What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing – or the use of social media and networks to market a company’s products and services, emerged in the 1990s when the first social network, Six Degrees, was launched. Social Media marketing offers companies the opportunity to connect with existing customers, reach new audiences and build their brand while promoting their company culture, goals and point of view. But in addition to providing customers with information and the opportunity to open a dialogue, social media also helps companies attract new employees, increase website traffic, and therefore build awareness and image.
Macaw and social media marketing
Since the turn of the millennium, we have helped numerous enterprises with their social media marketing, specializing in connecting organizations with their target audiences. We support companies both in the creation of creative, data-based strategies and in the creation, planning and distribution of content – including advice on cost-effective tool solutions. At its core, we distinguish five key elements of social media marketing:
- Strategy
- Planning and Publishing
- Listening and Engagement
- Analysis and Reporting
- Advertising
If you’re not yet familiar with the world of social media marketing, here are a few core pieces of information:
Which social media platforms are popular?
The number of social media platforms has grown enormously in the past few years. New channels like TikTok and Clubhouse have popped up almost overnight, while others such as Vero disappeared from the playing field almost just as quickly as they arrived. The most important social media platforms remain Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn, XING, TikTok and Pinterest. But even messenger apps such as WhatsApp offer interesting opportunities. Since markets and products differ from company to company, a “one-size fits all” strategy doesn’t apply. A channel is relevant whenever your target audience is there.
This means that regardless of whether you are an experienced social media marketer or relatively new to the field, it’s wise to choose social media platforms that are relevant to your goals and target audience, while also making sure they fit your brand’s image. Last but not least, it’s important to consider how many social media pages you can manage at once. By keeping these points in mind, you can maximize your brand’s social media reach and connect with the right people.
The benefit of social media marketing
Social media has become an integral part of most people’s everyday lives. They spend a significant amount of time on them – whether privately or professionally. Things means that you can address a large number of consumers with comparatively little effort. Social media marketing essentially plays into its strengths in three areas: customer loyalty, brand loyalty and awareness. Through the help of social media marketing, companies can build up a loyal community and, to a certain extent, secure a new sales market.
Benefit 1: Interaction with your target audience
Social media platforms aren’t just the perfect way to deliver information and present products to your target audience. A major advantage can be found in the interactions and the development of a personal relationship between your company and the user that follows. Reviews, comments and likes, for example, show how well an offer is received by your customers and prospects. You should use this feedback to further develop your products and services. Responding to your community also makes your company appear more human – and therefore more likeable. All of this strengthens customer loyalty.
Benefit 2: Marketing at a low cost
With social media marketing, you can reach a wide range of stakeholders at a relatively low cost – from existing customers and prospects to bloggers and journalists. That’s because social media marketing is generally less expensive than any other traditional marketing tool – making it a must, even for small businesses.
Benefit 3: Strengthening brand loyalty
In recent years, brand loyalty has fallen sharply among customers in virtually all industries. No wonder, when the next option is usually just a click away. With social media marketing, you can foster awareness among your target group. In doing so, you increase the company’s level of recognition, engage your customers and attract the attention of new prospects. While competitors interact with their target groups in standardized, impersonal ways, your company’s customer service can shine.
Why an external partner makes sense
Of course, there are pros and cons to every decision a company makes, and the same can be said for social media marketing – the main concern being the time commitment. In order to be successful, each channel’s profile has to be regularly maintained, filled with quality content and user inquiries responded to quickly. This requires a permanent presence on social media. However, very few companies are able to carry out this daily workload or establish a well-trained team of employees. This is where an experiences provider can help – they can create a concept with you, take over the content management, develop creative ideas that generate clicks and likes, and also help in a crisis situation. They are your creative sparring partner, so you can focus on your core business.
Campaigns with social media marketing
Before you launch a social media campaign, you need to ask yourself a few questions: What message do I want to convey? What does my target group look like? Which channels are right for this? As a rule, good social media marketing thrives on creativity, communication at eye level, continuity and speed. It also makes more sense to use only a few platforms with really interesting and relevant content than to communicate poorly with your target group on all channels. Under no circumstances should a post created for Facebook be simply copied and pasted onto Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn. Each social media channel has its own language, which must be taken into account in a campaign – otherwise your own content is very likely to meet with mute recipients.
