There’s already a lot of information available online about social media marketing. How it transforms your business, leaves a huge long-lasting impact on the audience and how businesses are using it to increase their profit.

But despite all the data, tips and information, people still don’t see any significant results from it. They are still unable to grasp the complexities of social media sites and marketing. And believe that only LUCKY business owners and companies can grow on social networking sites.

If you also think like that, congratulations, I’m about to change your perspective. You’ll learn everything about social media marketing in this detailed guide. From what it is to how you can do it by following my step-by-step guide.

As a marketer, you must utilize these channels to boost your business. According to statistics, more than half the world uses social media channels. So how can you leverage these platforms for business success?

Keep reading because after reading this blog, you’ll be able to connect with wider audience, forge deeper connections with them and increase sales using these online channels.

What is Social Media Marketing?

Many people believe that social media marketing (SMM) is using different networks to market your offer. It can be either a product, service or anything in general.

But that’s not all, and due to this lack of understanding, many people fail to see any good results from this tactic.

Social Media Marketing is a form of digital marketing and a comprehensive process in which you create suitable content for online platforms. It leverages the reach and engagement of channels like Twitter, Instagram, Threads, LinkedIn, and others to connect with the target audience, increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, and, ultimately, achieve business goals.

Just think about how you can make your audience engage with your content and make them understand your product better. It is also known as digital marketing and e-marketing.

In this digital age where almost everyone uses smartphones, SMM is one of the best techniques to make your business grow in record time.

How Can You Elevate Your SMM Game?

There are different strategies that marketers and business owners use to produce significant results from SMM. Some of the most effective strategies are as below;

• Use high-quality instagram-like photos and videos
• Partner with influencers
• Always use trending and relevant hashtags
• Publish customer posts, testimonials and posts that serve as social proof.
• Promote your business by making interactive giveaways and promotions

Keep reading to learn more amazing strategies.

Suppose you’re meeting someone for the first time, and you want to make a good impression on them.

What would you say to make another person like you? Because this is the only chance you can talk with them. So you’ve two options;

1. Dress weirdly, talk about boring stuff and sad things in life.
2. You’re well dressed, looking visually appealing, saying happy things and how life is beautiful.

Which option would you choose?

The second option. Remember, people don’t like meaningless or boring things.

They love getting excited and happy. And the same rule applies to the online world as well.

If your brand colors are boring and your stories are poorly written, then it’s likely people won’t feel connected with your brand.

So share stories that make them happy. That is relatable and makes people excited. Use the art of storytelling to ensure your story is loved by the target audience.

5 Pillars Of Social Media Marketing Action Plan

I’ve seen many marketers make this huge mistake. They make a complete social media marketing plan for their online pages and accounts, but they don’t even know these 5 pillars of SMM. that’s why they don’t see any progress in their business.

The 5 major pillars of SMM are as follows.

Strategy

I know you’re excited to grow on social channels. Have 10k followers and just dive right into it. But before that, let’s pause and look at the first step. So you don’t make any mistakes during the SMM journey.

Ask yourself;

• What are your goals?
• Are online platforms helpful in accomplishing those milestones?
• Is there any deadline for achieving those goals?

Remember that the goal for SMM can be different for everyone. Some businesses want instant customer sales, build a community, engage an audience or anything else. Now you need to find what are your reasons for choosing SMM.

Choose a suitable platform for your business. Suppose you want to grow a brand whose target audience is Gen Z.

Which should be the best option through which you can have a direct influence on your audience?

1. LinkedIn & Quora
2. Snapchat & Instagram
3. Twitter & Facebook

If you said B, then you are correct. Because both platforms are highly popular among Gen Z. Likewise, you should do proper research before choosing a suitable platform. You can use search operators to get better answers to your queries.

Now comes the most crucial part: what will you post on those platforms?

There is no right or wrong to this. The answer to this question lies in observing, analyzing, and experimenting.

• Check which content strategy performs well on the platform. (Videos, pictures, carrousels, etc.)
• Keep experimenting with new and relevant content formats to craft a compelling content strategy for your social media presence.

