In today’s digitally connected world, social media marketing has become a must-have skill for professionals across various industries. For apprentices looking to develop their careers and stand out in a competitive job market, mastering social media marketing can provide significant advantages. In this blog post, we will discuss the reasons why social media marketing is a powerful skill for apprentices and how it can help them succeed in their chosen fields.
social-media-concept-with-smartphone
Enhancing Personal Branding and Networking Opportunities
As an apprentice, establishing a strong personal brand is crucial for attracting potential employers, clients, or business partners. Social media platforms provide an excellent opportunity to showcase your skills, knowledge, and personality. By actively engaging with others in your industry, sharing relevant content, and building a professional online presence, you can increase your visibility and expand your network, which can lead to new opportunities and connections.
Keeping Up with Industry Trends and News
Staying updated on the latest trends, news, and developments in your industry is essential for personal and professional growth. Social media platforms are a treasure trove of real-time information, with industry experts, influencers, and organizations sharing valuable insights and updates. As an apprentice, regularly engaging with social media can help you stay informed and aware of the latest advancements, enabling you to adapt and thrive in a constantly evolving professional landscape. This knowledge not only sets you apart from your peers but also equips you with the information needed to make informed decisions and contribute meaningfully to conversations within your field.
Demonstrating Adaptability and Digital Savvy
In an increasingly digital world, employers value professionals who are adaptable and possess a strong understanding of digital tools and trends. By mastering social media marketing, apprentices demonstrate their digital savvy and willingness to adapt to new technologies. This skill set can make you a more attractive candidate to potential employers and help you stand out among other applicants.
Complementing Traditional Marketing Strategies
Social media marketing can be a powerful addition to traditional marketing strategies, providing apprentices with a well-rounded understanding of both online and offline marketing techniques. This comprehensive knowledge is beneficial when working with clients or employers who require a versatile approach to promoting their products or services. Additionally, social media marketing skills can help apprentices identify creative and innovative ways to integrate online and offline campaigns, maximizing their impact and reach.
Future-Proofing Your Career
As social media continues to grow and evolve, its importance in the business world is only set to increase. By developing social media marketing skills as an apprentice, you are effectively future-proofing your career. Regardless of the industry you choose to work in, the ability to create engaging content, analyze data, and leverage the power of social media will remain a valuable asset in the years to come. By staying ahead of the curve and continuously honing your social media marketing skills, you can ensure that your professional development remains relevant and adaptive to the shifting digital landscape.
Conclusion
Social media marketing is undoubtedly a powerful skill that apprentices should strive to acquire and refine. By mastering this skill, apprentices can enhance their personal branding, expand their professional network, stay informed about industry trends, complement traditional marketing strategies, and future-proof their careers. In an ever-evolving digital world, the ability to harness the power of social media will be an invaluable asset, setting apprentices on a path to success in their chosen fields.
Millions of businesses around the world are using Social Media now more than ever to reach their target audiences, to connect with their customers and to promote their products/services. We can understand why, because in today’s time, Social Media is constantly evolving and is a massive part of our consumer’s lives. Therefore, a good online presence on Social Networks can quickly help businesses reach the maximum number of users possible whilst also open up different advertising opportunities.
There are thousands of platforms, each with different features and rules, but there are some basic tips and guidelines you can follow to develop a good use of social media in your digital marketing strategy. Even if you aren’t a business owner, if you have a passion for social media and are keen to understand and grow your knowledge of it, this will be a useful read to help you knuckle down on the basics.
We’ve rounded up a list of key do’s and don’ts when using social media as part of your digital marketing strategy and explained why they are important.
1. DO identify your brand voice:
Understanding how you want your brand to be perceived online is important and is determined by how formal or informal you want your online presence to be. This will largely depend on your target audience and what kind of language or tone they would expect. For instance, if you manage social media for a makeup brand which mainly aims to market their products towards younger demographics, then you may decide to use more informal language, fun emoticons and take part in viral trends. However, if you’re managing social media for engineering firm, you may decide to have more educational content and a more professional tone within your content.
