Online marketing on social media has become a necessity for small companies these days. Several small companies have the mistaken belief that social media is not necessary for them. They believe that it is sufficient for their small company that their customers know about them and know how to contact them.
It is good that they already have a steady customer base. However, online marketing on social media allows a small company to earn more from their current customers. And social media can help them gain new customers. “Consumers also tell us how their decision-making comes about. When we ask how they make purchase decisions, consumers talk about their mental processes; describing how they investigate and weigh product features, consider such factors as how the benefits of one brand stacks up against the competition and which is the best value for their money,” Peter Noel Murray, Ph.D. explains.” Therefore, not having an effective strategy for online marketing on social media can be bad for small companies. Below are some strategies and tips for effective online marketing on social media.
Create Accounts On Several Social Media Sites
Many small companies already have a Facebook account. It is suitable for a company to have a Facebook account. But it is only a step in the proper direction. Small companies should not just stop at Facebook for their social media presence. You will need to create accounts on several social media sites.
Facebook is indeed the most commonly used social media site by small companies. Eighty-six percent of small companies have a Facebook account. But other social media sites are also used by small companies. Forty-eight percent of small companies use Instagram. Forty-six percent use YouTube. Forty-four percent use Twitter. Thirty-one percent use LinkedIn. And twenty-five percent use SnapChat. LinkedIn will be beneficial for small companies that are engaged in B2B. And SnapChat is ideal for small companies whose target market is the Generation Z niche.
Determine The Online Marketing Objectives Of Your Company
Do not just post content haphazardly or randomly. You need to determine what your online marketing objectives will be. The online marketing goal of seventy percent of small companies is to generate leads. For fifty-three percent of small companies, the goal is to build awareness of their brand. And for fifty percent of small companies, the goal is to engage their customers. You can also have other marketing objectives other than these three. Your goal could be to use social media to supply improved customer service. Or your goal could be to enhance the direct sales of your product.
Utpal Dholakia, Ph.D., author of The Science Behind Behavior blog and is a professor of marketing at Rice University in Houston, Texas, found out that “…many marketers have moved away from maintaining proprietary online communities to social media that require less commitment such as Facebook and Instagram.” He suggests, “Simply give them an opportunity to join an affiliation group of their choice on your site or store and to express their admiration for groups they already admire and love, nothing more. The positive feelings will transfer to the company’s brands and produce more engaged and profitable customers.”
Post Relevant Information Every Single Day
Once you have created accounts on several social media sites, you have to ensure that those accounts do not become inactive. If a potential customer comes across one of your social media accounts and sees that the latest post is more than a month old, they are very unlikely to follow your account. You also need to consider the customers who are currently following your accounts. They usually will not visit your accounts to see what is new with your company. You need to post new information that will show up on their timelines and homepages.
Only fifty-two percent of small companies post new information every day. You will have an advantage over your competition if they do not post every day while you do.
Encourage Customers To Follow Your Accounts
Your social media accounts need to acquire many followers. The more followers your accounts have, the more successful your online marketing on social media will be. Without any followers, nobody will be able to see the information that you post. You can turn these followers into buying customers. Fifty-seven and a half percent of customers are more likely to buy from companies whose social media accounts they follow.
You could encourage customers to follow your accounts by running a contest. Or you could regularly post discounts or sales promos. But be careful that you do not post too many promos. Forty-six percent of customers report that they will unfollow companies who post too many promos. Gad Saad, Ph.D., author of The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption (Marketing and Consumer Psychology Series) explains, “To study consumer behavior is to explore human nature at its most fundamental level using the modern world as its backdrop. And the process of understanding our consummatory nature involves all of the functional areas that psychologists typically are interested in including perception. learning, memory, persuasion, motivation, affect, attitude formation, decision making, personality, and culture.”
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Next week, more strategies will be discussed.