Social media is spread across multiple platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and each platform has its own unique way of connecting people and facilitating interactions. As a business, each platform presents an opportunity coupled with complexity, and when you combine all these platforms into a single social media marketing effort, the complexity is increased exponentially. This is where the strategy comes in. By aligning resources, efforts, and initiatives properly, you will reap great rewards from a social media marketing campaign. Here is how you can create a cohesive social media marketing strategy for multiple platforms:
- Set Clear Goals Aimed at Addressing Business Needs
In order for a strategy to be effective, you have to root it in a relevant business objective. The opportunities presented by social media marketing in Chicago are numerous, and without identifying the key goals of a campaign, you can get stuck in chasing dozens of objectives at a time while reaching none of them. Here are some of the most popular objectives for a campaign:
- Lead generation
- Sales increase
- Customer support through social media
- Increased brand awareness
- Enhanced customer retention
Once you set and understand the goals of a campaign, everything else comes naturally—from platform selection, to engagement methods, and content creation. For example, if you aim to generate B2B leads through your marketing efforts, you’ll want to choose LinkedIn as your platform of choice, and your content will take a certain tone and style. When compared to a brand awareness campaign on Facebook, these are two totally different campaigns.
- Pick the Proper Social Media Platforms
As mentioned above, the goal you pick will determine your choice of platform. Each platform has a certain demographic and its own unique mechanisms. As such, you will want to pick the platform that can deliver the best results for the smallest investment. You will want to take into account the various strengths and weaknesses of each platform, and perhaps combine your approach on two or more platforms. For example, if you have a content marketing strategy that can reach different sets of users across different platforms, you’ll want to promote your content through all of your profiles, and thus draw in a varied crowd of leads. Not only will this increase your reach, it can also serve as A/B testing to see how different demographics respond to different types of content.
- Build a Repertoire of Unique Content
Speaking of content, always keep in mind that it is the lifeblood of any effective campaign. Without relevant content, one study found that 41% of customers will unfollow a brand. Think about it—what makes you interested in a person, brand or activity? It is entertainment, new knowledge, or authenticity? If you can provide this type of content to your users, you will keep them hooked, and you will be able to maintain a healthy follower base.
- Promote Your Brand Across Platforms
If you have more success growing an audience on one platform, there’s no reason to keep all those people in one place. You can use cross-promotion efforts to leverage the success of one platform and grow the others. Here are some tactics that you can use to cross-promote across different mediums and platforms:
- Add links to your other accounts in the biography of each profile
- Offer platform-exclusive content
- Partner with an influencer on the target platform who will help promote your brand
- Add social media links and icons in your marketing emails
- Cross-promote with a non-competitive brand on social media
With a comprehensive, multi-platform strategy, you can make the most out of your social media campaigns and ensure that your objectives are met at a very appealing ROI. If you would like to implement a successful social media strategy for your business or brand, contact Digital Destination today to request a free analysis. As the best and highest ranked social media agency in Chicago, we have the solutions to build a social media strategy for your company.