Marketing is all about creating a positive customer experience. This begins at the first point of contact, and whether that’s a grid post, reel or story, it should make your brand feel simple, seamless and accessible.
Today, we live in a digital world where social media sites are the best way to connect with a target audience. The beauty of social media is the variety which it provides, as each platform offers a free and unique opportunity to promote your brand. It can feel tempting to focus all of your efforts on one app, creating the most aesthetic Instagram, or being super active on Facebook. But the truth is, its impossible to reach your entire target audience from just one place.
This blog contains just a taste, showing you how we can use each social media site to enhance your marketing strategy.
INSTAGRAM Instagram offers so many ways to share content, and is a great way of creating a distinctive brand aesthetic.
Grid Posts are the most ‘traditional’ way to use Instagram. They’re still images with a comments section, making them a great way to respond to questions and engage in discussions. Grid posts save in chronological order, but you can also pin them to the top of your profile to highlight your most relevant material and maintain a consistent brand aesthetic.
Reels are short videos which, like grid posts, appear on your followers’ timelines. Reels capture more detail than images and can be used to advertise new products and campaigns.
Stories appear on your profile for just 24 hours. They allow you to communicate quickly, advertising ongoing sales and events or creating polls to gain immediate customer feedback.
Highlights appear at the top of your account, and are used to save stories permanently. They’re easy for customers to access, making them a great place to showcase successful events, popular products and customer reviews.
TIP - Instagram business accounts contain an ‘Insights’ page which stores your analytics. This shows which of your posts generate the most engagement, so you can constantly improve your marketing strategy.
FACEBOOK Statistically, adults aged 35 to 44 use Facebook more than any other platform, so if you want to reach this demographic, you need an account!
Facebook pages are the most detailed, offering space for opening hours, URLs, contact details and FAQs all at the top of your page.
Whilst Facebook is free to set up, it also offers paid campaigns which are controlled by a monthly budget. These ads can help you target a specific audience, and they generate analytics so you can regularly update your marketing strategy.
TIP - Facebook and Instagram are both owned by Meta, so your profiles on these sites can be linked. This means you can share content across two different platforms simultaneously, appealing to a wider audience with much less effort!
LINKEDIN LinkedIn contains the largest professional network of any social media site. Whilst it has a smaller community of users, it adds credibility to your brand and definitely deserves a place in your social media strategy.
Whilst helping you to expand your industry contacts, LinkedIn also connects you with your competitors. This helps you to stay relevant, conducting research and keeping up to date on any changes within your market.
LinkedIn also has a ‘services’ search bar at the top of the page - by listing your business services on your profile, you can appear in relevant client searches and optimise your brand exposure.
Remember, whilst it’s important to extract the best from each social media platform, your accounts should form a coherent picture of your products and services.
If you’re struggling to develop a social media strategy that works for you, check out my brand new Social Media Power Hours and let's level up your marketing!