Social Media is Not Your Marketing Strategy
“I want you to do more social media.”
“Why are we not getting more likes?”
“Let’s just post it on social media.”
These are real sentences that I’ve heard in real conversations, and honestly, they send my head into a tailspin. It may feel like the only way to spread the word about your latest product, event, or [insert any promotion] is to slap it on social media and call it a day. In my experience, this is the same as putting all your eggs in one basket, and I’m here to tell you that you don’t want to be the marketeer that puts all their eggs in one basket. Without proper planning or strategy, your campaign is most likely going to sink—yikes. Sure, there are a few brands that hit the jackpot and go viral on social media, exploding their business and quadrupling sales in a matter of days. But the reality is that these viral hits are few and far between. The majority of organic social media posts only reach about 6% of your target audience, and that number is declining year over year. In fact, a recent study performed by Sotrender found that 80% of ads reach less than 5% of their target audience—and that is for brands utilizing paid promotion on these platforms!
“The majority of ads created in Meta products do not hit their target audiences. As a result, these campaigns are cheaper, mind you, they are much less effective. ”
Knowing this is enough to make any marketing manager apprehensive. Any business, particularly small businesses, simply cannot afford to be throwing away ad dollars or wasting time and effort on organic social media posts when they just aren’t performing. So, I remind you: social media is NOT a marketing strategy. This does not, however, imply that you shouldn’t include social media as part of your complete 360 marketing strategy—you should. In your next campaign, aim to utilize social media as a supplement to your other marketing channels. You’ll be thankful for the well-rounded results and ultimately find more success.
How to expand your marketing strategy beyond social media:
LOOK AT THE FULL PICTURE
It can be easy to get tunnel vision when focusing on a campaign launch date (think: boop! That’s posted, now all my sales will come from this one announcement. False.) You will be able to build a better strategy by taking a step back and looking at the full picture. Consider items such as launch date, surrounding campaign dates, your target audience, and product life. After evaluating these areas, you’ll be able to get a better idea of where to focus your efforts for the best long term results.
PLAN AHEAD
I can’t stress this enough. Actually, I’m pretty sure I mention it in every blog post, and I still insist that I am not beating a dead horse, this horse is very much alive and well. Your marketing campaign does not begin on the day you wish to XYZ (launch a new product, announce an event, promote a sale, etc.). It begins far before the launch date and continues far after. Your goal should be to create excitement around the actual launch date to entice your audience to click and learn more. Aim to draw your audience in with pre-launch teasers. Email blasts, educational blog posts, pre-sale offers, etc. can all help generate buzz around your next launch and ultimately drive success.
LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIENCE
Take a look at the analytics from your last campaign. How did it go? Ask questions such as: Where are most of my clicks coming from? What landing pages on my website are performing best? Which type of copywriting did my audience respond to the most? Once you interpret these questions, for lack of a better term: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (and vice versa). Tweak your efforts in areas that you have not seen favorable results. Also remember that what may have worked in the past, might not work now. Our audience and the methods they use to connect with brands, as well as purchase from brands, is constantly evolving. Don’t be afraid to evolve with them.
TAG, TAG, TAG, and TAG SOME MORE
You might be thinking: Well, where do I find this data? Or, How do I know what my audience is responding to? There are several resources and web integrations that can help you collect data. (Insider secret: most of them are free!) Be sure to utilize UTM’s, a trackable link in bio, and specialized promo codes. These tags and tracking links will help you look back on your work and better understand the customer journey.
Thoughts on this topic? Let me know at kelsey@klmarketingconsulting.com