2. DON’T use the same content across all social media networks:
Consistent branding and tone of voice across all social media networks is important. However, recycling the same content and using it across all of your brand’s social networks is bad practice. This is because each social media platform is different and as such will have different set of guidelines which are considered ‘best practice’. We suggest using original content and messaging for each platform but keeping a consistent theme throughout. For example, if you are promoting ‘50% off all Beauty lines’ then it could be a good idea to have different product images on your Instagram and Facebook with a slightly different caption.
3. DO capitalise on trends:
The best part about social media is that there is almost always a viral trend or conversation which could be relevant for your brand to join in on. It is important for all businesses to pay attention to trending content which appeals to the audience they’re trying to reach and to take part in it, if possible. Captalising on these trends is key and can help push your content to even more users than usual and prompt them to engage with it.
A good example of a brand capitalising on trends is the popular beauty brand – Fenty Beauty. As a makeup brand, the main aim of their social media strategy is to convince customers to purchase and try their products. A popular type of content on TikTok is tutorials. Fenty Beauty utilise TikTok to post makeup tutorials showcase new products and how they apply and wear throughout the day. This has proven to be an effective content strategy for the brand as they tend to see high levels of engagement and build up a lot of positivity around their products.
4. DON’T use poor spelling and grammar within your content:
Human error is normal. However, it is important to take precautions to avoid your brand putting out content or copy with grammar mistakes and spelling errors because it reduces your credibility and looks unprofessional. To avoid this, it is a good idea to create your social media updates offline first in a document or spreadsheet. That way, you are able to proofread them before posting online for your followers to see. There are numerous tools which could be helpful in automating this process and add that extra layer of protection. For example, Grammarly is a great content marketing tool because it also proofreads your copy but also allows you to set your writing goals based on the type of writing you do, making it a useful tool for copy.
5. DOset objectives:
Going viral on Instagram and TikTok is great for your brand. However, it is important you set out some key short term and long term objectives to understand what your business wants to achieve from your social media strategy. It is good to think ahead and be aware of what you want to do with the engagement you see from your followers.
For example, in terms of potential short term objectives for a clothing brand, you could be having a flash sale and as such, would want to focus on using social media to boost sales. In terms of longer term objectives, as part of your digital marketing strategy you may want to use social media to build up awareness and establish yourself as a credible brand with an engaging online presence.
6. DON’T excessively use Hashtags:
A common misconception about social media platforms, in particular Instagram, is that using a #hastag with each sentence will push your content out more. This could not be further from the truth. Excessive use of #Hashtags is one of the most unprofessional and irritating practices and its worth avoiding. Using appropriate hashtags connects your post to related posts but it should be used, within reason, for this purpose only. Instagram’s algorithm has changed over the years and posts with too many hashtags actually seem to be less favoured by the platform and by audiences.
This is where understanding each platform and what works is important. Research how many hashtags are appropriate to include in posts on different social media platforms and use this information to influence your decision. Opting for less but niche hashtags instead of several generic ones is that it will be more likely to help you reach your desired audience and will result in more exposure.
Conclusion:
To conclude, we hope this gave you some insight into 6 do’s and don’ts when using social media in digital marketing. Incorporating social media into your digital marketing strategy is key for a successful online presence and will help you boost this in a productive and effective way.
Pursuing a Digital Marketing Level 3 Apprenticeship would introduce you to the basics of using Social Media as part of a digital marketing strategy and also help you kick-start your career within the industry that is constantly growing.
More information on this apprenticeship can be found here. Alternatively, check out our range of useful articles and blog posts here to find a suitable Digital apprenticeship for you.
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Social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram are excellent ways to keep in touch with a wide audience and promote the latest offers and initiatives for a business. Included below are tips & guidelines to help you maintain a consistent quality of publishing across your social channels, optimising three of their main elements.
Learners pursuing a Level 3 Digital Marketing Apprenticeship will find these tips especially useful.
The Power of a Good Caption
A good caption can increase your engagement rate in big ways. A well-written caption will get users to spend more time looking at your post, and it will also encourage them to interact with the post by liking, commenting, or sharing. Remember you have only 3 seconds to grab their attention!
Show Your Brand’s Personality & Tone of Voice – No one likes a dry, boring caption. Instead, spice it up and add some humour; let your brand’s personality shine through because that’s what will get people to engage with your posts (resulting in a more organic Instagram following).
