Marketing campaigns are never a set-it-and-forget-it type of situation. Once you’ve begun implementing strategies, ongoing content creation, curation, updates, and engagement are just a few of the elements critical to long-term success.
To help you get started, we’ve put together our top 7 social media marketing tips for beginners that promote audience engagement, introduce efficiencies into your workflow, and help generate more leads and sales.
Top 7 Social Media Marketing Tips for Beginners
- Identify and Focus on Your Target Platforms
- Dedicate Time for Daily Maintenance
- Use a Social Media Calendar
- Encourage Employee Engagement
- Track and Evaluate KPIs
- Research New Content Ideas
- Stick to the Plan
1. Identify and Focus on Your Target Platforms
Save time and resources while producing the most effective social content by focusing on the platforms your audience spends the most time on. While B2B marketers are experimenting heavily with every platform, from Twitter to Instagram to TikTok to YouTube, it’s still true that B2B audiences primarily flock to LinkedIn’s professional-focused platform. No matter the results of your own research into your target audience’s online watering holes, it’s much better to have more positive engagement and focused energy on one platform rather than garnering little bits of engagement spread out across multiple platforms.
2. Dedicate Time for Daily Maintenance
Full-time social media management demands daily dedication. Try to commit at least 15 to 30 minutes daily to interact with followers on your chosen platforms – it really goes a long way for your brand! With regular social meeting engagement, you get a direct line of communication with your users to provide vital brand intel and continuously get a read on their needs and feelings surrounding your brand and identity. Additionally, see what your competitors, industry friends, and partners are up to, and take time to engage with and share their posts whenever a great opportunity arises.
3. Use a Social Media Calendar
If you don’t use a social media calendar to plan out a month or so of social content, you need to start. Developing a social media calendar makes it easier to plan and coordinate marketing campaigns, track what content has been promoted and when, and prevent mistakes. Generally, avoid ad-hoc posting without a highly strategized brand identity that specifically incorporates it.
There are multiple free social media calendar options out there (we like Hubspot’s as a starting point), as well as paid offerings with premium features. No matter the tool or platform you use, your social media calendar will make your strategic process more efficient by drastically reducing the time you’d otherwise spend creating, editing, proofing, and scheduling content.
4. Encourage Employee Engagement
Every fledgling social account needs a kick start. Encourage company-wide engagement on every post with likes, comments, and shares. In addition to improving the impression of your posts to outside viewers, interaction sends engagement signals to each platform that helps inform their targeted advertising algorithms.
5. Track and Evaluate KPIs
KPI tracking tells marketers if their activities are having any effect on their target audience. Metrics like reach, impressions, comments, conversions, and click-through rates can be tracked and interpreted to find what works and improve campaign performance. Measuring metrics and reporting helps you stay focused and better calculate your ROI. Be sure to monitor your following on each platform as well to see if your social media strategy is helping to increase your overall awareness.
6. Actively Research New Content Ideas
The most significant way a company can enjoy success with its social media marketing campaign is by having a steady stream of high-quality, engaging, and diverse content. Analyze your content’s performance history to hone in on the topics your audience engages with most and use that to springboard into new ideas. Look at what your competitors are doing and brainstorm ways of reframing those concepts or telling a story more clearly with your brand’s spin on things.
It’s also worth looking at businesses whose brand identity you admire and generating ideas inspired by their marketing strategies. Remember that new content doesn’t have to be text-heavy blogs, whitepapers, or case studies. Get creative with contests, giveaways, polls, and other tools that generate engagement and allow you to interact with and gain information on your target audience.
7. Stick to the Plan
One of the most common issues with social media marketing plans is that they aren’t followed. Consistency and commitment are essential to effective engagement, generating interest, and growing your audience. Social media account managers have to stay encouraged and maintain consistency in pursuit of long-term growth and steadily generate momentum.
Getting Started with Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
As you get started with your business’s social media strategy, these seven tips will prove invaluable in creating high-quality social content that generates engagement and ultimately, leads to sales. If you want to learn more about making the biggest impact possible through your social media efforts, check out The Elite B2B Social Media Marketing Strategy Manual. This free guide dives into every key element of developing an effective social media campaign, including:
- Creating a Strategy
- Establishing Your Brand Voice
- Understanding the Nuances of Social Media
- Monitoring Analytics & Tracking Traffic
- Choosing Social Media Platforms
- Implementing Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
If this all looks just a little daunting, that’s OK. With time and experience, it becomes a natural element of a complete strategic marketing plan. If you want to skip all that and get started right now, we can help. Contact us today to talk about your B2B social media marketing needs.
