The era in which we live is characterized by considerable use of social networks, also thanks to the technology that allows us to always be connected with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, since it was inevitable that communication and advertising are therefore changing, with strategies built specifically for these new media. This new way of communicating is called Social Media Marketing.

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What is Social Media Marketing

Let’s start by defining this term:

The term Social Media Marketing is indicative of the promotion process that people or businesses carry out through social media platforms.
Unlike traditional mass media, social networks offer the possibility of communicating with everyone, so that the content of these new channels is not only generated by the brand, but also by their own customers.
Social Media Marketing uses this two-way communication to interact with their customers and potential customers, establish a relationship of trust, and a continuous and lasting dialogue over time.
Below we will delve deeper into the concept of Social Media Marketing and see what techniques are used to put together an effective marketing strategy.

Why is social media marketing important?

The use of social networks is a constantly growing trend, communication for businesses and individuals has become the key to direct interaction with users to grow their business or personal account.
Let’s look at some of the benefits that can be reaped from social networking.

Increase visibility and increase traffic to your site: Every day people spend more and more time on social networks, they relate and exchange information. Entering the world of social networking means getting to know a growing number of interested users which will give you more opportunities to increase your business. Likewise, social media helps maintain relationships with customers by keeping them up to date with the deals and news the brand has to offer. Through sharing images and information, you get increased traffic to your website.

Reinforce Brand Identity: Social media has changed the way you shop, creating relationships between brands and users. In this mechanism, brand awareness is very important, given that constant attention to dialogue with online users, which over time also leads to customer loyalty.

Create an advantage over your competition: Being active on social networks means being attentive to your users, focusing on customer needs, and having the ability to create content and products specially designed for. For this reason, your fan base defines your target, creating a huge advantage over your competition.

The real potential of this form of marketing

Social networks have the ability to connect people with their interests, the news, what is happening around them, and what interests them. This gives you the opportunity to connect yourself or your business with potential customers by communicating your message in real-time.
But they are not only a means of promoting their business, here they communicate directly with the customers by helping and exchanging new business contacts between them.
By coming into direct contact with the customer, your brand gains online credibility.
In this way, you will bring traffic to your website and then turn it over to your business, run promotions, promotional campaigns, and newsletters, do Lead Generation while trying to make your message more and more viral.
The substantial difference between new social media and traditional communication channels is that, through the latter, you can get to know your audience better and listen directly to their needs in order to create tailor-made content and generate quality discussions.
An editorial line designed for your audience is more likely to be successful than a broader strategy, but of course, loyalty doesn’t happen overnight, it is the result of constant and sustained commitment over time.
In recent years, more and more companies have started to take an interest in Social Media Marketing strategies to establish a direct relationship with the customer/user.
Social Branding means to insert an advertising message in the exchange with your users by being implicit, the creation of content allows this.

How to plan an effective Social Media Marketing strategy?

One of the basic principles of social media marketing is “to listen”.
This is why it is essential to communicate with customers according to their needs or by helping them.
Suggesting solutions to their problems, answering their questions and doubts, providing interesting perspectives, guarantees the success of a strategy.
The first step in any Social Media Marketing strategy is to define the goals you want to achieve.
Clarified the “why” you need to understand how and what Social Media Marketing is going to bring to your strategy. In order not to waste your energy and resources, it is advisable to use only those that are relevant to your case, for example, if you are focusing on a primarily visual strategy, it is advisable to use Instagram.
To communicate properly, careful analysis is needed to create content that drives interactions.
Here are some tips to make your Social Media Marketing strategy effective for all your social networks:
Interact with the public: Never ignore comments, questions, or even criticism. Its consistency and dedication will increase your reputation online.
Make an Editorial Plan: Basically, decide how many posts per day you want to post, this will allow you to post news all the time, avoid long pauses, and keep your audience up to date.
Determine and optimize the timing of each social network you use: it’s about finding the right time to share your posts. There is no magic formula, you have to watch the competition and test until you find the right timing.
Don’t forget the competitors: Analyzing the accounts in your niche is very important in understanding your strategy, but also their weaknesses, thus avoiding making the same mistakes.
“Content is king”: Let us never forget that the story of the famous Bill Gates is crucial in all Social Media Marketing strategies, whether it is focused on primarily visual communication or on more or less long messages like Twitter or Facebook.
Keep track of your progress: Regularly review your reports by tracking your progress, so you’ll always be on top of the strategies that are most effective for your audience.
In the next few articles, we’ll try to take a step-by-step look at all the most important points for a good Social Media Marketing strategy, also evaluating which tools to use and why to use them.

Conclusion

Social media marketing can be extremely beneficial for businesses. It allows businesses to connect with their customers, build relationships, and create a brand identity. Social media marketing can also help businesses to increase their reach, drive traffic to their website, and generate leads. To take advantage of social media marketing, businesses should create a social media strategy and plan for how they will use each social media platform to achieve their objectives.