Social Media Marketing Techniques Every Startup Should Know

Apart from developing a wonderful service or product, marketing is an area where you should surely devote your time and money if you are attempting to get your startup firm off the ground. While certain marketing initiatives can be costly, social media marketing is one of the most cost-effective strategies to create brand awareness and promote your startup while on a tight budget.

This will very certainly be the case when you first start out. So, if done correctly, social media marketing may be quite beneficial to your firm. However, if you are not careful, it can do a great deal of harm. The difficulty is that most businesses are unaware that some of the most often used techniques are ineffective.

What is Social Media?

Before we start going into what to avoid, let's start by understanding what is social media marketing. Social media is a computer-based technology that allows the exchange of ideas, opinions, and information through the creation of virtual networks and communities.

Social media is by design a digital form of marketing, allowing people to share content quickly via electronic means. Personal information, documents, movies and images are all included in the content. Users interact with social media using web-based software or applications on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Social media began as a way to connect with friends and family, but it was quickly adopted by businesses looking to reach out to customers through a popular new communication tool. The ability to connect and share information with everyone on the planet, or with a large number of people at once, is the power of social media. Currently, there are 3.8 billion social media users worldwide. Social media is an ever-changing and ever-evolving field, with new social media apps like TikTok and Clubhouse appearing every year, joining the ranks of major social networks like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.

Types Of Social Media

When we think of social media, we automatically think about Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn but these are some of the many other types of social media platforms available. There are many kinds of social media used to reach different targets and goals. Below are a few of the different types of social media available.

• Social Networking. A social media platform is a jack of all trade. Users can share their opinions, contribute materials, submit photographs and videos and so on. They are designed around the user and everything they care about including their social connections. Examples of this social media platform are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

• Media Sharing Networks. Photographs, live video, video and other sorts of media are found and shared on the web using media sharing types of social media. They will assist with brand development, lead creation, and targeting, among other things. They provide a platform for individuals and brands to discover and share media, allowing target audiences to be identified and converted in the most persuasive and effective manner possible. Some examples are Instagram and YouTube

• Discussion Forums. These social media platforms are used to find, share, and discuss various types of information, ideas, and news. They assist firms by providing an excellent resource for conducting thorough market research. These are the most traditional methods of operating social media marketing campaigns. Examples, Reddit, Quora, Digg.

• Consumer Review Networks. Consumer review networks can assist in discovering, sharing and reviewing information about a wide range of products, services and brands. Because these networks operate as social proof, when a firm receives positive ratings on social networks, their claims become more trustworthy. Examples of consumer review networks, Yelp, Zomato and Trip Advisor.

Mistakes to Avoid

Regardless of how congested the market becomes, every marketer wishes to get their brand in front of as many people as possible. It is no surprise that many people like utilizing the power of social media. It is not uncommon, however, for marketers to make blunders in an attempt to stand out in these networks. Users on social media can be harsh, if you repeatedly make the same mistakes, your followers will diminish by the day. So, here are some common mistakes to avoid.

Lacking A Social Media Marketing Strategy

Although creating a social media marketing plan may appear to be a no-brainer, many businesses fail to do so. They fall into the trap of simply putting things on social media without a strategy. You should treat social media marketing as seriously as you would any other marketing initiative.

Make a list of specific goals you wish to attain, then develop a budget and an easy-to-follow action plan. This should clearly state what you want to accomplish, how you plan to monitor your progress, and how many resources you'll need.

The 2010 Old Spice marketing effort, which essentially converted the corporation into a hippy brand, is one of the most well-known online marketing tactics of all time. They used Isaiah Mustafa, an NFL player, in a video ad called The Man Your Man Could Smell Like. On TV, he appeared shirtless, speaking to women who "happened to be watching the Super Bowl." The NFL player just requested that they get Old Spice in order for their men to smell like men should. The video became extremely popular.

The brand succeeded because, among other things, it ditched its previous strategies in favour of a new one that would get them noticed by those who would never have considered buying the product otherwise.

Not Having a Specific Target Audience

Your brand will not appeal to everyone on social media. You may focus your social media marketing efforts on people who are really interested in your product if you define your target audience. If you don't know who you're talking to, no matter how hard you try, you'll end up with mediocre outcomes.

Convince & Convert, a social media strategy firm, excels at this, owing to the fact that its founder, Jay Baer, recognizes that he is in the B2B area rather than the B2C space. Instead of the more popular Facebook and Twitter share buttons, he makes sure that all of the information he publishes has LinkedIn share buttons. The brand is aware of its target market and the social media platforms on which they are active. The most noteworthy aspect is that the majority of the shares come from LinkedIn members.

