You’ve probably seen it everywhere if you’re trying to learn all about social media. “Content is King”. That used to be a one and done situation before everyone got online.
In today’s crowded digital media landscape, creating great content is where you should start before posting online. However, great content alone may not be enough to capture your audience’s attention. With countless people and businesses vying for online visibility, it’s crucial to develop a comprehensive strategy that combines outstanding content with targeted advertising. In this blog post, we’ll explore the different types of social media posts and highlight the importance of incorporating a small paid ad strategy to rise above the online noise and maximize your business’s reach.
Captivating Your Audience: Mastering the Art of Spontaneous Social Media Posts
Spontaneous or unscripted posts are familiar to social media users. While common on personal profiles, they can also be utilized effectively for your brand/business. To ensure consistency, establish a unique voice and maintain high-quality standards in your posts. Beyond observations and musings, use these posts to communicate changing or updated information such as business hours or closures due to weather conditions. By providing valuable and timely updates, you build credibility and engage your audience.
Video Marketing: Engaging Audiences and Amplifying Your Brand’s Impact
Videos are not only highly popular but also incredibly effective in engaging your social media audience. Go back through our quick tips in our newsletter or check out our social media pages to see some stats on why. When creating videos, remember that they directly represent your brand or business. Investing in a high-quality production is often the way to go for the long-term, but social lends itself to quick, more personal styled videos that don’t need such a large budget.
a. How-To/Instructional/Educational Videos:
If you’re the type of business that lends itself to “How-Tos”, excite and inform your audience by offering guidance on product usage or sharing methodologies relevant to your industry. Script your video, address common questions or issues, and ensure clear visuals and audio quality to maximize the impact. These types of videos are also great to increase brand loyalty to people who you know have already purchased from you.
b. First-Person Reporting/Update Videos:
Speaking directly to the camera in selfie-mode adds a personal touch. While production values may be lower, focus on delivering a clear and engaging message. Practice holding the camera effectively, rehearse your content, and seek feedback to refine your delivery.
Pro Tip: Draw a face on a sticky note, post it to the back of your camera during the video or on a virtual call and you tend to look at it instead of everyone else. This ensures it looks as though you are speaking directly to your audience.
Leveraging Link Shares: Enhancing Your Social Media Presence with Strategic Content
Link shares can be categorized into three groups:
a. Your Own Content:
Share your website or blog posts that offer valuable insights or showcase your expertise. Cross-promoting your best long-form content on social media through quick snippets can intrigue your audience, getting them to explore more of your longer content.
b. Content by Others:
Share useful and knowledgeable content related to your industry or target audience, allowing you to grow your following and establish credibility. Because it allows for such speed and breadth of content, Twitter is a great place to do this.
c. Content by Complementary Brands:
Promote content from brands, organizations, or individuals that align with your business ethos, fostering engagement and networking opportunities within your industry.
Always credit the original source and seek permission when necessary to respect copyright guidelines. Link shares provide diverse content and engage with other industry members.
Smart Sales Posts: Balancing Promotion and Authenticity
Sales posts directly promote your products or services, aiming for conversions. However, a subtle and authentic approach is key to success, especially if you’re advertising on social media. Examples of effective sales posts include:
a. Product Information:
Highlight new or existing products/services that differentiate your brand from competitors. Link to your longer content/How-Tos to increase the likelihood of purchase or increasing loyalty.
b. Success Stories:
Share case studies showcasing how your product/service solved a problem or delivered positive results for a client/customer. Seek permission to feature their experiences truthfully and broaden your reach through their re-shares.
c. Special Offers and Campaigns:
Generate excitement with limited-time offers (LTOs), special promotions, or campaigns tailored to your audience’s interests. The Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) is a very real psychological compulsion and LTOs tap into this.
Boosting Engagement: Energizing Your Audience with Social Media Contests
Social media contests, when used sparingly, can increase your following and create awareness for new products or services. Respect each platform’s often very specific contest guidelines. By planning contests strategically, you can maximize their impact and leverage participants’ shares for organic advertising.
Paid Engagement: The Extra Boost Your Content Needs
A paid ads budget can significantly benefit your organic social media marketing strategy and content in several ways and can cost as little as $5/day. It should also be noted that while there is no longer a minimum ad spend, you’ll want to go with a minimum of $5/day to optimize the algorithm’s search power for the right audiences.
Paid ads help amplify your reach and increase brand visibility, especially when organic reach is limited to ~0.5-5% of the people who follow you. By strategically targeting your desired audience with paid ads, you can extend the reach of your content beyond your existing followers, attracting new potential customers and generating greater engagement.
Moreover, paid ads provide valuable insights and data that can inform and optimize your organic social media efforts. By analyzing the performance of your paid ads, you can gain important audience insights, identify the most effective messaging and creative elements, and apply these findings to enhance your organic content strategy. A small paid ads strategy also allows you to test different ad formats, messages, and targeting options, helping you refine your approach and identify what resonates best with your audience. This is called A/B testing and can also be done for as little as $5/day.
Ultimately, the combination of paid ads and organic social media marketing creates a powerful synergy, enabling you to increase your brand’s reach, engagement, and overall success.
While great content remains important, it’s essential to navigate the packed digital media landscape strategically. By incorporating a small paid ad strategy alongside scroll-stopping content, you can effectively rise above the online noise. Experiment with different post types, measure their performance, and engage your audience in meaningful ways. Today’s customers seek valuable content that resonates with them. By providing genuine value and amplifying your message through a comprehensive approach, you’ll cultivate loyal customers and become a trusted steward of your brand or company.
Still wondering where to start with content creation and marketing? Talk to us today, we’re here to help.