Social media marketing has become an essential component of any successful marketing strategy. Advancements in technology allow marketers to use social media to engage their ideal customers in ways never before possible. 

However, technological improvements are a blade that cuts two ways. There are more social media platforms than any individual marketer or team can keep track of, and more are developed and released each day. In addition, consumers are becoming more tech savvy and sophisticated, so it is becoming increasingly difficult to build a large, consistent following. 

Gone are the days of filling your pipeline by posting a single message on Facebook or sending out one Tweet. Now, to attract the leads you need to grow your business, you must have a different mentality when you use social media to market your business. 

Here are five ways to help you frame your approach to social media marketing:

THINK OF IT AS ONE LARGE PLATFORM

View all the social media platforms you use in marketing your business as one large platform. By that I mean evaluate the effectiveness of your social media activity by looking at the analytics of all your platforms combined to see how many new subscribers/followers you get, the level of engagement you see, and how well you are converting potential leads into paying customers.

You still want to treating each of your social media accounts individually in terms of messaging, types of content, etc. But the trick is to evaluate how you are doing on the aggregate first, then drill down to a specific platform if you feel there is some improvements to be made.

FOCUS ON YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Your business cannot succeed without customers, and you need effective marketing to attract those customers. For your marketing efforts to be successful, you must focus on addressing the needs of your target audience.

If you haven’t already, take time to build out your target audience and consider from where they get their information. Your messaging should focus on how your business is best qualified to solve their problems. Share your message on the platforms your audience is most likely to frequent, and you will have a greater chance at earning and retaining new customers. 

DON?T TRY TO ESCAPE VIDEO

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video might be worth a million. For that reason, just about every major social media platforms has video capabilities built directly into their apps.

Your target audience is used to creating and consuming video content every day, and they will expect the same from you. So whether it?s gifs, short clips, longer videos, or anything in between, to stay relevant on social media you MUST incorporate video into your marketing strategy.

BE MORE THAN A SALESMAN

Marketing is about appealing to your audience so they feel compelled to make a purchase or sign up for one of your services. If all you do is focus on selling your services, then you will be nothing more than a salesperson. 

Go beyond that and be a storyteller?share your business?s story. Let your potential and current, customers see the passion you have for your industry. Tell them how you got started and how you relate to the problems they are experiencing. Doing so allows them to see the people behind the brand, which increases the chance that they will connect with you on a deeper level. And a deeper level of connection results in customers who not only remain loyal longer, but become your biggest advocates. 

AS ALWAYS, STRATEGY FIRST

If you are familiar with any of my writing, you know how important it is to develop a marketing strategy  to promote your business. Strategy is the foundation of your marketing activities because it outlines everything you do and allows you to follow a blueprint, designed by you and based on the unique needs of your business, to success.

State your marketing goals and detail your target audience so you know exactly who you’re speaking to, where they get their information, what services/products you should be promoting, and how you should present those services/products. 

Having a social media presence is a must, but it?s not quick or simple. However, there are so many opportunities to find your audience and build a following. All you have to do is have the right mentality, develop a plan of action, and tell your story!