Add Context – Your caption should be relevant to your photo, adding some context to help your followers understand exactly what the picture is about and why they should care.
Share Inspiration – One of the biggest reasons people use social media is to find a little inspiration to get them through their day — so give them that. Take a photo of a morning cup of coffee with a nice breakfast and post it early to inspire your followers and set them up for the day.
Be Relatable – Make a point to understand your target audience so you can relate to them.
Educate Your Followers – Help your followers learn something new about the world; share captions with interesting information that’s relevant to your hotel, the location, your processes or services.
Include a CTA – In your caption, ask your followers to do something — leave a comment, tag a friend, or go to the link in your bio (Instagram-specific). A call-to-action is an easy way to get a little more mileage and engagement from your captions.
Using Hashtags #
Hashtags play an important role in discovering the brand,
regardless if someone searches specifically for the brand name, other hashtags
can aid in getting the important content out there.
Hashtags Do’s:
Hashtags should primarily be used on Twitter and Instagram (Facebook does not support discoverability via hashtags in the same way the other platforms do).
Numbers are allowed in hashtags. However, spaces and special characters, like $ or %, won’t work. The ideal number of hashtags for Instagram captions is 5-10, and Twitter is 3-4.
The ideal hashtag length is around 11 characters but generally stick to hashtags less than 24 characters long.
Instagram favours the use of # that have less than 250k posts, avoid # with over 250k posts on them.
Hashtags Don’ts:
You want to avoid hashtags that are overly saturated or underused. (Over 250k/Under 100).
Don’t add hashtags that are not relevant to your content or too broad eg #BeHappy #Socute #Love etc.
Don’t use # you haven’t researched and checked what content comes up when you type them.
Why is photography important?
Photography has a critical role to play in conveying what we mean across each of our brands and in uniting our social execution around a single brand. Our imagery should be inviting and aspirational. It should have a clear sense of place, as well as a sense of humanity so that potential guests can imagine themselves in each unique destination. Regardless of the photography source, the photography we use should tell a story and document the most memorable elements of the guest’s experience.
Below are some best practices on how to use photography in your social media handles:
Use your mobile device! One of our greatest tools, smartphones can take pictures from anywhere and, when used correctly, can produce photos with quality sufficient for social media.
Embrace negative space -“Negative space” simply refers to the areas around and between the subjects of an image –and it can take a photo from “good” to “great.” Negative space also gives us the ability to overlay copy on top of the image, without overlapping focal points.
Find different perspectives -Taking photos from a unique, unexpected angle can make them more memorable – it tends to create an illusion of depth or height with the subjects. It is recommended to use as much natural light as possible.
Seek out moments of accentuated lighting, such as early morning and late afternoon (“Golden hour”). Sunset and sunrise provide the best light to capture beautiful spots like rooftop bars, outdoor terraces or pools. Depending on the direction of the light, it lends itself well to revealing textures, shape and dimensionality which we would otherwise miss in the photograph.
Following these tips, you will be able to produce better quality content on your Social Media handles and demonstrate this competency if you have enrolled in a Level 3 Digital Marketing Apprenticeship! Would you like more tips? Why not read more helpful articles on digital marketing over on our blog?
You can also subscribe to our Newsletter on our Social Media handles below:
Social media has become an essential tool for businesses of all sizes and industries. Not only can it be used to connect with customers and promote products or services, but it can also provide valuable insights into industry trends and consumer behavior. By keeping an eye on social media trends, businesses can improve their marketing strategies, product development, and overall operations.
New trends can be found across all social media
Where to start
One way that businesses can use social media trends to improve their operations is by monitoring customer sentiment. Social media platforms provide an unprecedented level of access to customer feedback, and businesses can use this data to gain insights into what their customers are saying about their products or services. By monitoring sentiment on social media platforms, businesses can identify areas where they need to improve and make changes accordingly.
Another way that businesses can use social media trends to improve their operations is by identifying new opportunities. Social media platforms are constantly evolving, and new features and functionalities are added regularly. By keeping an eye on new developments, businesses can identify new opportunities to reach their target audience or improve their products or services. For example, the rise of video content on social media platforms has led to an increase in the use of video in marketing campaigns, which can be a powerful way to reach and engage with customers.
