Social Media Marketing Strategies in 2021 and Beyond

By Evan Bleker

Social media helps brands to increase awareness of their products and services among their target audiences. Now the question is, how do you make it work? Is there a strategy that will give a real return on investment? I am happy to tell you that it still works but first, let’s talk about the basics of social media marketing.

What is social media marketing? 

Social media marketing refers to a marketing campaign designed to spread information or ideas about a particular product or service using social media platforms. 

5 Most Influential Social Media Platforms

Your choice of social media platform should depend on who you want to target. Here are the most effective social media marketing platforms that you can use to help you achieve your goals.

Facebook

Approximately 2.89 billion monthly active users are on Facebook as of the second quarter of 2021. Facebook is the world’s most popular social media network.

Twitter

The daily active user base of Twitter is 199 million based on reports as of the first quarter of 2021. 

Instagram

As of 2021, Instagram has 1.074 billion monthly active users. The photo-sharing site is popular among teens and has grown into one of the world’s most popular social media sites. 

LinkedIn

Industry experts share content and news on LinkedIn, which is a social networking site for professionals. Having 744+ million members makes this a perfect place to create an authoritative presence in the industry.

Pinterest 

With Pinterest, users can find ideas and inspiration for food, fashion, home décor, and any other interest they may have. As of the second quarter of 2021, Pinterest has 454 million monthly active users. 

The 5 Most Important Social Media Marketing Techniques in 2021

Determine Your Most Important Social Media Marketing Goals 

A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder- Thomas Carlyle

Goals help you determine the direction you are heading and to will get there. Once you understand the purpose of your social media marketing campaign, you can focus on taking the necessary steps to achieve your goals. Based on your current business trajectory, what are your most important business goals? Make a list of your business goals to help you determine what you want to accomplish from your marketing efforts.  

Create More Value By Sharing Helpful Content 

Once you determine your most important goals, create a road map on how to accomplish your goals. What are the things that you should do to achieve those goals? For example, if your goal is to establish brand awareness, you could start by sharing helpful content related to your business on your social media accounts.

When you share stories and articles that your audience will love, you are giving them value. In today’s business world, those that offer the most value to their customers are considered authorities in their fields. Another benefit of sharing other people’s content is that you save time to create new content. You can then use this time to engage with your audience more frequently by answering their questions and managing their comments on social media.

Determine Your Key Metrics 

Businesses need a way to determine if they are on the right path towards achieving their goals. Establish the most important key performance indicators right away to assess whether you are on track or not. See this list of social media marketing metrics for ideas and inspiration.

Engagement is the amount of interaction you receive from your audience. This data is based on the number of likes, comments, and shares you receive when sharing content with your followers.

Social Traffic is traffic to your website that originates through your social media accounts. An excellent example of this is someone clicking your link on Facebook and getting redirected to your website.

Reach represents the total number of users who have viewed your content on a particular social media platform. 

Volume is the number of social media users discussing your brand or content.

Sentiment reveals the emotions and opinions your brand elicits on social media from customers. 

Social Conversation is the number of customers who purchase or sign up for something you wanted them to do, like downloading your ebook or subscribing to your email list. This conversion happened because your customer found your website by clicking a link on your social media post. 

Understand Your Social Media Audience

Identifying an unmet need in your audience will help you determine what content will appeal to them. Study your audience, and you will be able to use the appropriate tone of voice and get the most engagement from them. It is easier for your customers to trust you if they know you understand their problems. It is therefore essential that you tell them that you know what they are going through. 

To show that you understand their pain point, describe what the problem is. Describe your customers’ issues in the language they use. Even though it may seem like a waste of time, this is, in fact, essential so they can reflect on their own experiences and realize they do need your product or service to resolve their issue.

Determine the Right Social Media Networks for Your Audience

Select a social media platform based on the type of business and the audience you want to reach. The following are factors to consider why you should choose the right platform.

Growing your business requires the right platform. Platforms that are right for your business have people with compatible interests, needs, and conditions that make them interested in what you have to offer. 

