Spreading word of your business online on social media is a no-brainer but what are some good ways to really capture your audience’s attention? We delve into this tricky topic.
Imagine your Facebook ad getting a ton of views and streams of visitors pouring into your website. What a great way to start your campaign, right? Well, in most cases, you want to be able to generate at least enough interest to bring more customers into the fold, enough to cover the costs of your campaign, and hopefully create some lasting impressions on your audience. But is it always as simple as this?
It’s not usually easy to achieve this without some knowledge of how social media performs as an advertising medium, how targeted campaigns work and why you need a solid understanding of design, copywriting and marketing in order to cut through the clutter. And then it’s a matter of choosing the right channels for your message.
Here, we will go through some ways to boost your chances of launching an effective marketing campaign on social media for your business.
- Targeted ads
Facebook allows you to target your ads to specific groups of people based on their demographics, preferences, hobbies and interests. It even allows for ads targeted at those who have engaged with your business before, online or off, or ‘lookalike audiences’ who are those who have similar interests to your existing customers. This allows you to design your ads with pinpoint targeting.
For example, as a blogger, I trawled for stock images online looking for the perfect picture to go with this article. Guess what ad popped up on my Facebook feed?
Targeted ads on Facebook can be very effective and sometimes downright uncanny in their timings. It’s commonplace enough these days that we expect ads to be catered to our personal preferences and habits. Having your ads appear at the right place at the right time is almost like being able to read your audience’s minds.
Core audience
However, to really be effective, you need to write ads that are specific to your particular audience instead of a general one. Selling your brand of rock band-inspired T-shirts might be easier if you targeted audiences who are interested in rock concerts, people of a certain age or those who have purchased electric guitars with a suitable message.
Custom audience
These are your returning customers, those who have purchased your products, interacted with your brand or otherwise shown interest in your business. Facebook can target your existing database of customers for you to craft special promotions for those who have tried your product. It’s always a good idea to focus a good portion of your resources on returning customers because they are more likely to come back for another purchase (assuming you’ve provided them with a satisfactory experience.)
Lookalike audiences
It’s up to you and how well you know your target audience, but don’t forget those outside of your core audience sphere who might have overlapping interests. Rock t-shirts may be popular with some female fashion groups. In those cases, tailoring your message for them would make it easier to convince them to browse your wares.
- Motion Attracts The Eye
Dr. Alan Grant said in Jurassic Park; “Don’t move. T-Rex’s vision is based on movement”. People are also attracted to moving objects (well, we can also see stationary things but I’m just trying to illustrate a point here). A video, GIF or otherwise animated piece of content will always be more visually important to our brains. It’s all about the survival instinct, where a moving object is a predator or prey, or maybe potentially a threat. Like this:
You want to be able to stop your audience as they scroll through their Facebook feed or Instagram stories and get them to stay with you as you convey your message. There are many ways to do this but visual storytelling often is best executed through moving pictures. It could be as simple as a few animated slides of text that boldly exclaim your selling point, or it can be as intricate as a full video shoot with effects, animations and emotional subtext. Next up, what about the human element?
- Influencers / Trendsetters
The impact of social media has spawned a host of personalities who are famous online. Gone are the days of having to become an actor or actress to become a celebrity. Youtubers, Instagram stars and TikTok’ers are the new generations of internet influencers who have huge followings and can spread their messages to hundreds of thousands of people at any given time. Having millions of followers means commanding a great amount of power over the attention spans of a good chunk of a particular niche market.
Some Youtubers such as Mr.Beast, PewDiePie and others have massive audiences of over 100 million followers, and are sponsored by many brands that are eager to jump in and tap into those markets. Many sponsors on Youtube will pay to send their products to the Youtuber to be endorsed or demonstrated by their chosen content creator. This allows them to seamlessly introduce their merchandise during the video and lend their credibility to the sponsor.
Get on board with an influencer within your price range and field of interest. If you have a tech product, aligning with a reviewer or tech expert on social media with a decently-sized following can help your brand to get into their spheres of awareness. Mind you that the eyeballs viewing the content on Youtube or Facebook may be spread out across the world so if your product can be shipped globally you’ll be making the most out of this endorsement.
Having an expert opinion on your product is great because you can harness the power of testimonials through an engaging platform. Good reviews online are great, but a segment dedicated to talking about your product can really showcase the features of your offering in greater detail, letting the influencer present unique opinions and perspectives and giving the item their due attention.
4) Employ Marketing Strategies
Shout out your strength
Building up your brand awareness is a process that is ongoing throughout the course of your business. Getting audiences to engage with your brand is where you can really spread your name around. If you have a unique proposition for your product, consider having that quality front and centre in your ads. Stand out from the competition by showcasing the waterproof tablet computer you have, or the tear-resistant shirts, or perhaps the 50 years of experience in marketing your company boasts. There’s always something you could tout that would stand apart from the rest of the similar products and services in your industry so find that out and advertise with that message.
Quality content and advertising
You can also engage with audiences by having an expertly done, high quality advertisement that showcases your core product. There are several ways in which you can take your brand to the next level with quality content. For example, a series of professional photographs shot in stunning or creative ways can change how your product is perceived, or an ad campaign could be based on a series of bold, provocative copywriting that evokes thought, emotion, and desire to sway your audience. It’s important to keep in mind to align your ads to focus on a style that stays true to your branding because while it’s okay to experiment with different approaches in advertising, a consistent brand image is the key for success in the long run.
Contests, promotions and samples
These activities are always part and parcel of the marketing strategies for companies because of the way they get the audience invested and engaged. Contests require more time from your customers and creates a sense of urgency, excitement and anticipation, where they interact with your brand in a manner that keeps them invested, but be sure to adhere to Facebook’s contest rules. Promotions such as discounts, special offers, member’s sales, and more are used primarily to boost sales numbers by giving back incentives to the customers for their patronage. In the case of samples and freebies, trials of a new product are stimulated to generate more interest in the latest offering. This is usually done for consumable products, but can sometimes be used for services as well, depending on the nature of the product, such as a free trial of software. On social media you can highlight these modes of advertising via videos, carousel ads, or even polls if you want to gather more information.
5) Tell Your Story
Brand And Personality
Some brands have distinct personalities that make them stand out. What makes your brand unique could be the voice of your brand, not just the product. Getting customers to identify with your particular brand means that you have to be true to your company’s spirit. Are you tough, down-to-earth and an everyman? Do you seek loftier, more affluent customers? What you say and how you say it can be a great way to align your brand with the archetypes of people that you aim to serve.
People responded very positively to the Dollar Shave Club’s brusque ads, because it spoke with an honesty and sense of humour that made them relatable to the average guy. It helped a lot that they made great razors and had a brilliant marketing strategy where they have a subscription service for their shaving products that delivered to customer homes on a regular basis and a campaign that targeted Youtube and social media ads, but without showcasing their personality in proud fashion, their ads would undoubtedly have not made as much of a splash as they did.
Campaign Stories
Having a social media campaign can really be effective when done in tandem with postings that take audiences on a journey. Having a pre-campaign teaser, post-campaign follow-up and charting the events throughout provides viewers with an opportunity to get more insight into your journey. Or you could have brand-centric posts that display the culture and personality you aim to cultivate to let your audience know what you’re all about.
Hopefully you have some inspired ideas to take from this. (We’re happy to oblige) And if you have any questions about how you can go about starting your own social media marketing campaign, feel free to drop us a line here at AnyMeta Sales Support and we’ll be glad to help. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more regular updates.
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