Social media trends can also be used to improve business marketing strategies. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat are all popular among younger audiences, and businesses can use these platforms to reach these audiences with targeted marketing campaigns. Additionally, social media analytics tools can be used to track the performance of marketing campaigns and identify which strategies are most effective.
Stay up to date
Social media analytics
Businesses can also use social media trends to improve their products and services. By monitoring conversations on social media platforms, businesses can identify areas where their products or services are falling short or where there is a gap in the market. This information can then be used to inform product development or to identify opportunities to expand into new markets.
Social media trends can also be used to improve customer service. Many customers now turn to social media platforms to voice their complaints or ask for help. By monitoring social media platforms, businesses can identify issues and respond to them quickly, preventing negative sentiment from spreading.
Always keep monitoring your platforms
However, it is important to keep in mind that social media trends are constantly evolving, and what works today may not work tomorrow. Businesses need to be proactive in monitoring and adapting to these trends in order to stay ahead of the curve. This requires dedicating resources to social media monitoring, such as hiring a social media specialist or investing in analytics tools.
In conclusion, social media trends can be a valuable tool for businesses looking to improve their operations, marketing strategies, products, and services. By keeping an eye on social media trends, businesses can gain valuable insights into customer sentiment, identify new opportunities, and make data-driven decisions. However, businesses need to be proactive in monitoring and adapting to these trends in order to stay ahead of the curve. With the right approach, social media can be an invaluable resource for businesses looking to improve their bottom line.
Head to ApprentceTips.com to find more useful articles, and apply to our level 3 marketing apprenticeship to kick start your career.
Are you starting out your career in paid social advertising and are daunted by the complex nuances of social media? Worry no longer, read this guide to find out how to smash your advertising.
Colleagues working on a marketing strategy
Is Paid social advertising worth it?
Paid Social advertising are sponsored ads that run on social media. Brands pay money to run these ads on these platforms to reach users specific to their objective and target audience.
By using Paid Social advertising, it gives your brand a guaranteed reach as you’re essentially paying for your target audience’s attention. Through paid social, you can set up specific target audiences to best accompany the objective of your campaign whilst supporting your organic social media campaigns long-term.
5 key steps into running a successful paid social campaign
1. Pick the right social media platforms to run your ads on
There are so many social media networks to choose from,
however choosing the right platform to advertise your ads on can be tricky.
Facebook/Instagram is one of the most used social media
platforms with over 2 billion active users, which makes this platform great for
awareness and creating a brand presence. This accompanied with its audience
targeting and various content placements make this a great starter platform!
Snapchat, a Gen-Z dominated app, is where users post and
engage with short-form videos which makes it perfect to advertise using the
Snap Ads/Commercials placements. Snapchat also offers Filters/AR Lens which
brands can use to incorporate their business.
Twitter, the platform for conversation around topics, can be
great when using keyword targeting as this puts your ads within the key
conversations taking place in real time.
Lastly is TikTok, which although is a new platform, it has
risen in the ranks of social media popularity tenfold! As this is also a Gen-Z
dominated app, brands can instantly connect with the next generation of
consumers with trending short-form videos which makes it great at driving
awareness and conversions.
2. What is the objective of your campaign?
To consider the objective of your campaign, first you need to decide what your business goals are.
Awareness – shows your ads to people who are most likely to remember them
Engagement – gets more video views, messages, or post engagement
Traffic – sends people to an online destination such as a website or app
Leads – collects leads for your brand
App Promotion – find new people to install your app and continue to use it
Purchases – find people who are likely to purchase your products or services
3. What KPIs will you be measuring for success?
A key performance indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that is used track success. Some options to measure are:
Cost-per-Thousand Impressions (CPM) is the amount you pay for every 1,000 impressions your ad receives.
Cost-per-Click (CPC) is the actual price you pay a publisher every time an online user clicks on your ad.
Click-Through-Rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click on your ad/url over the number of impressions made.
View-Through-Rate (VTR) is the percentage of completed views of a skippable ad over the number of initial impressions.
