Tips to Make Social Media Marketing Easier
It’s no secret that social media is an integral part of any marketing strategy; however, actually developing and executing a social media strategy can be a daunting task. Never fear: we’ve got a few tips to help make social media marketing easier this year.
Keep Posts Consistent Across Platforms
Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and many other platforms, the social media landscape is very vast. It can feel overwhelming to take care of every single platform. Sure, it’s important to have an individualized strategy for each site to an extent, but one way to make things easier is to simplify posting. Instead of creating a different post for each platform, try making a template post ahead of time. Then, you can adapt the single post a bit in order to tailor it to different social media outlets, whether by reducing the character count or changing the verbiage to cater to a different demographic.
The same tip works for graphics, as well. Instead of coming up with different graphics for each platform, start with a single graphic and create a few copies of it. After that, you can change the copies to appear optimally on a given outlet while still catching people’s eyes. This is a great way to maintain a consistent brand image, as well!
Leverage Free Programs
Picture this: you have an outstanding idea for a social media campaign, and you already know exactly what the copy will be and what the corresponding graphics will look like. Unfortunately, you aren’t very comfortable using powerful design programs like Illustrator and InDesign, so you are unable to convey your thoughts clearly to your graphics team. Sound familiar?
Fortunately, there are a number of free applications that give you the tools to bring your ideas to life. Canva is a favorite of mine. It’s a web-based program with tons of templates to get you started with a design. The user-friendly interface allows you to easily drop in your own images and pair them with different fonts and stock illustrations. In many instances, the graphics you make in Canva may be good enough for posting. At the very least, it’s a simple way to put some of your ideas onto a digital graphic or create a mood board of sorts to give the graphics team something to work with.
Need more help on the analytics side? Sure, some companies have paid services that aggregate your social media insights into a single area. You can also access most of the information found on those dashboards for free, though. Using the analytics tools on the platforms themselves (Twitter Analytics, Google Analytics, etc.) is a simple way to keep track of relevant metrics without spending a penny to do so. Why pay for something you can already access for free?
Latch onto Viral Trends
Everyone dreams of having a post go viral. Being able to reach thousands of people in one go seems like a marketer’s fantasy. It’s tough to organically come up with something truly viral on your own, but the next best thing is fairly simple. Understanding the latest viral trends and creating promotional materials based on them can boost interaction and brand presence. Think about popular songs, trending news, or even memes that are filling people’s timelines and see how they can be intertwined with your own messaging.
It’s not necessarily about being a major thought influencer or a true early adopter, either. A 2015 study in the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication suggested that “the crowd plays a decisive role at the early stage of trend creation.” Ultimately, you don’t need to be a major influencer to reach the masses. Simply playing to trends that many social media users are already following will likely do just as well if not better than trying to create a trend yourself.
Crowdsource Your Content
Social media marketing can be difficult in and of itself, and it can be even harder if you’re doing it alone. However, in most instances, you don’t have to rely solely on your own brainpower. Colleagues across the business are excellent resources to bounce ideas off of, or even to get novel strategies from a different point of view. Don’t be afraid to reach out to coworkers in other departments, either. People with varying backgrounds will likely see the same scenario through a different lens, which can help you reach more people with your marketing materials.
Your suppliers may be helpful in this, as well. Take Maple Ridge Farms for example: we offer an all-encompassing Resource Center filled with tools to help you with your marketing needs. Specifically, our Resource Center has videos, graphics, and other creative content that correspond with our promotions throughout the year. This is definitely something to look into when crafting a social media plan!
In a similar vein, getting the input and help of your target audience can work in your favor. Not only are you more likely to strike a chord with your market, but you also increase interaction and establish a more personal connection with your clientele.
Social media is a major part of any marketing strategy. Although it can seem overwhelming, these tips can help you take control of your social media initiatives and expand your reach.
Do you have any tips and tricks that make social media a cinch? Reach out to us on social media (@MapleRidgeFarms on Facebook and Twitter, @mapleridgegifts on Instagram) with your great ideas! We might even share the best ones... See what I did there? #Crowdsourcing
