Social media marketing can seem to be a foreign language. But it doesn’t have to be!
And while it can seem intimidating when you begin, once you utilize the tools in front of you, you’ll be changing the game in no time!
The idea behind it is really simple. Get your brand, company or product in front of as many potential clients as possible. I know, that’s probably obvious.
And when you start to think about the best way to do that...
But all companies know that.
So, if everyone knows this, it’s important that your marketing campaign is something that sticks out from the rest.
And in order to do that you need to make sure you are separated from the rest of your competitors. Taking the steps to ensure people trust you, and you are relevant in today’s climate.
1. SEPARATING FROM THE REST:
The first step is creating a trusting relationship with your clients and potential buyers. Making sure you’re the authority on what you are selling.
Try asking yourself theses questions to get started:
- How is your product different?
- What is your unique spin on it?
- What do you do that your competitors don’t?
Show that you are the company that people can trust and the one they should buy from. Building that trust is key. It’s the foundation that will create effective marketing.
Part of this is understanding the persona’s of your buyers. Get to know them.
No really!
Ask them questions! What do they do with their free time? Do they have kids? What is their profession?
Learning about them will help you create a marketing strategy tailored to the audience you serve. That will let you know what they are interested in, where they spend their time. and more importantly where they spend their money.
Learning the most effective ways to advertise to those people can get you the best traction and the most sales.
Now when you are ready to post an ad, you can cater to that audience. And put your funds behind the most effective advertising.
This doesn’t mean you need to start from scratch. Building on whatever presence you already have will only help get eyes on what you are doing. Making sure your advertising will be worth the investment. Making sure those ads you are running are operating at peak performance is key as well.
2. UTILIZING DYNAMIC ADS:
Getting those ads to perform their best can be time consuming, and tedious as you work to see what resonates best with your audience.
That’s where dynamic ads come in.
Through dynamic ads you can determine just how effective your ads are. By taking different aspects of multiple ads and putting them together in various ways, you can see what is the most effective.
Here’s how they work:
Okay, so you are going to run an ad. And let’s say you have two different forms of copy. One shorter and one much longer.
Then you have two different headlines. One a positive spin on a situation and one a more negative outlook.
Then you have two pictures to use with the ad.
Let’s say you put out the two ads. They are both doing okay. But let’s say you start to mix and match those pieces that make up the two ads. Now your new ad is a mashup of the top performing aspects of the original two ads, and it's killing it! That is where you can put more resources. Now stick with me here...
It’s being smart with your resources and using data to make sure you are creating the most effective ad you can!
You can click here if you want to learn more about using dynamic ads on Facebook.
3. BUILDING A FUNNEL:
Okay now that you have an idea of who you are going to be targeting its time to get them into your funnel. That funnel will lead them right to your products or services. But it's not going to just happen immediately.
Here are 32 successful inbound marketing examples that are proven to be successful.
You start with a broad group of people and get to know them. Now it’s not likely that they will buy right away. It’s probably going to take some time.
You wouldn’t ask someone to marry you on the first date!
This is a bit of a process. You need to keep putting your brand in front of people.
Prove to them that you are the person they can trust. That you have all of the answers. That you can help them out every step of the way.
Continue to present your message, over and over and over again. It will pay off. It's proven to work. Slowly but surely people will head your way. Put in that effort. Make sure you are the place people turn to for whatever line of work you are in.
And as you slowly work these potential customers down that funnel to a sale, every step of the way will help create that relationship.
Trust is key.
Think about some of the biggest brands in the world…
Nike, Microsoft, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Disney.
They are everywhere. They are recognized. They are trusted.
They are doing it on the biggest scale. But there is something to be learned from that. In each of their industries they are the giants. They, for the most part, have separated themselves from the rest.
They have dedicated the time and energy into making sure that was the case. They have a unified front. A unique message. And they relate to the people they are trying to serve.
For instance, think about Nike... What comes to mind? Probably one of two things.
Either that iconic swoosh, or the phrase "Just do it."