4. What are the best creatives and copy for this campaign?
Take some time to research the perfect creatives and copy for your ads. By using Facebook Ad Library, you can spend some time browsing other ads that your competitors may be running but make sure to be original and not to copy! Take note of what creatives jump out at you, and how ‘good’ ads speak to their customers.
5.Track your paid social campaign with analytics
Lastly, tracking your paid social analytics really determines if your campaigns was a success or not. By using the platforms ad reporting tool, you can deep-drive into your campaign’s performance and understand whether you saw an ROI for your campaigns and opportunities to optimise future campaigns.
Now it’s time to try it yourself!
Remember paid social, like a lot of other marketing channels, takes time and practice so don’t worry if you don’t see results the first time. There’s so much to learn so make sure you keep up to date with industry news and sign up to our newsletter!
Are you a Digital Marketing Apprentice, or thinking about a future apprenticeship in Digital Marketing? If you have answered yes, this is the social media guide for you.
HOW TO CREATE ENGAGING CONTENT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
Are you a Digital Marketing Apprentice, or thinking about a future apprenticeship in Digital Marketing? If you have answered yes, this is the social media guide for you.
As a digital marketing apprentice, your course will focus on the instructional elements of how to plan social media. This will include the following subjects- content planning, what social networks to use, how to Boost social Posts using Paid media and Influencer marketing. To find out more about Digital Marketing Apprenticeship course structures please visit Digital Apprenticeships Archives – ApprenticeTips.com
This guide will focus on what goes in the social posts and how to create engaging content for your followers and fans.
YOUR SOCIAL IMAGERY SHOULD HIGHLIGHT YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE.
Use a high-resolution image
Make sure your image is not copyrighted by another owner.
Ensure your image is the right shape for the platform you are using, 1080×1080 pixels is ideal for Facebook and Instagram.
TOP TIPS FOR WRITING CONTENT
Make sure your text is engaging and fun (If appropriate)
Include a Call to Action in your post
Don’t be afraid to ask for likes and comments
Create content around holidays and events
Do not post anything that may cause offence
If you are using Instagram, use Hashtags that link to your product or service, and generate audience. – Top Tip – You could use Google Keyword planning to help decide upon Hashtags.
Starting your career in Paid Social advertising? Read this and you’ll be an expert in no time.
What is Paid Social advertising?
Paid social advertising, in simple terms, refers to social media ads. Brands pay money to these platforms and in return have their advertisements displayed to users, depending on their target audience.
How to create a Social Media ad
Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning a social campaign:
Which social platform will you run with?
Starting with Facebook/Instagram/Meta – this is one
of the most popular social media platforms, with almost 2 billion daily active
users. This makes your presence on here essential! The optimisation and
targeting tools that the platform encompasses set it apart from other
platforms.
Next up is Twitter, a platform where people are constantly
sharing opinions around trending topics. This makes it extremely valuable,
especially when using keyword targeting – which places your ads throughout those
conversations, gaining reach beyond your audience.
TikTok – the new platform that continues to grow with popularity. Businesses are really able to show their brand personality and increase positive reputation through trending content. The app holds great purchase and awareness influence.
Another option is Snapchat, where users share and engage with short form videos, capturing the younger demographic. However, their main USP is the ability to incorporate AR lenses to promote your business.
Finally, we have Pinterest. A platform based
around inspiration (cooking, fashion, DIY) – the bookmarking style design of
the app means ads sit seamlessly and naturally within content. It’s a great
place for people to discover, curate and purchase.
HubSpot Marketing video
What objective will you choose for your social campaign?
Before
you chose your objective, consider what your business goals are!
Awareness
= reach the
largest amount of people who are most likely to remember your ad
Traffic
= increase
traffic to an online destination
Engagement
= find people
more likely to engage with your online business and take desired actions
Leads
= collect leads
for your business via messages, phone calls or sign ups
App
promotion = get
people to install or take a specific action within your app
Sales
= find people likely
to purchase your goods or services
Now it’s time for you to practice – remember practice makes perfect. There’s so much more to learn so make sure you’re keeping up to date with industry news and sign up to our newsletter!
