Advertising through social media has become increasingly popular in recent years because websites like Facebook and Twitter provide establishments with direct access to customers. Marketers create pages to instantly advertise and develop brand awareness among consumers.
Not every business is taking advantage of the digital marketing platform, thus missing out on potential avenue to raise visibility. Social media is new compared to some of the more established advertising tools, like direct mail and telemarketing, and lacks hard and fast rules for a developing a successful campaign. Companies are trying to figure out which tactics lead to a high response rate and which ones are wasted efforts. The advertisements that have led to increased brand awareness via social networking have some common threads.
Hire a dedicated staff (member)
Some marketing campaigns operate on a schedule – only so much content should be put in front of consumers at any one time. Social media requires constant attention because it is an interactive platform and businesses frequently need to update pages to increase the odds of consumers viewing the content often enough to develop brand recognition. This task can be difficult for owners who have an advertising team working on various projects and campaigns.
Hiring a single employee to control a company’s social presence can make the difference between an effective page and ineffective one. A worker dedicated to social media content ensures that advertising messages are sent consistently and without tonal shifts between voices. The staff member can be charged with tracking the response rates for different promotions and marketing content to find patterns in what generates the most interest from consumers.
Larger companies should consider hiring an entire social media team. A successful business needs more than one pair of eyes to watch over digital branding because of the sheer volume of users. Forbes notes that a corporate image is an important part of establishing an identity that customers can view and recognize as a symbol of quality. Sites like Facebook make it easy for clients to share negative experiences, which can harm an establishment’s reputation if not properly handled.
Have specific goals
The most important part of every attempt at raising brand recognition is having a gauge for success. A social media site creates a direct communication outlet between a business and its customers, but what good is it if a company doesn’t know if its advertising strategy is effective?
Owners and marketers should develop goals and benchmarks to see how rapidly or slowly a brand is growing online. When first developing a web presence, the initial objective should focus on directing clients to the website and establishing a digital audience. Then companies can start thinking about how to turn those leads into investment returns. This is when traditional market tactics come back into play – using techniques like offering a discount to generate business and including them in social media allows establishments to see if consumers actually respond to the web content.
Seek feedback
Making a business easily accessible to customers develops business relationships and maintains a positive brand image. The connections created on social media sites provide an easy method of direct advertising and serve as an opportunity to hear from consumers about what they want from a company. Establishing a rapport with clients online can help owners learn what improvements they need to implement to earn further success. Marketers can offer an open forum or a poll on a social media site to see how interested consumers are in available products or find out which services should be offered in the future.
It can be difficult for owners to effectively raise their brand’s visibility on social media sites, but looking at the common traits from successful campaigns can help develop a plan for integrating a web presence into day-to-day advertising.