Amid the never-ending flood of information that inundates our daily lives, everyone has a unique social environment that is catered to their specific interests, desires, and purchasing habits. Traditional social media is no longer on the rise. Instead, it has plateaued with an overload of brands that are all dumped into our special algorithm based on a search, a related topic, or an interest.
As users sift through the advertisements to find what they really want, how do you ensure your business is there, waiting to be selected? Further, how do you actually get the conversion? The answer may be simpler than you think.
Here are three ways modern businesses are using new (or updated versions) of social tactics to reach consumers and increase brand awareness.
1. Storytelling, which is (still) the best way to connect
According to research by StatusBrew, 47% of marketers say that developing social strategies to support overall business goals is their number one challenge. Storytelling has been a main tactic used by businesses to reach customers, since social platforms began offering economic opportunities. However, effective storytelling is difficult, and can fall short of desired results if it doesn’t make your audience feel something.
An example of a storytelling strategy that was highly successful is Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign, which was used in over 80 countries and officially ran for over 7 years. The global soft drink manufacturer began the campaign in Australia in 2011, where it removed its main brand name from bottles and cans (quite a risk) and replaced it with one of hundreds of popular names. The risk payed off.
The campaign primarily targeted millennials and turned to social media. It included celebrity collaboration endorsements from influencers like Selena Gomez, the ability for users to go on Facebook and create a custom bottle or can, and, of course, a highly-popular hashtag.
The results?
- #ShareACoke became the highest globally trending topic for a period of time.
- Thousands of social users took pictures, made posts, and created User Generated Content (UGC) with the product.
- Company sales increased by 2.5%.
Coca-Cola’s strategy was to make the experience less about themselves, and more about the people who consumed their product – a storytelling technique that is still effectively used today.
Lululemon, a popular athletic apparel company, is using a similar tactic for the July 2021 launch of their sports bras. Nearly every post on their Instagram for the month features users wearing their clothing with those individuals actually describing how it empowers them to exercise, feel comfortable, and receive support.
Let your customers tell the world what they like about your brand. Their stories will add to your identity.
2. Marketing on new social media sites
Traditional social media marketing platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are still standby methods of marketing your brand. For example, over 9 million advertisers use Facebook to reach the platform’s more than 2.7 billion monthly active users, with small and large businesses finding benefits in social media. However, the largest demographic of users are between the ages of 25-34, with the smallest amount, only 2.9%, being teenagers between 13-17.
If you want to target younger social users, you may shift some of your marketing strategy to other platforms. Social networks like Snapchat and TikTok are the most popular among young adults, both of which are designed to share short videos and images. Companies targeting younger audiences are catering to TikTok’s base, more than 60% of which are Gen Z.
One prominent example is Red Bull. They sell an energy drink, but also have numerous endorsements with motorsports, sports teams, and more. The company has leveraged the TikTok platform to enhance their brand of “energetic” marketing, which puts you in the driver’s seat, next to the “parkour” professional, or at the skate park. With only a few seconds of content, Red Bull receives thousands (sometimes millions) of views for their brand.
They also aren’t doing anything vastly different than their competitors, but know that with the highest market share in the energy drink industry, they can maximize their business if they reach a target audience. The strategy is working:
- Red Bull has 5.8 million followers.
- Monster has 812,000 followers.
- Rockstar has 33,000 followers.
You may even take a chance at marketing on alluring audio platforms like Clubhouse, which currently run on an invite-only mantra. Or, as the effects of COVID-19 remain prominent in 2021, consider hosting webinars through Zoom (which you may already be doing), but remember to market those events on other platforms, with partners, and by gauging your audience.
Look at your business objectives, target audiences, and research the latest social platforms to see if there are new opportunities you haven’t yet discovered.
3. Customer and prospect engagement
A large part of your social media marketing should be centered around the customer experience (CX). Research shows that the more personalized communication between the company and the customer, the better the chance of earning their business.
- 33% of customers who abandoned a business relationship did so because of lack of personalization.
- 89% of consumers have switched to doing business with a competitor following a poor customer experience.
Personalization and positive CX work hand-in-hand. Successful businesses use the power of personalization on social platforms to retarget audiences, provide personal videos, quizzes, and more. Businesses take advantage of these tactics to improve the CX for new and existing customers, making them feel special as individuals. Companies love to keep that good feeling going by retaining your business again and again, as attracting new customers is six to seven times more expensive than keeping a current one.
Another great way to engage your audience is to show you value their feedback. Just like with storytelling, your strategy for engagement should be less about you and more about the customer. Respond as best you can to comments, direct messages, reviews, and have an open line of communication with your audience. After all, your audience has the powerful tool of word-of-mouth persuasion and 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family.
Increasing your traffic, growing brand awareness, and cultivating existing relationships should be at the core of every social media marketing strategy. The digital marketing experts at Americaneagle.com can help you develop a custom social presence that funnels users to your conversion points with tactics that work. Our team can help with any of your marketing needs, from content marketing and copywriting services to search engine optimization (SEO) and email marketing and automation. Find out more about our services by contacting us today!
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