Social media allows your business to connect and engage with current and potential customers more on a more personal level. This avenue directly drives business, as 74% of customers rely on social media to guide their purchasing decisions. However, you need more than a simple social media presence to help grow your business.
Social media can be a cornerstone of your marketing if you have a comprehensive strategy and use particular types of postings to achieve your objectives. It is more important than ever. In fact, 58% of people have increased their social media use since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and 86% expect to maintain their current level of use.
Every social media post should have a clear goal and purpose that aligns with your entire business strategy. Our social media specialists have listed the Top4 types of posts that get results for businesses:
Behind-the-scenes content
Customers want to feel as if they have a personal connection with a business. Many businesses provide product-related updates but behind-the-scenes content might help potential customers feel more connected to your business. When you share how you create a product or post an accelerated version of creating a new window display, customers feel like they’re getting to know your business. This post can also help you fill gaps in your content and post consistently on your channels.
Employee-created informative videos that give suggestions or celebrate special occasions like birthdays can help customers build rapport. This level of sharing can translate into increased revenue as 53% of customers say they are likely to buy from transparent brands on social media.
Many businesses create highly formal behind-the-scenes posts but a simple instructional video of an employee chatting or a humorous TikTok video showcasing the product loading process can help customers interact. Often the most influential posts of this type use videos but images can work as well, especially if they include great captions. Direct people back to your website from your social media post whenever possible. Your goal is to keep your website and online store at the centre of interactions.
Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories, which are posts that are accessible for 24 hours, are great places to share behind-the-scenes content. In a Facebook survey, 62% of respondents said they have become more interested in a brand or product after seeing it in Facebook and Instagram Stories.
Informational content
Businesses frequently produce postings that promote their products in detail, such as discussing characteristics and why someone should purchase them. Instead, write pieces that explain why buyers need your product and how they can make better use of it. For instance, a specialty bakery can create posts that talk about how to cut a cake properly or set up an appealing cake table. Because 54% of social browsers use social media to research products, companies that show customers how to get more value from their products can increase sales by teaching people instead of selling to them.
You have the option of sharing existing educational content, such as an infographic or video, or creating fresh educational content exclusively for these postings. While sharing other people’s content can be effective, this type of post involves your brand providing educational information — so creating your unique content works best.
Videos are wonderful for demos and are simple to publish on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Furthermore, 67 percent of customers believe video is the most transparent social media post. For Twitter, you can create photos with captions that show different ways to use a product or tips and tricks. Pinterest works well for sharing photos and infographics that give tips or links to an article that provides tips. If you sell to other businesses, consider creating a LinkedIn article that provides information about solving your business customers’ challenges.
Interesting, relevant content
You can develop trust and boost your worth by sharing content from other businesses and people who are interesting and relevant to your followers. When you share another person’s blog post or infographic, they are more likely to share your content with their followers — which increases your exposure.
When choosing content to share, be sure that the creator supports your business’ values. Because curating high-quality content takes time, many brands will find content to share for the next week or month and then use a scheduling tool. By scheduling your posts ahead of time, you can set aside time each week to build your social media calendar and ensure consistency. To be as relevant as possible, be sure to include posts related to recent events or what’s happening in your customers’ lives.
Finding blogs, articles, videos and infographics on websites and then creating a new post with a link to the content is one approach to sharing content. You can also share posts from another person or business that contains their content. By adding your commentary in the post, you can increase the content’s value for your followers, even if it’s a share.
It’s also important to not be too serious and businesslike all the time. Stats have shown that 71% of customers watch social media videos to laugh. Using humour on social media can increase engagement with current customers and grow your follower count when people share your post with their friends.
However, humour can easily backfire, which is why many businesses avoid it. Consider your target audience first. Consider what they find humorous and what they are likely to find offensive. Also, think about whether the post your followers would feel comfortable and compelled to share publicly on their timeline.
Adding words to an image to make a funny meme is a simple and efficient approach to making a shareable humorous post. You can also use a video produced on the phone with outtakes or funny commentary. Customers appreciate brands showing their human side. TikTok is also a great way to make your followers laugh with funny musical parodies. With many people other than Gen Z now on TikTok, brands that target buyers in different generations may want to consider posting on the platform — for both education and comic relief.
Keep your business’s tone consistent. Your communications, including social media posts, should have the same tone and voice. According to a survey from Stackla, 86% of consumers say authenticity influences which brands they like and support. Remember that your brand is speaking to your customers — not you, the person writing the posts.
Promotional content
With 37% of customers citing social media as their primary source of shopping inspiration, promotional posts should be a part of your strategy. However, posts that directly promote your products should make up only a tiny portion of your posts. When creating promotional posts, consider adding a reason buyers should purchase the product now. One reason could be a limited-time discount, or you could encourage customers to be the first of their friends to own new arrival. You can also promote timely products, such as sharing that you have 10 sleds left in stock as a winter storm approaches. Be sure to include a high-quality picture and price information in the post.
Customers should buy directly from promotional posts, making it as simple as possible for someone to purchase your product. This is because 130 million Instagram accounts tap a shopping post each month to learn more about a product.
Because mobile shopping has become more popular, with 45 percent of customers increasing their amount of mobile purchases since the COVID-19 pandemic began, make sure your posts are mobile-friendly and that things are easy to purchase, especially if you’re not using shoppable posts.
Plan ahead moving forward
Although social media has been a cornerstone of marketing for years, the pandemic has driven customers to use it even more. This means it’s even more critical for businesses to invest time and resources in their social media efforts. By carefully creating a social media strategy, following and voice, you can gain followers and new customers for your business. So whether you’re looking for organic growth or just want more visibility, social media campaigns are an ideal option for companies of all sizes!
Top4 Marketing is a trusted choice for social media marketing services. When you partner with our social media marketing company, our experienced social media specialists will analyse your industry, audience and goals to determine the best platforms for your strategy. Regardless of your industry or market, our social media marketing services tailor our recommendations for your business. Whether you’re looking to establish brand awareness or simply market your business on multiple social media networks, you can rely on our social media services to succeed on social media. View a full list of deliverables and pricing for our social media marketing services or contact our social media strategists to get a free social media marketing consultation!
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