If you want to start a lucrative, versatile career with lots of transferable skills and exciting job opportunities – a career in social media marketing is a promising route to pursue. This article will cover social media marketing as a career and the do’s and don’ts to follow if you’d like to move into the industry.
What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing is a type of marketing and advertising that is carried out through digital communications only in order to sell or promote a product or service. Social media marketing can be split into two parts, organic and paid. Each with their different strategies for growth, tools and platforms that can be used. An example of an organic social media marketing tactic could be a short-form content strategy. On the paid side, an example could be a Facebook ad campaign.
Companies across lots of industries in multiple sectors use social media marketing tactics to provide leads and boost revenue. In light of the recent boost in the use of digital tools, apps and services, lots of companies notably in the tech industry are in need of a new generation of social media marketers Gen Z and millennial audience knowledge of references and trends to market their products.
A variety of specialisms in social media marketing are currently on the rise including short-form content marketing and virtual reality marketing. After gaining work experience in one or multiple social media marketing specialisms, it’s possible to transfer to different industries and access a variety of working roles with competitive salaries.
DO: Keep up with current trends
Social media is constantly changing. The most popular apps and the trends and styles of posting on each can change weekly or even daily in the short-form video space. Social media apps like Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat are constantly releasing new features that social media marketers can use to their advantage so keeping up to date with these is essential for long-term success.
DON’T: Dismiss new apps and tools in the early stages
With TikTok’s recent boom, it’s now one of the most visited apps globally with a user base of 1 billion. 5 years ago, TikTok was practically unknown amongst professional industries and branded as a children’s dancing app. Now companies are rushing to hire social media marketers and TikTok experts to succeed on the successful platform.
DO: Start building your own presence online
Although not essential to land a role in social media marketing, if you’re applying for your first role especially an online presence will help tremendously. A following online on a personal account acts almost as a portfolio that job applicants can show to employers, physically proving they’ve got the marketing skills to create a successful social media profile and maintain it over time. Perhaps in your spare time you’re a fabulous cook or a fashion mogul, whatever it is there’s a space for you on social media to build a following and hone your craft.
If you don’t have this or don’t want to appear in front of cam, you could create a portfolio of social media strategies and post examples that you’ve planned/ designed yourself.
DON’T: Niche down too much into one area
It’s great if you’re an expert in a niche field like short-form or B2B social media platforms like LinkedIn, but try and broaden your horizons as much as you can. To echo above, social media trends are always changing and what’s successful and popular now can change quickly. In order to keep progressing your career and going for promotions, get familiar with as many social media platforms and styles of content as you can so you’re prepared to showcase a broad skill-set when you need to.
DO: Embrace creativity
Employers are looking for creative and dynamic social media managers, execs, specialists and even entire teams to transform their social media strategies. Stand out from the crowd by getting creative and pushing yourself to try new things. Perhaps it’s an out-there trend or a new video style, keep evolving your style and embracing big ideas.
DO: Consider getting started with an apprenticeship
If you’re looking to transition into the social media marketing space, a great place to start could be a digital marketing apprenticeship. Across the UK, lots of companies are offering Level 3 digital marketing apprenticeship courses – allowing apprentices to learn on the job and gain a qualification at the same time. Level 3 digital marketing courses cover a broad range of digital marketing techniques over 18 months – including an essential module on social media marketing allowing apprentices to build on a broad range of digital marketing must-have skills. Having the chance to learn and implement social media strategies in real-time in a real workplace is a fantastic chance to hone your craft and gain invaluable work experience needed to progress in the industry.
A career in social media marketing is an exciting prospect and one that is achievable and accessible with some practical experience and passion for what you do. For more information on social media marketing, click here
The rise of social media has also been fueled by the growing
use of social media for marketing and advertising, with businesses now able to
reach a wide range of consumers at a fraction of the cost of traditional media.
Additionally, social media has allowed businesses to engage with their customers
in more meaningful ways, enabling them to build relationships and loyalty.
Over the last 5 years, social media has grown at an
unprecedented rate and is now a part of everyday life for millions of people
around the world. According to Statistica, there are now over 3.8 billion
active social media users worldwide, which is an increase of 9% compared to
2020.
