followers and community. This will help you to build genuine and long lasting relationships with your audience. The goal is not only to have brand followers but to have brand advocates – people that are so connected and attached to your brand that they are actively talking about and promoting you to their friends and family. At the end of the day, word of mouth is always a hugely beneficial source of advertising.
6. Take advantage of paid advertising
Unfortunately, gone are the days of just posting a photo, video or status update on your business’ social media page, particularly Facebook and Instagram, and gaining massive organic reach. Mr Mark Zuckerberg has realised the massive potential that businesses have to reach and target their customers and as a result, implemented the ads feature. This means that unless you are paying to run ads, your posts are likely to only be seen by a very small percentage of your audience. The good news is that Facebook advertising is extremely cost effective when compared to other types of advertising, particularly on traditional media platforms like radio and TV. Facebook/Instagram advertising is also hugely valuable because of it’s targeting ability, allowing you to reach your ideal customer through being able to target on identifiers like age, gender, income level, location, interests and so on. If you are seriously interested in taking your social media marketing to the next level in 2019 then you should definitely include paid advertising in your digital strategy.
I hope you found this guide useful! Leave a comment below letting me know how you plan to up-level your social media marketing in 2019.
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