Marketing is a pivotal part of any business and can be approached in a variety of ways.

There are different variations of marketing; paper, face-to-face, and our personal favourite here at Influence: digital.

Navigating the marketing world can be tricky, so here are our top 5 tips and tricks to get your online presence into gear:

1. Set achievable goals.

2. Define your audience.

3. Know your platforms.

4. Determine what to post.

5. Invest in social media management.

1. Set Achievable Goals

By creating realistic and achievable goals, you are setting yourself up for success.

Setting goals you are unlikely to reach will have the opposite effect. But what is a realistic goal? Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re a freelancer or small business, with almost little to no social presence. You’re fluent in the bustling noise of social media, and you have some ideas to help yourself stand out.

After setting up a brand new, fresh account on Instagram, you set the following goals: gain 100 followers monthly, make 2/3 sales through your advertisements, and get 20 profile views per day. These are all perfectly meetable standards.

If you find you still struggle to meet your aims, don’t worry. Social media is used by over 77% of businesses now [1] which means more competition.

Baby steps are the way forward in any successful advertising campaign, not just digital. Take things slowly, and don’t expect yourself to go viral overnight. Stick at it, and maybe - just maybe - that one throwaway post may suddenly give you more traffic than you think.

2. Define Your Audience

Ultimately, your service might not be for everyone. And that’s a good thing.

Why?

With over 5 billion people using social media [1], narrowing that number down will allow you to push your product to a niche audience. Determine who you’re trying to reach and speak to them. That last part is key - make that potential customer recognise that not only do you need them, but they need you.

To make this easier for you, here’s a good way to break it down;

• Analyse your competitors - similar businesses will have a similar audience. If you analyse your competitors, you solve how they attract their clients. This is also an effective strategy to determine what your target audience doesn't respond to.

• Create personas - demographics (age, sex, race, education, employment), geographic (physical location) and psychographics (how they think, behave and feel - consider emotions) are segments that every person shares - so use them. Come up with your ideal customer, give them a name, an age and one of every other -aphic and sell to them. There is no shame in stereotyping here; assumptions are the name of the game.

• What, Why, How - You should always know how your goals help your business. To outline your goals, you need to know how to sell to your target audience, why your target audience should buy from you and what makes you different. Asking these questions puts you in their mindset, and there’s no better place for a marketer to be.

3. Know Your Platforms

Every platform has a different demographic, and it’s crucial to understand where you should and more importantly, shouldn’t be.

If we could tell every business we work with one thing, it’s this: don’t try to be on every platform.

Time is money, and social pages take a lot of effort to hold a consistent standard. And if you’re on your own, managing these can exhaustingly feel like a second job. Don’t waste resources trying to market yourself in an area where your customers aren’t.

Sure, you might miss out on a few extra customers. However, the time spent on platforms that don’t resonate with potential buyers can be spent on platforms that do, and are even more engaging to your business.

Not sure what platform to use? Don’t worry, here’s some demographic data for some of the biggest socials to help you out:

4. Determine What To Post

Easily the most crucial (and terrifying) part of marketing is posting. How do you decide what to put out? What if it fails? What if it doesn’t? Is it on brand? Are the hashtags relevant? Are there too many emojis?

Even with our decade-long experience in the field, we still ask these questions all the time. The best advice we can give you is…

Research.

Looking at similar businesses is easily the best way to know what works. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, but put your spin on it. If you’ve set attainable goals, and determined who you’re selling to, decide what appeals to your segmented audience. Look at facts, data, and statistics.

Ultimately, that advice is fairly broad, so here are some ideas to kickstart that social schedule into action.

• Fun facts about your product/service - Keep it simple and sweet, and give it a personal spin. People like knowing there’s someone on the other end.

• Myth-busting - As an expert, prove those old wives’ tales of your industry wrong. You get to demonstrate your knowledge and inform your audience along the way.

• A Day In The Life - This one is easy content. Document your routine and show them the side of your role they never see. You’re already a natural at it, so don’t be afraid to show off!

• Reviews - Who do customers believe more than anyone else? Other customers. Posting your best 5-star reviews makes you look reputable.

• Product Photography - Why talk about how good your product looks? Let viewers see it! They’re called viewers for a reason and it’s your opportunity to capitalise on that. Don’t have the gear to do your own? Take a look at our product photography and see if it’s a fit for your brand.

• FAQs - Tired of repeatedly answering the same questions? Give people an answer before they ask. This also shows a sense of caring for your audience and helps create that personal connection.

5. Invest in Social Media Management

Social media is constantly changing, and trying to keep up with the ever-shifting trends of the online landscape can be challenging. That’s why outsourcing to specialists can be one of the most valuable investments your business can make.

We do the work, you get the payoff.

At Influence Media, we promise to take that weight off your shoulders. We specialize in digital marketing, social media, photography, videography, and more.

What we can do for you:

• Completely manage your Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.

• Respond to tweets and comments and interact authentically with other users

• Create visually appealing and relevant original content.

• Build an authentic and engaged audience.

• Develop unique, forward-thinking marketing ideas to reach new users.

• Take advantage of the latest trends.

• Analyze campaign metrics to measure results, refine your strategy and ensure your social media success.

  
  

Interested? Get in touch through our contact page.

References:

[1] - https://www.demandsage.com/social-media-users/

[2] - https://www.statista.com/