Social media is a critical tool for modern marketing. The majority of today's companies hold a clear presence on at least one digital platform, be it Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or even Pinterest. Internet users are increasingly unwilling to seek out products or services from businesses not represented on social media.

Keeping up with this quickly changing digital environment can seem overwhelming; hence the rapidly expanding opportunities for social media marketing jobs and automated services. If we've discovered anything about digital marketing, however, it's that the social media marketing business warrants a personal touch. Below, we offer valuable social media marketing ideas that will help you gain an edge as you build stronger relationships with your clients and customers.

Social Media Marketing Benefits

It's no secret that social media marketing offers a myriad of benefits for businesses across a range of industries. Before developing a digital marketing strategy, however, it is important for business leaders to understand this basic social media marketing definition: this valuable tactic involves building relationships with consumers via platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It's not just about alerting customers to sales; it's about giving followers a feel for a given brand and demonstrating why that brand is worth trusting.

Social media is beloved among businesses, in part, because it's uniquely accessible. Any organization can build a following on Facebook or find an invested audience on YouTube. While costs can vary dramatically based on each company's approach, social media has the potential to deliver considerable return on investment. It can also amplify existing SEO efforts, thereby making blogs and other digital strategies more effective. Perhaps most importantly, an effective social media strategy can inspire the type of customer loyalty that might otherwise take years to build.

Avoidable Mistakes with Social Media

A mere presence on social media isn't enough. As countless social media marketing articles and social media marketing courses point out, followers don't want to feel as if they are being bombarded with marketing messages from a business that doesn't really care about them and their needs; they want to feel heard and valued. For this reason, all social media efforts should arise from a genuine desire to help followers.

One of the most easily avoidable mistakes? Oversaturating followers' news feeds. While regular interaction is critical, it's easy to take this to an excess. Don't post just for the sake of posting. Likewise, you'll want to look carefully at the proportion of social media posts that come across purely as marketing; how often do you share interesting information with followers, versus telling them to sign up for a service or check out a sale? Top social media marketing companies advise balance, with just enough informative content to keep followers interested and just enough promotional material to prompt conversions.

Another avoidable mistake: not targeting your message based on your core consumer. Today's social media followers prefer a personalized approach. This means determining your target market and what they want from their social media exploits. Use this information to develop a clear plan. This social media marketing plan example might help: a fitness club targeted at young women should actively plan to use the upbeat language and inspirational images that appeal to this cohort.

Contact Art's Cube

Are you ready to amp up your social media or other digital marketing efforts? At Art's Cube, we're happy to help. As a full-service digital marketing agency, we are intimately familiar with modern marketing tactics and capable of implementing them in a way that benefits your business. We personalize our approach to meet your unique needs. Contact us at your earliest convenience to learn more about our custom approach — and to discover how we can transform your digital marketing strategy.