Planning & Publishing

We all know that success in social media websites never happens in the blink of an eye. It’s a constant process. Even posts that go viral have a complete process behind them, increasing the chances of virality.

But even if your brand doesn’t become an overnight star, you can dominate online channels by slow and gradual progress.

Getting discovered by your target audience on these channels is so easy.

You can publish instagram-like photos, blogs from your website, videos, personal wins, user-generated content, and many more posts like this.

But avoid this mistake.

Not preparing content ahead of time. It’s the worst practice and can even make your employees frustrated.

Not only this, but it also undermines the quality of the post.

So what’s the solution?

• Make posts in advance
• Publish different types of content that your audience loves
• Post when your audience is most active

Listening & Engagement

With consistent efforts, you’ll start seeing progress and have a community of loyal and ideal customers.

But remember this is online world. You’ll have followers who’ll love your content and also see people who won’t like your offer.

They might leave negative comments. It’s best to solve the issue they are facing. However, if the situation is not moving in a positive direction, it’s best to shift your focus.

Focus on those who tag you in posts, message you and comment on your posts. They are usually your biggest supporters and play a huge role in your business success.

But how can you check it?

There are two ways to see who has mentioned or tagged you in their posts.

• Manual way: doing everything on your own and checking yourself.
• Tools: you can use social listening and engagement tools that combine messages, posts and hashtags in one place.

Analytics & Reporting

You’re doing a lot of hard work in creating persuasive, informative, educational content and other tasks. Now how do you know if it’s worth it or not? What are the criteria?

You can easily measure your SMM performance with these three things.

• Number of people you’re reaching
• People using your brand hashtags
• Positive reviews, exceptional customer service and customer feedback on these channels

Every platform provides in-depth analytics and data on your progress throughout the month. You can simply cut to the chase by checking those stats. I’ll explain this concept in detail in another section of this article.

Advertising

The first four pillars are amazing to increase your reach organically. However, this fifth pillar is like a secret code to ensure success. It gives a huge boost to your business.

Because these ads increase your reach to your target audience, who aren’t following you yet, but there are high chances they will start following you. It increases the chances of acheving your social media goals.

Online platforms are so advanced that you can carefully customize ad specifications such as your target audience;

• Location
• Interests
• Behavior

Pros & Cons Of Social Media Marketing

Nowadays, it’s hard to find a company with absoleutely zero online presence. SMM is part of every business because it shortens the path to success. The time needed to succeed in business is reduced incredibly because of SMM.

Pros:

There are some incredible advantages of SMM that you should know, especially if you want to launch an SMM campaign.

• Social media platforms have billions of active users, allowing you to reach a vast and diverse audience.
• Compared to traditional advertising, SMM can be more budget-friendly, especially when utilizing organic strategies.
• Advanced targeting options, allowing you to reach specific demographics, interests, behaviors, and locations. This precision helps you connect with the right audience, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
• SMM can quickly increase your brand’s visibility and recognition through shares, likes, and mentions.
• You can receive instant feedback from your audience, helping you make quicker adjustments to your strategies.

Cons:

But it’s not always shiny. There are some disadvantages that are often less talked about. However, as a marketer, you must know them too.

• Changes in social media platform algorithms can impact the visibility of your content, affecting your reach.
• Negative comments or reviews can spread quickly and harm your brand’s reputation if not handled properly.
• Managing multiple platforms, creating content, and engaging with the audience can be time-intensive.

Stats About SMM

Stats help you get a better understanding of the campaign. That’s why I’ll share some of the most important SMM stats that’ll serve as a perfect starting point.

• As of 2023, the global count of social media users is estimated to reach 4.89 billion.
• In 2022, there was a rise of 4.2% in the number of people using social media.
• On average, people use about 7.2% online platforms every month.
• Nearly 49% of all internet users are inclined to buy products from brands they see in SMM advertisements.
• In Social Media Advertising, mobile devices will contribute $85.31 billion to the total ad spending by 2027.

Popular Social Networking Websites

You might be wondering that SMM is cool and all. But are there any platforms other than Facebook and Instagram to market your business? Yes, there are.

I’ll share a list of some of the most popular social network sites, along with their active users.

