Social Media ~ Marketing Strategies

Hi again my beautiful people,

this week’s post is a hypothetical situation that I have to undertake. I’ve been given the task to advice my friend regarding social media marketing strategies to promote his online store for sporting gear.

Firstly, why is it important to have marketing strategies? Marketing strategies are used as a guide/road map to achieve SMART objectives and goals. If no marketing strategies have been identified, some consequences are: losing market shares, loss of profits, no competitive advantage, and it’ll be harder to gain and retain customers (Raychale 2018).

Target Demographic & Segments

First advice is to target his demographics, who are his customers? Are they young or older consumers? Knowing demographics and target segments helps create specific marketing strategies. As his product line is sporting gears, his target segments could be categorized into: young adults, sport professionals, fitness buff, active lifestyle, and sports. Knowing his target demographic will also help him to choose the social media platform that his consumers use more. For example, using Instagram is great to showcase his product line as it’ll reach his younger consumers. Facebook is another great social media platform to use: increased exposure to consumers, cheaper marketing expenses, build brand loyalty, and reach targeted consumers (Ayres 2018).

Build & Create Engaging Content 

A great way to attract and retain consumers is to build and create engaging content. The content of the post must be related to the brand’s identity. So for my friend, anything content relating to sporting gears is great. Use of pictures and videos are great to engage with consumers. Using Facebook live, Instagram stories to promote the product line will enforce the brand’s identity. However, posting too much promotional content can lead to consumers un-following the business as they find it a nuisance, therefore finding the right balance is important (York 2018).

Engage with Consumers 

Having a social media platform isn’t just to use it for promotional purposes. It is a great way to engage with consumers and they must not be ignored if the marketing strategy is to be successful. Social media is great to interact with consumers: starting a conversation, discussion certain topics, and even sharing content. Engaging  with consumers is great for brand awareness and creating brand loyalty. Response time should be within a reasonable time frame, people expect to get a reply within the first 4 hours (York 2018).

Social Media Audit

Using social media platforms is great and all but it needs to be monitored. Evaluating what worked and what hasn’t is a great way to do this. Some questions to ask are: am I reaching my intended target? Is my social media presence where I want it to be? How are my competitors doing? Revaluating can help to fix and implement new strategies to improve results.

 

Reference 

Ayres, S 2018, Top 10 benefits of a facebook business page, Post Planner, viewed 18th of September 2018, < https://www.postplanner.com/top-10-benefits-facebook-business-page/ >

Raychale 2018, The importance of a marketing strategy for businesses in 2018 & beyond, Lyfe, 5th June, viewed 18th of September 2018, < https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/importance-of-a-marketing-strategy/ >

York, A 2018, 7 Steps in creating a winning social media marketing strategy in 2018, Sprout Social, viewed 18th of September 2018, < https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-marketing-strategy/ >