Smart businesses make an impact with social channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Paid social media strategies will be explained as part of this process.
You probably are wondering which social media platform is best for your organization.
Every business speaks to a different audience. You must run traffic on the platforms where YOUR market is “hanging out.” If you craft the perfect marketing message but then fail to put it in front of the right audience, your entire campaign will fail. For example… Trying to sell Apple accessories using Google display ads on a blog about PCs would end in disappointment.
Which Market is best for you?
You should buy traffic when you have an offer that you feel is appealing to a certain market. You should buy traffic where that market is hanging out so that YOU can get in front of them. Which marketing is best for you? Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy answer to this. I haven’t found a tool that tells you which platform to use to reach a specific market. It takes research. It takes time. It takes thought.
But, the research couldn’t be more important. Again, if you craft the perfect marketing message but then fail to put it in front of the right audience, your campaign will fail. So how do you find your market?
First, you need to think about WHO your market is … What’s their age, gender, income?
Websites like Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. have aggregated millions of users — but each platform has slightly different demographics. This broad demographic information will help you decide on a platform. More specific information such as…
- What are their hobbies?
- What TV shows do they watch?
- What authority figures do they follow?
- What books do they read?
… can be used to target your audience once you’ve decided on a platform.
For example, here’s how to find your market on Facebook. I like to start with Alexa. This tool will give you demographic data on websites around the web.
Let’s start with Pinterest:
Not surprisingly, Pinterest is WAY above average in terms of visits from women. Pinterest is a wonderful platform to run traffic in the craft, clothing, make up, and anything e-commerce or women-focused.
It’s the BIGGEST issue we find when traffic campaigns fail… running traffic on a platform where your market isn’t present. If a traffic source doesn’t seem conventional, or it’s not what the industry is talking about at the moment – that’s OK! Test it out. The important thing is that you find your market online.
Now that you understand the strategy behind social selling — it’s time to get tactical. For the best results, do not try to execute on all of the following social selling tactics. Pick one (maybe two) of the following platforms and FULLY implement the system that is taught.
Remember, much of your success in social media will be determined by your ability to be consistent — showing up day after day.