1. Facebookhas2.064 billion daily active users. It is a widely used platform with diverse demographics.
2. Instagram has 2 billion monthly active users. Ideal for visual content and reaching younger audiences.
3. Now rebranded to X, Twitter has around 541 million active monthly users. It is a fast-paced platform for real-time updates and engagement.
4. LinkedIn has 930 million active monthly users. It is a professional networking platform for B2B marketing.
5. YouTube has 2.562 billion active monthly users. It is great for video content and reaching a global audience.
6. Pinterest has 450 million active users. It is effective for visual inspiration and shopping-related content.
7. TikTok has 1.09 billion active monthly users. It is a trending platform for short videos, popular among younger users.
8. Snapchat has 750 million monthly active users. It appeals to younger audiences with disappearing content.

Remember, the best platforms depend on your target audience and the type of content you want to share.

Step-by-step Guide To Being Successful At Social Media Marketing Campaign

You already know what SMM is, its pillars, and some of the best platforms to get started.

But creating a successful campaign needs more than just knowing this. You need to know about every nitty-gritty of online platforms, which I’m going to share with you in this guide.

Remember best strategy starts with a clear plan.

Best Strategy = Clear Plan Of Action

More clarity in the plan is equivalent to great returns. Here’s a step-by-step strategy that you can follow for your campaign.

Step 1: Be Clear About Your Goals & Key Metrics

When you go to a job interview, you have a clear goal in mind. What is it?

Yes, you got it right.

It’s to get hired and earn more dollars.

Likewise, when you are starting your SMM journey, ask yourself what results you want to achieve from it.

If you don’t have a clear goal, then you’ll eventually be lost in the sea of these online platforms.

I recommend using the S.M.A.R.T. goal framework to set goals. It helps you grow quickly and attain growth in a much more realistic manner.

• Specific: Be super specific about your goals. Suppose your goal is to build a strong community. Then you should set an even more specific goal, such as increasing LinkedIn impressions from 10 to 500 within two weeks.
• Measurable: After setting this super-specific goal, you can easily measure your progress. Suppose you were unable to increase your post impressions to 500. You can change the strategy or experiment another tactic.
• Attainable: It’s good to be optimistic for the future. But don’t forget that to make your company successful, you need to have attainable goals. Provide marketeres with all resources you need to achieve your goal. Such as for achieving 500 impressions on LinkedIn, you need a copywriter who knows how to write, a graphic designer etc.
• Relevant: Ask yourself, will getting more impressions benefit your business in any way? In this case, it can increase brand awareness and generate high-quality leads.
• Time-bound: Give a timeline to the goal, such as a week or a month. But don’t be overly ambitious.

Step 2: Learn Everything About Your Target Audience

Do you think you know everything about your target audience?

Think again.

Social media target audience is a group of people. They are most likely your potential customers. They share same interests, desires as your target audience. 

I’ve seen many marketers say this phrase;

Everyone Is My Target Audience.

NO!

Don’t make this mistake and quit thinking like that.

Let’s do a short quiz. You are writing an outstanding book, and you decide to try SMM. So who’s your target audience?

1. People who are running businesses
2. People who love reading
3. People who are 9-5 employees

Your target audience is number 2. Likewise, you must be clear about your target audience and their needs. You can check various public forums to know your audience and get your message to people.

Here are some ways through which you can identify your target audience:

• Create a specific persona of your audience. A perfect image of how your customers look like, whether they are boomers, millennials etc.
• Collect the data of your audience and use it to make well-informed decisions.

Step 3: Your Competitors Are Your Biggest Teachers

You must have seen ads or posts of your competitors leveraging social platforms. It’s time to use your sharp brain and see what they are up to.

Do a competitive analysis, including techniques, tricks, and tips that do and don’t work.

But let me make it much easier for you. Follow these steps:

• Find all the competitive keywords and make a list.
• Search the top 10 keywords on Google and find your competitors.
• Do the same on social platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram etc.
• That way, you’ll be able to find your potential customers as well.
• Lastly, perform a SWOT analysis.

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. So analyze all these things individually to dominate on these platforms and leave your competitors behind.

