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LATEST NEWS / 17 - 05 - 2022
Social Media Marketing: What it is & what it includes [Guide]
A complete guide to social media marketing. What it is, what a strategy includes, techniques, tips and everything you need to know.
 Social Media Marketing: What it is & what it includes [Guide]

Social media has flooded our lives to such an extent that it is no exaggeration to say that they are a vital part of the economy and the market.

This is, after all, the reason why social media is a key pillar in digital marketing.

But what is social media marketing (SMM) and how can a business be promoted through social media?


Here's what you need to know about social media promotion, what are the most important strategies that will increase your sales and what are the trends that businesses need to keep in mind.

Social Media Marketing Definition

Social media marketing is a form of digital marketing that harnesses the power of popular social networks to achieve the goals set by a brand. It's not just about creating a corporate account with related posts.

Promotion on social media is much more than that and includes targeted marketing techniques with measurable results and a complete marketing strategy plan.

Advantages of Social Media Marketing

The dynamics of social networks lie in that they are one of the most effective channels for promoting your business today.

Some of the most important advantages of social media marketing are:

  • Building relationships with your audience and presenting an accessible profile that wins the sympathy of your potential customers. This leads to greater loyalty of your customers, increased prestige and ultimately more sales.
  • Increased traffic to your site, where you can turn visitors into customers.
  • Brand awareness and recognizability of your business through contact with a wide audience.
  • You get to know the target audience better and you can target your campaigns more effectively.
  • You indirectly improve your organic rankings through the greater recognition of your brand.

Basic Categories

Social media marketing is a broader social media promotion strategy that consists of various methods and types of promotion.

The three main categories are the following.

Advertising on social media

Advertising on social media naturally has as its main goal the sale, but at the same time, if used properly, it can lead to increased brand awareness.

In order for an advertising campaign to be effective, great importance must be given to effective copywriting and the appropriate means of communication/tone must be chosen on the right platform.

For example, on Instagram, a photo-focused marketing strategy is essential, while LinkedIn is the key tool for a B2B business-focused advertising campaign.

Social media management

The management of a company's accounts on various social media focuses mostly on content creation.

Content marketing aims to interact with users and build relationships, currently one of the strongest instruments in digital marketing.

Influencer marketing

An indirect way of social media promotion which is currently very popular.

It is important to find the right people who match the image and personality of a brand, in order to promote their products in an effective way.

What a Social Media Marketing Strategy Includes

 

Thorough planning is crucial for the social media marketing strategy to succeed and have the engagement that will lead to the aforementioned advantages.

The main steps you need to follow are the following.

Platform selection

The selection of the appropriate platform should be based on your target audience and industry.

For example, the Facebook audience has different characteristics than the TikTok audience, so it is important to choose carefully.

Of course, depending on your budget you can have a presence on more than one platform.

Definition of the ideal audience

Based on the above it becomes clear that:

Understanding the audience you are addressing, and knowing their characteristics, needs and the ways in which they interact on social media is a necessary starting point in any social media marketing strategy.

Competitor Analysis

When designing your strategy, it is extremely important to keep in mind the strategy of your competitors.

A Competitor Analysis and market research will show you which techniques are effective and which not on your audience.

Content Creation

Content marketing varies from platform to platform, but generally aims to provide users with useful and fun content that will build strong relationships with your target group.

Creating social media content includes:

Posting videos (on YouTube but also on other social networks), writing articles and posts with the appropriate hashtags, stories, photos, contests and polls, with the aim of holistic contact with the public and thus the indirect advertising of the brand.

Analysis of metrics and statistics

In order for a campaign to succeed and increase sales through social media, the analysis of each technique and the monitoring of results play a huge role.

As you begin to monitor and analyse the results of each strategy, you will realise that not all tactics work as well as you thought, and this is perfectly normal.

Redefining strategy

This exhaustive analysis of metrics and statistics leads to the last step of a targeted strategy that only a social media expert can design.

In the evaluation of each step and the reassessment of the techniques that did not work as well as upgrading those with potential, a more effective strategy is created for your brand.

Important Social Media Marketing techniques

As e-commerce continues to gain ground and the digital presence of businesses becomes more and more important, social media marketing techniques are evolving to meet new needs.

User-generated Content (UGC)

Campaigns based on User-generated content utilise this content in a way that promotes the brand.


For Example:

If this is a food brand that specialises in sauces, you can run a contest where you ask users to create recipes for your products, upload videos and use your hashtag.


Thus, the engagement will be high and brand awareness a given.

Posting at the most appropriate time

It takes a lot of testing to find out when the best time is to make a post depending on the characteristics of your audience and the particular platform.

For example, if the target audience is working 25-45 year olds, then it will not be as effective to post during office hours, because they will not be as active at that time.

 Polls

Almost all social media has the ability to conduct polls.

This tactic increases engagement and gives you a very good overview of what your audience wants.

 Videos

Videos are an integral part of effective content marketing, as they get shared much more than any other form of content.

In addition, they offer high flexibility and can be utilized in many different ways across different platforms.

Utilization of chatbots

Chatbots can be a lifesaver when you do not have the time or the resources to answer thousands of customer queries.

In addition, more and more users are preferring automated answers to solve simple problems they may encounter due to their instant response.

Social Media Marketing Cost

The cost of social media marketing depends on a variety of factors.

Such as the number of platforms where it will be managed, the number and frequency of posts and ads, the extent of the data analysis that will be performed, and generally the scope of the strategy that will be followed.

However, with the right techniques, it is an investment that reaps immediate benefits and can dramatically help you achieve your brand’s goals.

If you want to know more about how a well-thought-out social media marketing strategy followed by Wizard can help advance your business, contact us.

Alexandros Kokolis Avatar
WRITTEN BY
Alexandros Kokolis
DATE POSTED
17 - 05 - 2022.
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