By Henry Brown

Social media has well and truly taken over. To be successful online nowadays and have a dominant presence, you need to master the world of social media. From Twitter and Facebook, to Pinterest and LinkedIn, there are many different platforms at your disposal. This can often be a bit overwhelming to those with no experience in using social media for marketing purposes. Keeping that in mind, read on to discover some top tips regarding effective social media marketing strategies…

Quality not quantity 

First and foremost, choosing what social media platforms to utilize is imperative. Whilst you shouldn’t merely have one social media account, you also shouldn’t have loads of them! You need to choose with care. Facebook is probably the only platform that every single business should be using. Aside from this, you need to think about your consumer base and the type of content you are going to be posting. For instance, if your target consumer is a female and you are going to be posting a lot of picture content, you have to establish yourself on Pinterest. This is the fastest-growing social media site, however, it is extremely female-dominated.

If you are a professional or a freelancer, establishing yourself on LinkedIn is advisable. It’s great for those providing B2B services, like expert rapid prototyping services. Instagram is great for restaurants and such like. Twitter is for short and snappy pieces of information. News organizations, sports industries and such like are at home here.

Use photographs

Image-marketing is becoming increasingly popular. You only have to look at the rise of Instagram and Pinterest to see that this is the case. Incorporating images is easy for some business, such as fashion stores, travel operators and food companies! However, it can be increasingly difficult for others. Don’t merely include them for the sake of it. Make sure they are relevant. Infographics are exceptionally effective and can be used across all industries.

Build relationships

Social media is not as simple as directly sending people to your website to purchase products. There are companies that use Twitter to simply send tweets plugging their products and nothing else! This will not be effective. Social media is all about building a relationship with your customers. The content you need to create has to be influential, engaging, fresh and interest. Use many different forms of content as well! From video demonstrations, to DIY tips, to competitions… the list is endless!

Timing is everything

Last but not least, getting your timing right is everything. This all depends on the type of social media platform you are using. When it comes to Twitter, you need to post on a regular basis. Twitter users log into their account much more frequently than other social media users do.  Think about when your users are most likely to be online as well, i.e. during lunch hours and commute hours.

So there you have it – some effective strategies you should consider when it comes to developing your social media marketing campaign. The importance of getting social media right cannot be stressed enough!

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.