Make the most of your available resources. Use the right platform for your business so you can maximize your time and money spent on your marketing efforts. Investing your time and finances in the wrong channel will drain you of your energy and deplete your working capital. Your marketing success depends on your ability to target the right social media audience.    

Investigate How Your Competitors Approach Social Media

You can draw inspiration from your competitors’ social media presence. Find out what they did right and use that knowledge to improve your campaign. Also, utilizing this information, you can identify any weak social media strategies and offer better alternatives.  

5 Highly Successful Campaigns To Learn From

Coca-Cola’s User-Generated Content

Image credit: cocacolacompany.com Share A Coke

What is user-generated content?

User-generated content consists of any digital media, including images, video, text, and audio, uploaded by users to online platforms such as social media. You get content and, at the same time, boost engagement from real people using your brand. Over the past few years, user-generated content campaigns have begun to get attention, primarily because they drive exceptionally targeted traffic to websites.

Coca-Cola used user-generated content to boost engagement for its Share a Coke campaign. The campaign involved changing the packaging of Coca-Cola bottles to say, “Share a Coke with… and a famous name. The campaign was so successful that Coca-Cola printed millions of bottles with 150 most popular names.

Other countries launched their versions of the campaign due to its success. Coca-Cola encouraged consumers to share pictures on social media with the #Shareacoke hashtag to promote the campaign. This prompted 235,000 tweets from fans using the #ShareaCoke hashtag.

Key Takeaway: 

User-generated content can help build brand awareness and show customers they are part of the process rather than outsiders. By leveraging user-generated content, brands can boost loyalty and customer engagement. 

Support a Cause Campaign: Dove’s Campaign For Real Beauty

Image credit: Dove’s Twitter account

Supporting a cause improves one’s well-being. Studies have shown that giving can help combat stress, anxiety, and depression and improve mental and emotional well-being and self-confidence. It is also beneficial for your business to get involved with a cause. According to a study, 87% of customers purchase a product because it supports a cause that matters to them. 

A positive association with your brand, one that goes beyond simply making money, can boost its image. In this way, you establish warmth towards your name. Brand warmth is the impression you give your customers, like being authentic and acting as a force of good.

Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign was launched in 2004 propelled a global conversation around society’s beauty standards. The Dove campaign addressed the never-ending portrayal of unrealistic beauty standards, restricting our definition of beauty. The campaign embraced women’s differences and asserted that physical appearance should provide confidence rather than cause anxiety. Due to their efforts on this advertisement, Dove won two ad awards and increased sales to $4 billion from $2 billion when the campaign started.

Key Takeaway:

Position your business as a reliable and ethical company. Take part in a cause that aligns with your company’s vision and values. A business connected with a social cause has a significant impact on the community. As a result, your brand becomes indispensable, allowing you to promote your brand in the process. 

 

Develop a Strong Brand Voice: Calm Meditation App

Image credit: @calm Twitter

Calm is a meditation and sleep application. The company posts content on motivation and mindfulness. Throughout its Twitter and website, the company remains consistent with its message.  

Social media is an effective tool for increasing your brand’s visibility. Establish a unique message for your brand to increase recognition online and offline. Having a consistent message across all platforms online is vital because it makes sure that your brand stands out. It fosters a strong brand identity that creates a cohesive customer experience for existing customers and potential clients. 

Ways to find your brand’s voice

Decide on your brand’s purpose and vision. Start by aligning your message with your vision and purpose. A strong brand voice must be a reflection of your company’s core beliefs. Knowing your purpose and objectives will also assist you in identifying the right customers for your products and services. Answer the following information to identify your brand’s message:

Question 1: What is your brand’s message? 

Provide a clear message about why your brand exists. Make it very clear and relevant to your target audience to catch their attention. Here are a few brand messages that you may be able to use as inspiration for your message:

• Authenticity

• Diversity

• Providing best-in-class service

• Doing the right thing at all times

• An environment conducive to work-life balance

Question 2: How does your brand impact people’s lives?