In the last 5 years, many of the biggest social media
platforms have seen exponential growth, with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
all experiencing significant increases in their user bases. This growth has
been driven by the increasing popularity of smartphones and mobile devices,
which have made it easier than ever for people to access social media on the
go.
In the last 5 years, social media has also become an
increasingly important platform for businesses. Social media marketing is now
an integral part of any company’s marketing strategy, and businesses are
increasingly turning to social media to reach their target audience and promote
their brand.
Overall, social media is bigger than ever and is continuing
to grow with no signs of slowing down. As more and more people turn to social
media for news, entertainment, connection, and communication, there is no doubt
that it is here to stay and will continue to be an important part of our lives.
The top 10 Social Media Trends for 2023:
1. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality: Augmented reality
(AR) and virtual reality (VR) will continue to grow in popularity and be used
in social media applications.
2. Chatbots: Chatbots will become increasingly useful in
customer service, giving users the ability to find information quickly and
efficiently.
3. Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence (AI)
will become more commonplace and be used to help with tasks such as sentiment
analysis, content curation, and more.
4. Micro-Influencers: Micro-influencers have been growing in
popularity in recent years and this trend is expected to continue.
5. Live Streaming: Live streaming will continue to be popular,
with people using it for everything from live events to product demos.
6. User-Generated Content: User-generated content will
become increasingly important in social media marketing, as it is seen as more
authentic and trustworthy.
7. Social Commerce: Social commerce will grow in popularity,
as more businesses use social media to drive sales.
8. Influencer Marketing: Influencer marketing will remain
popular, as brands look to influencers to help them reach new audiences.
9. Stories: Stories will continue to be popular, as they
offer an engaging and immersive way for users to experience content.
10. Advertising: Advertising will continue to play a large
role in social media, as companies look to reach users more effectively.
The predicted rise of social media in the next 5 years will be remarkable. Social networks will become more sophisticated in their user experience, better connected to AI and machine learning, and more integrated into everyday life. With the development of 5G, the ability for social media platforms to integrate new features and technologies will expand, leading to an even more immersive, interactive, and engaging user experience. We will also see an increased focus on personalization and privacy, as well as increased use of data to create more targeted and meaningful user experiences. Finally, we can expect to see a significant rise in the use of social media for marketing purposes as well as a continued rise in the use of influencers to help promote products and services. To keep up to date with the latest social media trends subscribe to our newsletter or follow our social media platforms.
Today more than ever, having a social media presence is necessary. Not only do customers expect it, but social media marketing can also help you increase sales. It is also a great tool for learning about your target audience and industry demands.
Social media marketing is an inexpensive, yet effective, way of reaching customers across a range of platforms. With organic social media marketing, you get to understand your followers and find more unique and more effective ways of promoting your brand. In this article, we will discuss the do’s and don’ts of marketing on social media. This will allow you to create an effective and long-term social media strategy even with a limited budget.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing involves using platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and TikTok to effectively reach a wider audience and communicate with outstanding or potential customers.
An effective social media strategy will humanize your brand, drive traffic to your website and establish a reputation that competitors can’t ignore. Depending on your goals, you can also generate leads and sales. Some small businesses even will use social media as their main source of customer service. Meaning that their consumers can message them directly to resolve any issues. There is a range of possibilities on what social media can do for businesses and below are a few tips on the do’s and don’ts of social media marketing.
Social Media Marketing- The Do’s and Don’ts
The Do’s of Social Media Marketing
Do post on social media consistently
A common mistake businesses make when executing their social media strategy is to start all guns blazing and start publishing with an intense posting routine, just to then quickly lose interest and either stop posting as regularly or at all in that matter. This is a recipe for disaster and highlights the need for a posting schedule.
Bulk planning content, to then schedule said posts, makes publishing social media posts a breeze, whilst avoiding the issue of forgetting to post. Tools like Hootsuite and Buffer are recommended as you can schedule posts months in advance. With scheduling tools like these, you have no excuse not to have a stream of regularly published content.
