As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Facebook, it’s hard to believe how new social media really is considering what a big part of our personal and business lives it has become. As prevalent as platforms like Facebook and Twitter are today, many are still wondering what role these sites should play for companies looking to use them for marketing purposes, and with the growth of content marketing recently, social media tactics are particularly interesting to ponder.
A recent study by Social Media Examiner found that at least 83 percent of marketers surveyed are struggling with social media marketing questions. Let’s take a look at some of the key questions addressed in this survey and see where content marketing can help.
Which social media tactics are most effective?
Ninety percent of marketers listed this as their number one question about social media marketing. One of the big problems with trying to pin down what works best is that this answer can vary by industry and platform. Everyone has theories about the best time to tweet and which types of Facebook posts will get the most shares. The truth is that the most important thing for any company to do is make sure that they have someone in-house—or outsource the task—to make sure that they have an active social media presence.
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By making sure that someone at your company is keeping tabs on what’s going on in the industry, what’s trending and what should become the best practices, you can become a star on Facebook, Twitter or whatever the next rising social media platform will be. The fast-paced nature of social media—where any tweet can become a website headline—patience and perseverance is your best strategy for discovering which strategies are most effective on social media.
Which are the best ways to engage my audience with social media?
One of the lessons of content marketing is that there’s no such thing as “too much.” Your industry is changing everyday and your website, social media platforms and e-newsletters should reflect this fact. Figuring out the best way to connect with people was a top concern for 88 percent of marketers surveyed. The best way to connect with consumers online is to provide them with the best possible content, to create a conversation that makes them want to join in.
At the end of the day, anyone can be a whiz at social media if he or she spends enough time on any given site. What really matters is using the platform to both create great content (a great tweet can become content marketing if you’re smart about it) and point consumers to the content on your website. Ask yourself this question: once a consumer clicks on the link for your website from your Facebook or Twitter page, what will they find? If your site doesn’t have up-to-date feature articles, blogs, white papers and other great examples of content marketing, your business may be mistaken for a company that is great at social media, but doesn’t have much else to offer. By leveraging your social media followers and fans into customers, content marketing can become a great tool in helping you connect those dots.
