Today, most businesses of all sizes and types have at least one social media account. Their marketing strategies are continually shifting from “traditional” to “digital,” and engaging in social media marketing is one of the most popular techniques being used. This way, businesses and enterprises have increased online visibility and are able to reach and engage their target market.
So how does the future look like for social media marketing (SMM)? What are the principles and concepts that businesses and marketers should take note of in order to better leverage on the power of social media? Here are several words which describe the future of SMM:
- Permission
SMM is permission marketing. This means that you don’t force your followers to retweet what you tweeted, or share what you posted. You can market to your online community as long as they want you to market to them. Your consumers hold the power—they can easily unfollow you or unlike your page once they lose interest in whatever you’re saying. Simply put, it’s up to you as a marketer to publish contents that would actually keep your online community interested and engaged.
- Customer-Centric
As a marketer, always bear in mind that social media is, first and foremost, “social.” It was created for people to interact with other people, and not for marketers to generate new leads. So when you post something, show that you’re actually a human being who cares about things other than getting sales and making money. Social media marketing is not about your business, it’s about your existing and future customers.
- Real-Time
You have to be updated on what’s hot and latest and be able to share something about it. Social media is about the “here and now.” Your online community members would love to see something on your page that they can totally relate to. While it’s always good to have an editorial/content calendar in place, you should also be flexible & fast enough to post about something that’s currently on the news. This way, your social media presence would be up-to-date and relevant.
- Chaotic
Social media is a flood of information. With millions of people tweeting or posting on Facebook, your published content could be easily overtaken. They key therefore in social media marketing is to be remarkable. Focus on the quality of your content, show consistency across all social media channels and strive to create viral contents.
- Neurotic
With so many social media platforms and tools around, you’ve got a lot of things to monitor and schedule. This could make your social media marketing so stressful, that’s why it’s important to simplify. Keep in mind that not all social media channels are worth maintaining, so you must focus on the platforms that are appropriate for your business. Focus on just one or two analytics monitoring tool. One best way to simplify your SMM is to get help—that is, entrust you business’ social media needs to the experts and enjoy benefits in return.
- Fun
Marketing on social media should be fun! Do not be afraid to get creative and be “human enough.” Rigid corporate status updates turn off social media users, so get real! Do not be afraid to experiment while ensuring that your business’ image and reputation are not adversely affected in the process.
Social media marketing is one of the powerful strategies that one can employ nowadays. That’s why we, at 2nd Office, are fast to create quality and innovative solutions that would cater to your SMM-related needs. Our social media specialists are more than happy to help you with this, so feel free to talk to one of them today.