From a company’s perspective, it should always be clear that entering the world of social media marketing should not be undertaken without a clear strategy. Because even if social media is still “only” a side issue in your marketing mix, no resources should be wasted here.
- Who do we want to reach on social media?
- What do we want to trigger in the user with our posts?
- How do we want to define our social media goals?
These are just a few questions to which a clear answer should be found in advance. Without them, the “Social Media Marketing” project is on shaky ground right from the start. The selection of the (supposedly) right social media channels should also be well thought out. Not only that, all channels speak their very own “language.” The production of high-quality content also takes a corresponding amount of time – or less – on the respective channels. A time that should be well planned! Otherwise, social media will quickly become an everyday problem. And as soon as this point is reached, social media is usually “pulled down” again as quickly as possible. That’s for sure.
Disadvantages
Hardly Any Reach Without Advertising
The social media landscape has become increasingly rough for companies in recent years. One of the apparent disadvantages in the area of social media is, therefore – at least in comparison to the past – that companies rarely achieve a correspondingly relevant reach without advertising. If you want to reach new – and existing (!) – target groups, you must invest accordingly in advertising on the respective channel, for better or worse.
Does that mean that social media is no longer accessible to companies? Yes, but somehow not necessarily. As of today, companies have to be ready to plan a corresponding monthly ad budget and thus ensure sufficient reach. After all, the best content is useless if nobody sees it!
No Content, No Community
Social media channels live from the content. No content, no likes. And without “likes,” no community. Companies that don’t manage to inspire the users of a platform with their content will find it challenging to achieve success. After all, it is about convincing them of your own company with the help of your content.
For companies, this is about understanding the “language” of the respective platform and giving the published content a unique “touch.” Of course, content should also be posted regularly. This is the only way to stay in the mind of your community. Companies that don’t have the time to produce content continuously have a hard time right from the start. After all, why should someone follow their company presence if added value is not always provided here?
Comments, Shitstorms And Co
Let’s not kid ourselves: not every published content of your company is a “hit.” From time to time, your content immediately prompts questions, comments, and criticism. It is important to react quickly to this and, above all, to react professionally. After all, social media thrives on multi-way communication. Companies that want to be successful here must take the time to interact with the community.
It often becomes problematic for many companies if this communication occurs at the weekend. The workforce may enjoy the weekend here. The community likes to interact here – and prefers to get timely answers. As a company, you must adapt to this situation and be prepared to go the “extra mile” even on weekends and public holidays. Such are the rules of social media.
Advantages
Reach New Audiences And Higher Sales
Where there is a lot of work lurking, chances are usually lurking. The same goes for social media marketing. For companies, social media offer excellent opportunities to expand the reach of their own company, open up new target groups and increase sales. And: in contrast to the “classic,” often costly media, the costs for social media marketing are comparatively low. This is one of the significant advantages of social media. In addition, the new target groups can be used effectively to get feedback on existing products or even to discover product innovations. As a company, you must know “how” to get (correctly) into conversation with the target group!
Increase Customer Brand Loyalty
The brand loyalty of many customer groups has fallen sharply over the past few years in almost every industry. It’s no wonder that the next option is usually just a “click” away. But it is precise with “repeat offenders” that companies have customer groups in their ranks that boost profits. Acquiring new customers is still many times more expensive than convincing existing customers to make another purchase. Companies use social media cleverly to enter into a permanent exchange with existing customers in a targeted manner. This can often make a difference in the competition!
Gain New Market Share
Social media can help to close this gap, mainly when a company operates in an industry in which there are (very) large competitors. Because whenever the big competitors interact with the target group in a standardized and “impersonal” way, you can shine as a small competitor with the most satisfactory customer service. Companies should always seize these opportunities and gradually convince the target group of their offer. Even if it may seem tedious in some places to “recruit” potential customers individually – this strategy is worth it in the medium to long term.
Collect New Content Ideas
As an agency, you hear one sentence repeatedly: “We simply don’t have any content ideas.” But: social media can also be seen as a “cure-all” for this. After all, where would a company collect more content ideas than in the social media itself? Of course, this is not about simply copying the competition’s content. However, you should contain information about what content the competition is continuously publishing and, above all, what content is well received by your target group. That’s how you learn, after all.
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