Let’s face it. Much of our everyday life now takes place on a screen. Whether it’s doing remote work, talking to a friend on the phone, or mindlessly scrolling on our favorite app, it has become difficult to imagine our lives without our travel-sized electronic companions. With the world at our fingertips, much of what we shop for and buy is on our phones, tablets, or computers, making social media a goldmine for marketers. Only if they know how to use it.
Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or just getting started, it’s becoming crucial to know your way around social media. It’s time to gain an in-depth understanding of the latest marketing tools and strategies designed specifically for this modern age. Reaching your audience has never been this easy, with a myriad of powerful techniques waiting to be explored. Master the best social media practices in 2024 to stay ahead of the competition and ensure your brand’s growth.
3 Tips to Get Educated
To excel in social media marketing, it’s essential to get educated on the who and what that makes up your brand: your audience, your desired social media platforms, and your brand identity. Without authentically knowing these components, it’s impossible to implement the best practices that work for your business. By gaining a deep understanding of these elements, your brand can create a cohesive social media presence that resonates and connects with your target audience through the digital world.
1. Know Your Audience
As every marketing professor in the history of marketing has said, you need to understand your target audience. This is especially important for a business that is looking to increase or improve its social media presence. Don’t know where to begin? It starts with identifying the right buyer personas. 56% of companies generated higher-quality leads using buyer personas. Find out specific demographics, likes and dislikes, and values. Use segmentation to fully engulf yourself in the mind of your desired audience, and you’re likely to find them on the social media platforms they frequent.
Are you servicing Gen-Zs, who prioritize sustainability and prefer high-quality products? Or is your target the Boomer generation, which has been identified by marketers as the hardest generation to reach in recent years?
Unsurprisingly, your target's preferred social media platform varies depending on their age and demographic. Identifying and familiarizing yourself with the platform(s) used by your target consumer is a great start to practicing the best social media practices for your company. Whichever age group you desire, the level of importance of thorough research and knowledge about your target remains unchanged.
2. Know Your Platform
Based on their target audience, marketers can concentrate their research and content creation on the social media platforms that will reach these consumers. Once you have a desired group in mind, a great way to get to know a digital platform is by identifying the key differences between the applications. It starts with evaluating the metrics, such as content types, active users, and, obviously, demographics. Fun fact: 90% of the Baby Boomer generation is on social media, proving that even the most unlikely group is there and, if they are your desired audience, waiting for your brand to reach them.
Knowing your target and the content they consume will assist you in finding your voice on social media. Social media interaction acts as a way to have conversations and build connections with your final audience. Be careful – there are different ways to do this, depending on the platform you’re utilizing. Social media content types, platform etiquette, and mood are all important attributes of these applications. Start by identifying your brand’s voice before creating specific tones for each media outlet.
3. Know Your Brand
Who are you? What does your company stand for? Establishing a strong brand identity is crucial in developing an effective social media presence. Every post, repost, and share should reflect how you want your audience to view your brand. Being consistent with this identity across platforms allows your target to connect with your company authentically.
64% of consumers want brands to connect with them. I would argue that none of these consumers want to connect with a brand that’s difficult to read. Think of your social media presence as a reflection of what your brand stands for. Your values. Your interests. Your personality. These characteristics should radiate off the screen every time you engage with your audience. Consumers are likely to interact with brands that share similarities with them, so listen to what your target audience is trying to tell you before it’s time to hit “Share.”
4 Essential Tools and Strategies
In the ever-evolving landscape of social media and digital marketing, staying informed on the latest tools and approaches is crucial for your business’ success. By leveraging advancing technologies and innovative strategies, you can enhance your reach, engagement, and overall impact. Below are some of the most effective tools and strategies that are paving the way for social media marketing in 2024. Find out which of these methods work for you and your brand to maximize your potential.
1. Artificial Intelligence
As we make our way through 2024, artificial intelligence continues and will continue to affect everyday life. Marketers have the opportunity to use AI as a resource, especially when engaging in social media marketing. Personalized content and recommendations are the tip of the iceberg of what marketers can do with this tool. Businesses have reached a new level of reach with their target, as AI-driven targeting works to adjust advertisements in real-time based on a single consumer. By making AI your friend, you can save time and energy on reaching your audience. But be warned, companies should engage with AI as a resource, not as a solution for lazy marketing.
2. Influencer Marketing
With the rise of social media followed the rise of influencers. Many consumers trust their favorite content creators to provide the best recommendations on products, ranging from skincare to automobiles. With the coined name “influencer,” these social media figures function to, well, influence. Lucky for marketers, these two parties have something in common. Engaging in partnerships with influencers is an incredible way for your brand to reach your target audience. Not to sound like a broken clock, but it all starts with your end consumer. Find out who they are watching and if this person can be a positive representation of your brand. If it’s a match, you are one step closer to the eyes of your intended audience and potentially a new batch of customers.
3. Video Content
Video content makes up a large portion of social media content in 2024. With popular applications such as TikTok and YouTube, videos have the opportunity to tell a story that a photo or infographic cannot. After identifying your target and their preferred social media platform, you can now determine if videos are the best route for you and your brand. Video content may not be as intuitive as it seems. All types of social media posts need a message and reason, as well as copious amounts of TLC after putting out. Video content is especially tricky, specifically when it comes to analytics and metrics. View, like, and share metrics are measured the same as photo-based posts, but watch time, repeat watching, and engagement provide different information, therefore analysis, for marketers.
4. Social Commerce
What is social e-commerce? This addition to social media may be new to many marketers. This integration expands on placed advertisements and clickable links previously scattered throughout many social media platforms. Simply put, imagine if Amazon was now fully integrated with a social media application. Introducing TikTok Shop. And this is (most likely) only the beginning. Consumers now have the capability to shop as they scroll, buying a product as soon as it hits their feed. Marketers can push their customers right to the shopping cart by integrating their products into a buyer’s tapping, scrolling, or watching time. This is seen on applications such as Instagram and Pinterest, where users can tap on specific products in a photo, bringing them straight to the company’s website.
Data Analytics
As revolutionizing as social media is, it has its downfalls. What worked last week may not be “trendy” by next month. As quickly as something hits our Explore Page, it can just as quickly be deemed as “out of style.” Having a comprehensive understanding of your company’s analytics is crucial to keeping up with the ever-changing social web. So, how do you know which statistics and measurements are valuable to your business? Well, it depends on what you want to know. Most marketers are constantly tracking metrics such as engagement and impressions. Newer metrics that are being prioritized, such as retention and customer satisfaction, answer different questions. It all comes down to what you want to know from your consumer, keeping in mind that new and crucial information could always be discovered through an under-measured metric.
Your priority is your consumer. Use your past data to see what they liked, didn’t like, or what “went viral.” Track follower growth, reach, and engagement, and don’t be scared to take risks if you have the analytics to back it up.
How to Be Successful
To engage in the most effective social media marketing in 2024, it all comes back to your audience. There are an endless amount of strategies, tools, and applications to experiment with. Don’t get lost in the maze. Listen to what your consumer is asking of you, and capitalize on these resources to be the brand that your target is looking for. Recognize that social media will never be stagnant. Be vigilant. Be prepared. Be creative. Most importantly, be authentic.