Step 4: Choose Platforms Wisely

As discussed earlier, every platform is different, and it’s up to you to find the best for your business. You can choose from any 10 networks I mentioned above or find some other platform.

Just think about it.

If a person wants to find a job. They’ll most likely go on LinkedIn, not YouTube or Instagram.

Right?

There are numerous social media networks. You’ll get overwhelmed if you add every platform to your strategy. Moreover, posting the same content on every platform will make your content boring.

Here are some tips that’ll help you find a suitable a channel for SMM.

• Check audience demographics
• Choose a platform that aligns with your business goals
• Find where your customers are active most of the time.

Step 5: Make Amazing Content

You have chosen the right platform and are ready to do SMM. But if you don’t do this accurately, all your efforts will fail.

It is posting amazing content.

Your content should be persuasive, enjoyable and exciting.

Diversify your content.

• Add informative content
• How-to guides
• Client success stories
• Behind the scenes of the process

In a nutshell, make 50% content commercial and 50% about your offer. If you keep this sweet balance, then your audience won’t be fed up with your offers.

Step 6: Advertise Your Posts

Everyone glamorizes SMM, but the truth is that many people don’t even get one like on their posts initially. So what should you do?

Quit the idea of SMM?

No, not at all!

Instead, follow the 80/20 technique. What is it?

• 20% time = creating content
• 80% time = spend in promotion

Content creation isn’t easy, indeed. But even if you perfect your content creation strategy, you must focus on content distribution.

Big platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter let you show ads. Pay a bit for ads to reach goals.

Step 7: Analyze Results Frequently

You’ve already worked on everything. Now this is the last and most important step. It’ll set the basis for successful SMM campaigns in the future.

But what should you track?

That’s a common question that most people ask.

It depends. The key metrics vary depending on your goals and campaign.

Suppose you want 50% more clicks from social media campaign within 10 months. So, you start a campaign with SMM and paid ads. You should check;

• Website Traffic
• Total conversion rate

However, there are some other key metrics that are important in SMM. They are:

• Likes and Reactions: Measure user appreciation and sentiment towards your content.
• Comments: Reflects audience engagement and interaction with your posts.
• Shares and Retweets: Indicates content value and willingness to share with others.
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Tracks the number of clicks on links you’ve shared.
• Engagement Rate: A comprehensive metric combining likes, comments, and shares, indicating overall interaction.
• Mentions and Tags: Show how often users include your brand in their posts or conversations.
• Followers Growth Rate: Measures how quickly your follower count is increasing.
• Impressions: The number of times your content is displayed on users’ screens.
• Reach: The unique number of users who see your content.
• Response Rate and Time: How fast and consistently you respond to messages and comments.

How Often Should I Post On My  Social Media Profile?

Have you heard of the infamous quote;

“In sight, in mind.”

The phrase emphasizes that something remains in our thoughts and awareness when it is visible or constantly present. So posting too little makes followers forget about your brand. But that doesn’t mean you should bombard them with many posts.

Instead, you should prioritize quality. Remember, quality beats quantity.

So here are some pro tips you should follow. In order to boost engagement make weekly themes. Capture attention of audience with brand stories.

You have to show your audience how passionate you are. Inject humor and personality into your posts to create a memorable and relatable brand image.

And don’t blindly follow trends.

Is SMM Suitable For Your Business?

The short answer is YES. As for a descriptive answer, any business, either big or small, a startup or a 6-figure company, should use power pf these online platforms. Social Media Marketing is perfect for you whether you offer a specific product or service or have a no-brainer offer. 

There are many industries that can benefit from SMM such as online stores, restaurants, beauty brands, healthcare agencies, creative services providers, content creators, tech startups and the list is extremely long. But remember, any business can achieve success. However, you need to follow the right steps and strategies diligently.

Conclusion

SMM is one of the most effective strategies for businesses that want to experience long-term growth. Those who truly want to become a brand that everyone remembers forever.

We are EchoFish, and we help businesses like yours grow in record time. With our exceptional lead generation services, you’ll generate high-quality leads in no time. So are you ready to experience exponential growth? Contact us today.