Are you already utilizing social media marketing as a tool to enhance your online presence? But stick to how to do it rightly? Most people are going through this, starting with peak content but ending with no appreciation or zero results.
Marketing through social media channels is not a one-time process of generating and sharing content; it’s a continuous practice that requires ongoing effort. Note this at least 100 times!
Social media marketing, its content, and the platforms require time, along with the skills and strategy. Be prepared, as we are taking you on a social media tour where we will explore the platforms and their content. The findings will help you carve the right approach based on the behavior of each platform.
Social media marketing platforms
Social media marketing platforms are electronic means used to grow audiences as well as businesses, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest. These virtual markets are crowded with real-world masses: businesses and buyers.
The reason for selling is that these platforms are a point of engagement and interest for every second person. So that companies and creators are here to find their audience and sell their deliverables.
On the other side, buyers are here because they find it easier, less chaotic, and faster means of shopping instead of the traditional markets. Besides this, social media marketing platforms present a lot of benefits. Some of them are as follows:
- Maximum reach
- Cost-efficient means
- Brand commitment
- Tailored advertising
- Real-time engagement
There are multiple platforms that serve social media marketing purposes to a wide audience. We pick the top 4 of them to explain their marketing features. These are:
- TikTok
- YouTube
Facebook:
Facebook is like a giant ocean where a variety of amenities utilize unlimited resources and strategies to maintain their presence while connecting with each other. A variety of content is here for marketing as well as to keep the audience engaged. Such as:
- Photos, carousels, and stories
- Videos, reels, and live content
- Posts and articles
- Ads and campaigns
Along with other content, ads and campaigns are specifically marketing tools. These tools are used for paid publicity. Here is another marketing feature that is organic and paid growth.
By organic growth, a social media marketing agency or a marketer increases the number of audience and brand awareness without spending money. Instead, they use other strategies and tactics through their content, such as group posting, hashtags, and SEO techniques.
On the other hand, paid growth includes marketing ways where marketers and agencies give money to Facebook to increase their visibility and sales.
Let’s discover different types of content that are effective when used for social media marketing:
- Recommended: This type of content is shown on the user’s feed according to their interest, search, and activity on Facebook. In social media marketing, one can use it by placing proper hashtags and relevant keywords in audience-based content.
- Featured: It is a well-performing content on the platform and chosen by the content owner or Facebook. Content handlers make featured content by pinning their post or selecting it as featured content.
- Sponsored: Pages collaborate with other pages so that one page promotes the content of the other using its own space. It is like an ad, but shown in the user’s feed as random content.
Ads & Campaigns: These are part of paid marketing. Content creators or marketers craft content for advertisement, set details on the ad or campaign section, and pay the platform to run it on Facebook, search engines, and other digital platforms.
As a social media marketing tool, it is full of opportunities as well as challenging for marketers and agencies. The hopeful thing is that it continuously evolves and provides solutions to increasing challenges.
TikTok:
After Facebook, TikTok is going to (if not already) become the most used app in the digitalized social world. People, especially Gen Z, use it for content creation. There are also a number of users from other generations who use TikTok to consume their craft.
Although there is only a video format as a content form, people love it for other features. Here are the content types TikTok offers:
- Short-form Videos: One common reason for a wide TikTok audience is its short-form content. Creators make a few-second or minute-long videos in which they perform, show their skills, feature the products, or deliver some humorous content. Social media marketers can use it to feature their products in their own style.
- Duets: It’s a unique social media app feature in which people record videos or go live with split screens. One section shows the creator’s side, whereas on the other half of the screen, another video runs. For marketing, one can use it for brand storytelling with behind-the-scenes videos.
- Live: Just like other platforms, people also go live on TikTok. It’s a direct, somewhat less secure, but well-performing way. Fans and creators like to meet live and chit chat with each other. It’s an effective way to identify the right audience and feature your products.
LinkedIn:
It is a platform widely used by different professionals and businesses. There is a diversity among content, though not as much as on other platforms. Such as video, carousel, photos, posts, and articles.
It serves as a perfect tool for B2B services. The business-to-business professionals frequently use it for their marketing purposes. According to research, about 85% B2B marketers create and share content on LinkedIn.
Besides this, it is a valuable networking platform, and a number of people use it to grow their networks. Professionals from different fields and companies are here. This drives social media marketing strategies:
- Users, taking it as an opportunity, contact people and increase their connections with them.
- More connections means more audience that you can divert to your marketing content.
Thought leadership gives another type of content; LinkedIn is mostly used for that. Basically, it is a way to introduce ideas and shape thoughts by creating and sharing content. The content is research-backed and has a deep analysis of different topics.
If you are an entrepreneur and want to spread your unique idea of your brand, thought leadership can work out. As:
- You can get tips regarding ideation and awareness, and also apply them here.
- Successful results mean you can further start marketing your brand across different platforms.
YouTube:
It is a well-known platform and used for its video format content, such as short videos, long-form videos, and reels. The general public uses it for browsing, infotainment, and educational purposes. However, for social media marketers, businesses, and agencies, using YouTube has some other meanings. They use it for marketing their brands.
Like Facebook, it has a huge number of users from a variety of backgrounds. It means there is a chance that 99% of businesses can get their audience. Going by this, people with marketing aims target people on YouTube according to their product or service.
Along with the audience, there is also a content type that matters. Different types of content are used based on the marketing product and the goal.
- A service-providing person or an agency creates tutorials in which they show their skills, command of tools, and results.
- A product-based brand or a seller generates content showing its products, their features, and customer reviews. They aim for awareness and sales generation.
- A teacher or an institute prepares video lectures for their YouTube learners. They are here to educate people as well as promote their services and institutions.
- Different channels on YouTube are just for their online presence. They usually sell nothing at all but earn through their content. Just like a documentary channel that creates research-backed videos to bring traffic to its content.
Whether it is a documentary channel or something else, social media marketers also use this type of content for marketing. Alongside promoting the product, service, or idea, they can also generate some random but relevant content on YouTube. Afterward, they can redirect the audience to their brand content.
Social media marketing platforms play a key role in escalating awareness, pushing sales, and growing businesses. But it is a lengthy and laborious process that demands multiple skills and long-lasting strategies. The clue is: take your time and let things take their time.
FAQ’s
Q1. What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing is a form of digital marketing that is used to scale up businesses and generate revenue through social media platforms.
Q2. Some examples of social media marketing platforms.
These are: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Reddit.
Q3. Example of social media marketing posts on Facebook.
These are:
- Sponsored
- Featured
- Recommended
- Ads & Campaigns
Q4. What is Duet on TikTok?
It is a video format in which creators use the split-screen feature. On one side, live content goes, and on the other side, some recorded video runs.
Q5. Which types of marketing content are used on YouTube?
These are: tutorials, lectures, and product-featuring videos.