Do find a sustainable publishing frequency
Following on from my previous point, finding a sustainable and effective publishing frequency is perhaps one of the most important aspects of building a brand on social media. There is no rule that the algorithm favours, so you should simply commit to a frequency that you can uphold and sustain long-term.
Do have fun with social media
There is a fine line between business and personal humour when it comes to social media, and it is crucial that businesses get creative. You need a good connotation associated with your brand. Spicing up your social channels by using inoffensive, yet humourous captions or memes, can not only help increase engagement but also your retention rate.
Do use a range of Media
Social media is forever growing. It is imperative that your brand keeps up with the times and this should reflect in your content. Using the same old 3:4 aspect ratio image can get repetitive and may even be missed by your followers. Hence why it is important to involve some degree of variation in your feed.
Video media is increasing in popularity and platforms like TikTok have already taken advantage of this. Because of the amazing interaction, video media has received, other social platforms like Facebook and Instagram and integrated video media wherever they can. For example, Instagram has now favoured reels and they have increased the number of seconds reels and stories can be.
This is why it is so important for your business to produce unique and creative content in a range of media formats.
Do use the right social platform
There are numerous social media platforms available for businesses to use, but just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Here are the main considerations you should think about for each platform:
Facebook:
This platform alone has 2.11 billion users, which means it is a very popular platform for businesses to appear on. Facebook allows businesses to do a range of things activities like, posting a range of media, scheduling posts, setting up a Facebook Shop, create events and incorporating paid advertising. When determining whether or not to be on this platform, you need to think of where your target audience is, because if they’re not on Facebook, chances are you’ll be fighting a losing battle.
Instagram:
Instagram is an aesthetically pleasing platform. Users are encouraged to use a range of media to produce and publish good-looking content. Most businesses are on Instagram as it is a great platform to connect with consumers as well as other businesses. Collaborations and influencer marketing are often seen on this channel. This form of social media marketing has proven beneficial for companies, especially on Instagram. Instagram allows users to post reels, images and stories, set up a shop (linking to their Facebook one) and set up paid campaigns.
Twitter:
This platform is designed to help connect like-minded people to allow them to share thoughts and feelings with a wider audience. Twitter allows users to discover stories regarding world events and news, follow other businesses and profiles and post opinions and relevant information. The platform is a very fast platform and for businesses, it is very easy to get lost. However, with the right strategy, Twitter can be proven very beneficial for brand recognition and customer service.
TikTok:
TikTok is a short-form, video-sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos, on any topic. It is the fastest-growing social media platform ever and it is unlikely that you won’t find competitors there. As a result of TikToks’ clever algorithm, it is the easiest platform to grow a presence on. Also, brands have said they see much more engagement on TikTok compared to other platforms.
This doesn’t mean it’s right for you. You can only include one link on TikTok and that is in your bio. This means actually getting people from the platform to your website is more difficult than normal. TikTok does allow you to run paid ads, which gives you the opportunity to share a page or for consumers to buy directly from the ad. TikTok is very beneficial for brand recognition, but maybe not so much for sales. This is something you will have to consider when choosing to be on the platform or not.
Social Media Marketing
The Don’ts of Social Media Marketing
Don’t make grammar or spelling mistakes
Successful businesses, with a large social following, will always get a second pair of eyes to look over work before publishing. Grammar or spelling mistakes, take away from the users’ experience and does not prove your brand to be reputable.
Don’t give in to trolls
With a rise in following, businesses are bound to run into trolls. Trolls post inflammatory content with the sole aim to get a rise out of the account. Instead of giving them what they want, you should remain professional and report the account. You do not want to humour these kinds of comments. This will only encourage more and dampen your brand reputation.
Don’t forget about your stories
Stories are there to keep your brand at the top of your follower’s minds. If you do not utilise stories fully, you are not taking full advantage of the tools you have. Stories should be used to share announcements, special events, industry information or product information. They should be interactive and keep within the company’s brand.
Don’t forget your target audience
When bulk planning content, it is imperative to remember who you are catering your content towards. If you lose sight of this, you will lose engagement and retention. Post interactive stories and write open captions so that your followers have the chance to interact with your brand. Promote user-generated content, run competitions and create hashtags to encourage users to talk about your brand, because after all, they are the most important people in this scenario.