As a business, your ability to impact your customers emotionally determines your success. The way you make your customers feel directly correlates with your business’s success. Establish a positive connection between your brand and your customers, so they will have a more enjoyable experience as they do business with you.

Question 3: What is your brand’s tone of voice? 

A brand’s tone of voice is the identity and emotional appeal embedded in your company’s communications to your audience. It includes the words you use, your writing style, and how you conveyed your message emotionally. Echo the desires of your customers in your brand’s voice to strengthen your message. Your goal is to get more leads by relating to your customers. When you effectively communicate your 

Key Takeaway:

Establish yourself as someone who supports a worthy cause, and you will see your company’s value grow over time. If you can relate emotionally to your customers, they are more likely to remember your business.

Video and Entertaining Content Combination: Dear Kitten by Friskies and Buzzfeed

Image credit: BuzzFeedVideo YouTube channel

Friskies and Buzzfeed teamed up to create a phenomenal social media campaign called “Dear Kitten.” The campaign featured an older cat offering advice to a kitten. As of today, the advertisement has been viewed 32.3 million times. The video has also been shared on several occasions and has received outstanding approval from viewers. Friskies was only mentioned at the end of the commercial because the ad focused solely on amusing its audience, which led to greater popularity for the company.  

Key Takeaway

Produce content that is both entertaining and emotionally engaging. People have a few more reasons for sharing content on social media. You can use this inner motivation to increase the impact of your content and gain more exposure for your business. Here are the most popular reasons why people share content online:

To provide others with information that is entertaining and valuable.

The reason people share content with their colleagues, friends, and family members is because it will make their lives better. Specifically, entertaining information is shared because it will help people de-stress, make their friends laugh, and bring change to their lives. 

We share content that mirrors ideas we identify with 

We share information that says about who you are. We share information because we agree with the details provided according to our beliefs, interests, and hopes.

It is essential to identify with your target audience correctly. To understand how they feel and think about a specific issue. This will enable you to produce content that draws their interest and conveys an idea that resonates with them. Consequently, more people will spread your content since people enjoy sharing content that offers them a way to express themselves. 

Strengthening and nurturing human connections

Have you noticed the things that get shared on social media? Any information shared through social media has an element of enhancing our social connections. In some ways, the information that becomes viral is information that helps us stay connected most of the time. Publish information that will help your customers connect with their friends and families. Connect them socially, and you’re sure to get a lot of social media shares.

Holiday Campaigns: Coca-Cola’s Last Customer Campaign

Image credit: Coca-Cola YouTube channel

When the holidays roll around, people are more inclined to buy something for themselves and the people in their lives. Seize this opportunity for your business to make a strong impression. This is the best time to boost your business’s sales with the right marketing campaign. Through this viral campaign, Coca-Cola showcased mall and restaurant employees who are very busy and have to work longer hours as mall operations lengthen during holiday seasons. 

As the Christmas rush approached, the company posted a tribute to these employees and revealed their little time with their families. The advertisement featured Carla Domingo, a gift wrapping clerk who tends to many gifts for her customers, but she has no time to wrap gifts for her own family. 

As revealed later, the gifts she wrapped just before her store closing at 11:00 pm were all gifts given to her by one of her customers. This is why the campaign was named “The Last Customer” That year Coca Cola paid tribute to over 15,000 people.  Since its launch, the advertisement has received 3.3 million views on YouTube and shared more than 188,000 times on social media. 

Key Takeaway: 

Positive feelings are often associated with the holidays. Promote your brand through campaigns that convey the holiday’s positive. Consequently, customers will feel a sense of positivity, resulting in more sales opportunities. Customers can learn more about a product or service in the social media era and compare different companies to get the best deal. As a business, you can use this opportunity to showcase your products or services. It’s a way to convey the value your company offers to its customers.

The use of social media can drive customer engagement and increase brand recognition. This marketing channel also allows you to understand how your target audience responds to your marketing efforts. If you offer suitable content and target the right audience, you will experience great success with your social media marketing campaigns.