5 Online Marketing Tips that Successful Online Marketers Always Use
As an online marketer, what would you consider to be the most critical aspect of marketing on the Internet?
Let me tell you this …
Today, there are over 3 million people worldwide that are actively using social media. So the chances are very high that your target audience is among these people. This is why effective social media tips could be very valuable to each of us.
The fact is that this outrageous number of people engaging daily on their favorite social media sites is growing at an alarming rate. And those people are interacting with product brands more and more on these social networking channels.
Whenever we first start establishing ourselves on a given social media platform, it seems impossible to even attract our first one hundred people in our community. But over time, we will see momentum build around our marketing brand and our social media audience will slowly take shape.
But there are steps we can take to increase our odds of success. Let us discuss 7 social media tips that will great help our chances.
In this article, we address the best and most effective approach to social networking:
Why You Should Go ALL IN with Social Media
We have already addressed the fact that over 3 million people actively use social media. And if that does not convince you to use social platforms for building your brand, then how about these following facts?
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- 34.5% of consumers prefer to speak with brands on social media
- 24.7% of consumers prefer to speak with brands on live chats
- 19.4% of consumers prefer to speak with brands through emails
- 16.7% of consumers prefer to speak with brands through phone calls
These numbers do not tell the entire story. There is actually a huge demand with customers that are going unfulfilled.
Consider these three facts:
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- 90% of all social media messages to brands go unanswered
- Customers expect responses from brands within 4 hours
- Brands take 10 hours to respond to customers on average
If it hasn’t already, these three facts should be screaming at you. They are showing us a way to excel and stand out among our competitors. And the best part is that we can achieve this by using platforms that are totally free to use!
Let that sink in for a moment.
We can establish, build, and solidify our brands without spending a dime. And if you keep reading, I will show how to manage your social media brand by spending only 30-60 minutes daily.
Keeping Your Finger on the Pulse of What Matters
The very first thing that savvy businesses do is establish a reliable way to monitor topics that are trending within their market.
While this might sound like common sense to most us, it is quite surprising how many marketers fail to complete this important first step – and I believe it is the very first step that all brands should perform.
The good news is that it has been easier to put your finger on the pulse on your market – thanks to both the Internet and social media. The trick is finding the right channels to monitor.
The buzz tool of choice these days is Buzzsumo, which is a nice tool to use. It will show you which articles are being shared the most on social media.
There are two things about Buzzsumo that could be an issue for some people. The first issue is that there are some topics that it does not monitor very well. Secondly, not every marketer could afford a subscription to Buzzsumo.
But do not fret; there are other ways to monitor your market on social media. Let us look at some of those ways:
Social Media Trending Lists – Every social media platform has a way to list the hottest or trending posts on their sites. Also, if you are regularly engaging with your audience on social media, then you should already know what the hot trending topics are.
Feedly – I’ve mentioned this in many of my articles. Feedly is my secret weapon as I used to monitor several different audiences. Every marketer should have a Feedly RSS reader. You can setup a free account and if you want more options, they offer a very affordable upgrade. In this reader, it will show you which articles have been shared the most on social media.
You Get What You Pay For
Many marketers out there will not take this advice, but at some point, you need to establish an advertising budget and start paying for some social media ads. Almost every successful marketer out there has an online advertising budget on social media. And they gradually grow this budget along with their successes – this is how they become superstars.
The only caveat is that you need to direct your paid visitors to a specific landing page that requires a very specific action from them. This specific action you ask of them should be one that builds your business over the long term.
For instance, many people use paid online ads to build their email list. As their email list gets bigger, they are amassing their own targeted audience. They then build important relationships with their email list, and offer them advice and products that will sincerely help them.
Let us examine some great reasons to advertise on social media:
Cheaper than traditional advertising – If you look at the rates that are offered by social media platforms, then you will see that they are very reasonable. A big reason for this is that it is offered on a cost per thousand basis.
More targeted than ever before – Many successful online marketers will tell you that the ability to target a specific audience is by far the most powerful aspect of online advertising. Never before has businesses had this much power.
Immediate Feedback – This is perhaps the most wonderful element of paid online ads. Within 10-15 minutes, you can have your ad up and running, and start to receive visitors. We have come a long way from running ads in newspapers or magazines, and then waiting for the publication to hit the streets.
Testing is Easy – Almost all of the online advertising platforms allows you to setup A/B testing on virtually every element of your ad. You can test different headlines, different images or banners, and even different links.
Attracts more Quality Clients – Successful marketers often tell us that people who joined their email list through paid ads and far more responsive prix d'origine than those who joined their list through free forms of advertising. This is yet another reason for people to invest in paid advertising.
Follow the Leaders
Regardless of your market or your status within that market; you should always know who the market leaders are on social media. Every niche has influential people that are setting the trends and addressing the things that matter most to that audience.
You should follow these influencers and keep apprised with what they are saying and the topics they are addressing. In most cases, they are addressing the trending topics.
These leaders are actually doing much of the heavy lifting for us. They have already identified the issues that are most pressing, and the methods that are most effective. Often times, these topics become hot simply because these big influencers have addressed them.
The important point here is to get in the habit of making references and using hashtags that point to these market leaders. You have to realize that thousands of people are searching for these leaders on social media platforms and the major search engines. If you reference them, then your content will begin showing up in those searches.
Establish your Own Voice
This is the hardest of all of these tips. It requires both experience and creativity. As you follow your market, and you listen to the market leaders, and you hear from thousands of people from that market, you start really understanding their plight.
These experiences are what make you a valuable resource within your market.
Over time, you start formulating your own approaches and your own methods that make you a successful marketer. People will want to hear about your successes on social media.
This is where you will need to create your own voice and your own unique selling proposition – better known as USP.
There is level that we will never achieve unless we establish our own voice on your social media channels. This is something that you really cannot force; you have to let your voice come to you. This process is what makes your voice authentic and lets you stand out from the rest.
Summary
It is my hope that you have benefited from this article and you will take action as a result of reading this.
Let us summarize what was discussed above:
We discussed why you must invest your time in social media
We discussed how you can use social media to monitor your market
We discussed how you can greatly benefit from paid advertising on social media
We discussed the benefits of following the major influencers on social media
We talked about how you can establish your own voice on social media
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