Failing To Communicate With Your Customers

It makes no difference how many updates you post to your social media channels, if no one responds or shares them, it is a waste of time. That is why you should take the time to produce content that people want to talk about. If your updates receive no responses, it may be time to reconsider your social media marketing strategy. And once you've gotten your audience to respond to your updates, be sure to reciprocate.

The conversation is a two-way street. Even if the comments are negative, respond to them. Also, remember to maintain your composure and to be courteous and friendly. It is also worth noting that, while encouraging your followers to engage in social media dialogues with your company is beneficial, you must make sure that these interactions are constructive. Negative talks regarding your company's reputation can only harm it.

One example of this can be seen from Starbucks "Race Together" campaign, which was intended to inspire conversations about race relations but was poorly implemented, resulting in a developing negative perception of the brand.

Treating All Social Media Platforms The Same

Each social media site is distinct from the others. You must master the language of each platform so that you can communicate with users in their own language. You would not speak Spanish in China, similarly, you cannot speak the way you do on Instagram on Twitter.

You will need to learn to speak the same language as the users of the social networking site where you want to build your brand. Learn as much as you can about each social networking platform so that you can make use of its features. You will start to notice new methods to exploit these opportunities to expand your business or enhance its exposure once you learn to consider each social media site as a separate entity with its own set of prospects.

San Chez Bistro, a tapas bistro and restaurant, used this strategy in 2010. The restaurant, which is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, had a campaign called "Tweet-Ahead Seating" that encouraged customers to reserve a table via Twitter. By design, the restaurant's management realized that Twitter would be the ideal forum for this. They would have had disastrous outcomes if they had used other sites, such as Facebook.

Spamming Contents On Every Platforms

In principle, having profiles on all social media platforms exposes you to a bigger audience, which is why most businesses that are eager to present themselves to the world will spam their content across every available platform. However, you need to put a little bit more thought into this.

For instance, if you want to see good results consider your target audience for a moment, if your startup revolves around DIY or arts and crafts, you probably do not need a LinkedIn account. But, focusing on platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook would make more sense.

Your Posts Are Not Timed

While it is true that the world of social media never sleeps, posting whenever it is convenient for you may not be the greatest strategy. This is when having a good understanding of your target market comes in handy.

If you are trying to reach out to the American market, for example, you will need to be aware of their time zones. Posting content around 4 a.m., when there are very few people awake, rather than shortly after people get home from work, would not yield the expected results.

Choosing The Wrong Tone

On social media, users are free to do whatever they want with their profiles. After all, it's solely for the purpose of informing their friends about their personal life. The way a company behaves on Twitter or Instagram is scrutinized much more closely.

If you use a brand voice that seems too official, you risk boring customers. However, there is a far more serious social media offence. Making an attempt to appeal to social media users by being overly casual—or, worse, rude. Humorous attempts can also go flat.

Sunny D's once made their Twitter account to be ostensibly depressed. Is it because they believed it would be amusing to do so? Or because they have heard that today's youth are anxious, miserable, and exam-obsessed, making this relatable? In any case, this makes Gen Z facepalm in disbelief.

So, before you start tweeting or posting on Instagram, find out the tone that best represents your business and connects with your target audience. After that, make sure to keep track of everything.

Using Irrelevant Hashtags

You must use hashtags if you want to gain awareness. Involve your brand in a popular conversation, and your account will be seen by hundreds of people. This may appear straightforward, but there is a significant disadvantage to be aware of.

Thousands of people will view your brand. If you make a mistake, it will be widely publicized. You won't be entirely redeemed by deleting the post because it can still be seen in the site archive.

Despite the fact that DiGiorno Pizza apologized and deleted the tweet, people are still furious, and a screenshot of their tweet has gone viral. The hashtag used, #WhyIStayed, was about domestic violence, in case you didn't know.

Another popular practice you should avoid is paying respect to famous people. This kind of communication comes out as cheesy. You would not get along with heartbroken followers if you try to profit from their idol's death. When in doubt, stick to simple, relevant hashtags and jokes that do not put the brand's value in question.

Here are 5 more mistakes to avoid making on social media.

Conclusion

Building a social media presence is not easy but it can be a powerful tool to use. One of the most efficient ways to expose your brand to a larger audience is through social media marketing. Most businesses are aware of this, but only a handful are truly adept at utilizing social media marketing effectively.

Keep in mind the mistakes mentioned and be smart on how you portray your brand and/or company on social media and you will be able to reap the fruits of your labour and grow your business in no time. These mistakes are not difficult to make but they could be the end of your social media campaign.

Reference

What is social media

Type of social media

Mistakes To Avoid

Choosing The Wrong Tone