And when you start to think about it they are almost the same thing, they almost have the same meaning. That is effective branding.
Because it's all about branding.
It's called “branding” for a reason. It’s like taking a hot iron and burning it in. That’s why it's called branding! Keep going at it. Brand your company in the minds of all the people you are working to sell to!
Make sure your brand is in front of them as much as possible. Targeting them in as many ways as you possibly can.
It takes eight times for somebody to see something before they take action on it. The more you can get in front of people the better.
4. CRAFTING A KNOWLEDGE SOURCE:
The best way to go about making sure you are the source people turn to is creating a website that is effective.
Your website is crucial. It’s almost like the front lines. In most cases it can be your first impression on a potential client. So make sure you are catering to them and showing off your best assets right off the top.
Don’t waste time. Get down to it.
Show people how your product or service will help them and then… BAM!
Hit them with it!
Give them the opportunity to BUY from you!
Make it happen!
And as they scroll through your website continue to give them the opportunity to buy. As they continue to learn about what you are and what you bring to the table, keep making sure they are able to buy. All the way through the site. Our very own site is a good example of this. Check it out here.
As you go through and learn how we can help, you are constantly given the opportunity to “get a quote.” That is the reason you want people there. To hit that call to action button and convert.
And that is the key: Converting.
One of the biggest aspects of successful websites is that it will make the customer the hero. And that’s how it should be.
At the end of the day, nobody cares that you have been in business since 1958. Nobody cares about all the past sales that you have made. And while that might sound harsh, it's the truth.
People want to know what you can do for them. It’s just the way the world works. How can you benefit the customer?
The customer is there for themselves. They are there for something they believe could benefit them. Make them the hero.
Tell them how you can help, and what your services can provide. Tell them what makes you the best of the best.
That is how a website converts.
If you are the trusted source on this journey for them, you are more likely to be the one they will buy from.
There is great wisdom by Donald Miller on this site here about making sure your website is effective in converting.
It’s like, they are Luke Skywalker going to destroy the Death Star, and you need to be Yoda and spiritually guide them through the experience.
And while you might not be selling a service but instead products, the same can still be said. But making sure your online shopping experience is up to par is key too.
Let’s say you’re a shoe store. You are looking to sell shoes to people both online and in your store. Setting up that online version of your store can be daunting. But it doesn’t have to be.
We recommend using Shopify. This allows for you to sell your items, integrating both your website and Facebook into your online store. Habit Hot Sauce does a great job at showing how clean and powerful a Shopify site can be.
It can be simple, and it's little tricks like these that can put your company over the top and take it to the next level. Chef V shows great examples of some tips and tricks to make your site convert.
All while making sure the customer is getting the best experience possible.
5. KEEPING TRACK OF THE CUSTOMER:
With having an effective website can come lots of knowledge as well. Knowledge that can help you continue to sell to customers or to up-sell them as well.
Meaning, getting them to come back for more because they had a good experience the first time they purchased from you.
Within your website you want to be utilizing pixels and making sure those are set up to be used most effectively.
Pixels are able to track someone's behavior when interacting with your website or even an email.
Instead pixels make it so you hit them with an ad selling something else. Again being smart about how you are utilizing your marketing campaign.
Or like we talked about earlier, let’s say someone looked at that pair of shoes but haven't pulled the trigger. You can put them in front of them again. Keep them thinking about them. Keep putting that brand in their head.
The same can be done with your email marketing campaign. Using pixels to see just how people are interacting with your email, and making sure you are targeting them in the most effective way possible.
And to be even more effective...
That ad you are running on Facebook?
You can use the same headline as your email subject line. That is putting the same words right in front of people in multiple locations.
BRANDING!
And you can analyze all of that data you have at your fingertips by using this eBook that will help narrow down what metrics really matter.
The world of social media marketing is wide and vast. It can provide so much, and can be super effective when utilized the right way.
There is even so much more that can be done to make sure you are marketing the right way for your business. This has only just scratched the surface of what is possible.
Okay, I know that was a lot! If you would like to chat with our team more then click here to see if you qualify.
