Start-ups are the fad of the season which enables a lot of new ideas to materialise into reality. Gone are the days when people would wait decades gathering ideas and then wait a few more years arranging for funds to finally launch a business. It’s a lot more competitive now and such a wait can mean other competitors entering and capturing the market. So, the moment an idea hits you, contemplate it for a few weeks or months and get started. Thanks to social media marketing strategy, marketing a new start-up has become so easy.
Let’s learn the steps which you can use to brainstorm social media marketing strategies for your start-up:
1. Identify your social media marketing goals
The first step is to recognise the business targets. It should align with your business. What is it that you are trying to achieve through social media marketing? Instead of running behind vanity metrics which don't really add value to your marketing efforts, below are some of the targets of a business which are attainable through social media marketing.
Clients
Viewers
Raise Capital Funds
Revenue
In-store sales
Market presence
Customer appreciation
2. Decide on the metrics
Every business will have different metrics through which the business goals are attained. A bu
siness might be targeting the number of clicks, while another could be focussing on the views. If you are advertising on Youtube, views matter. While on Facebook, cost per click is a common metric. Instagram story views will be an ideal metric for you if you are focussing on brand awareness.
If customer appreciation is your goal, look for social media responses, testimonials, reviews, etc. Whereas, if growing the brand is your target, the number of followers and shares of your post matters. While looking for sales and revenue, keep an eye on email sign-ups and clicks. For customer acquisition, comments and likes need to be on your metrics list.
3. Identify your social media audience
Recognising the strata of your audience is very important. Your audience might be diverse or very specific to your startup niche. They can be the corporate employees or the entrepreneurs. They could be single men and women or elderly in their late sixties who use social media. It totally depends on your nature of business. “Know your customer” is the key for social media strategies to work effectively. Be it the age, gender, marital status, income band, occupation, location, interests, etc., you should grab every detail possible about the customer/buyer's Persona.
4. Find which network your audience use the most
Not every part of the globe or every age uses the same social media platform. Some use social media for staying connected, many who use it to eliminate their loneliness. Some use it for enhancing their connections and aligning with like-minded people. For you, the target audience might be the one who uses social media just for business. For instance, Linkedin is mostly used for professional relations, while Instagram is mostly used for branding and conveying personal messages. You need to do some research to find out where your social media audience hang out.
A smart way is also to pick 2-3 best social media platforms which can serve your multiple purposes. Let’s say, use Linkedin to connect to professional contacts, while leveraging Instagram to share some meaningful posts about your brand.
5. Do keep a watch on your competitors
Competitors are not always for rivalry. There is a lot you can learn from your peers. Do maintain a watch out how they are targeting their audience. Take some inputs from them, learn from their approach. Craft your own social media marketing strategy because every business goal is different. Keep an eye on their digital marketing strategies and maybe you can adopt a few from them.
6. Think out of the box
There is nothing like thinking unique. Try thinking out of the box; it doesn’t have to be a Euclidean idea. But, think in your own way. Entrepreneurship is a solo journey at the bottom. You are the best one to understand which approach works best for you. Hence, apply your mind and listen to what your mind suggests.
7. Decide on the content to post
Social media is all about the content – text, image and videos. Whether you want to attract the audience’s mind with a video or an image depends on your target. If you need to post text content, think well about what the message should be. Always be honest with it.
8. Have a budget in mind
You can’t go gaga over spending on social media. Business isn’t just about this; there are a lot of other expenses you need to take care of. Fix a budget which you think you can shell out for this strategy. If you have some experience in business and are capable enough, you can try social media marketing by yourself to start with. If you have enough funds or some funding from investors, go ahead with investing in this strategy after estimating a budget.
And, don’t worry if you don’t get enough responses at the start. Patience and consistency are the keys. Hang on and get going with posting – it will certainly trigger your viewers’ minds. You can reap the benefits of social media in the due course.
For such enticing and enlightening content for your business, reach out to The Pendits, a leading digital marketing agency. Our amazing team of writers, graphic designers and video editors understand your requirements and deliver #AlwaysTheContentYouWant!