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Marketing is all about branding and getting your brand out there for everyone to recognize. However, it no longer is enough to just have branding on point. It’s now all about having a good brand, a good brand story or vision, and measuring the success of that story. In 2021, social media platforms became the go-to window to grow brands thanks to the social media boom during the lockdown.
If the Kepios analysis is to be believed, there were around 4.55 billion social media users worldwide, equating to around 58 percent of the total global population. Moreover, over 409 million new users joined social media platforms during the year 2021, till October. These numbers suggest how important social media marketing is and the huge potential customer base just waiting to be tapped.
To illustrate, London is considered the online capital of Europe, with the highest number of mentions on social media, online forums, and news sites. But what good is it to have a business in London when a majority of your social media followers are from another continent?
You won’t see a lot of lead conversion from your social channels and it would be a waste of time as well as money. Hiring a London social media agency will help you to cash in on the popular trends in the city and generate leads.
In 2022, businesses will benefit from including social media platforms in their marketing strategy. This is applicable worldwide and any brand anywhere can get a solid social media marketing strategy ready to drive its brand forward. Here are some social media marketing tips to help your brand succeed in 2022.
Have Clear Goals
Without a clear direction where you want to take your brand, you’ll be lost. Therefore, it’s crucial to set clearly-defined key performance indicators (KPI) and marketing goals. The success of any marketing strategy depends on whether or not it’s working and making adjustments when it’s not. Having a clear goal and KPIs help in tracking the progress and changing course if necessary.
Start with figuring out what you expect from your social media strategy? Is it to spread brand awareness or to build engagement? Deciding exactly what you want from your social media marketing strategy will help plan future campaigns. Once you have strong goals and KPIs established, your marketing team can track metrics like followers, engagement, and sales to figure out if the campaign is working or not.
Video Content is King
Statistics reveal that a whopping 96 percent of consumers increased their online video consumption in 2020. Moreover, 90 percent of viewers want to see more videos from brands and businesses. It’s predicted that online videos will contribute 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic by 2022. Lastly, 84 percent of people revealed that they bought a product or service after watching a brand’s video.
Video will continue to be the most engaging form of online content going into 2022. Any marketer or business owner, who wants to be on top of their social media marketing game should keep a tab on what types of videos are trending and what has the potential to become a trend.
However, for a video content strategy to succeed for a business, it’s important to have a clear plan to maximize the ROI. Knowing what type of video works with your branding and is in line with existing trends. Depending on your brand and products, you can choose from explainer videos, interactive videos, live videos, and product 360-degree videos, among others. Following each platform’s best practices regarding video aspect ratios and sizes is another critical element of success.
Promote UGC
User-generated content (UGC or consumer-generated content) is the content created by people who are not your brand’s spokesperson. UGC can be anything from a review, vlog, or a social media update, that’s not created by your employees or affiliates.
The user-generated content is extremely effective considering its completely organic and first-hand experience from an actual customer or buyer. Potential customers are more likely to place their trust in a personal experience from another customer than in a brand promo.
It’s best for the brands to actively seek out UGC or solicit them to retweet or reshare on their social handles. This will not only make the original poster happy but also help build trust with your existing and new followers.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is now a mainstream form of online marketing and has been a buzzword for a while now. The difference between influencer marketing and UGC is that the latter is organic and not sponsored.
Influencer marketing, on the other hand, requires brands to collaborate with internet personalities with huge followings to review their products or services. Brands typically pay in cash, a complimentary product, or an affiliate sponsorship.
Instead of collaborating with popular influencers, brands are more likely to benefit from micro-influencers. These are the influencers with 5,000-5,00,000 followers and are more likely to have a niche audience.
Find influencers who have a similar target audience as your brand and approach them with a sponsorship deal. Once you have made a connection and they see the value of your product, you’ll be able to benefit from their network of other influencers and the community.
There are no two thoughts about it; social media marketing is here to stay and is the future. And the tips mentioned in this article will be the key drivers going into the year 2022.
You may also like: Why Your Startup Needs Social Media Marketing Strategy
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