Social media is a must-have for every industry. Nowadays, even shoemakers and hairdressers have their profiles online, although until recently it would have been difficult to imagine this. It is increasingly difficult to operate a business outside the circulation of social media. It is worth using them for your marketing purposes.
What will you learn from the article?
Social media has become an integral part of our lives – both personal and professional. But when is it worth using them in marketing? How to effectively integrate them with our business strategy to bring real benefits? Is it possible to run an effective marketing campaign without their participation?
Currently, the role of social media in business cannot be overestimated. They can open doors to new markets, increase customer engagement and build a strong brand. At the same time, their improper use carries certain risks that may harm the company.
In this article, we will look at why it is worth monitoring social media, what their advantages and disadvantages are, and how to use them effectively in marketing. We will follow the latest trends and practices that will shape the social media landscape in 2024.
Social media are virtual places where we establish social relationships and are members of a community. Initially, their task was purely entertaining and social. Today, we cannot imagine running a business without them - they have become an indispensable tool of marketing communication.
Social media - definition
Nowadays, every consumer, employee, company manager knows how important a role social media play in our everyday life and work. The definition of this concept has evolved over the years due to newer and newer forms of its use. Social media, translated from English "social media", are various forms of media through which people can communicate via the Internet. When analyzing many different approaches to this topic, the functions of social media are emphasized, namely: providing information, views, creating content by users, and at the same time using them for marketing activities by companies.
In recent years, the importance of social media in our lives has increased enormously. The definition from years ago emphasized that these platforms are primarily created as a communication channel. Nowadays, it cannot be forgotten that thanks to these media, users can publish, create and change content themselves. The role of these media in marketing strategies has increased significantly, because today it is difficult to find a positive brand image, high reputation or high sales results without the company's existence in social media.
When is it worth using social media in marketing?
Social media offers amazing opportunities when it comes to marketing communication. This there your customers spend on average about an hour a day (Facebook), 53 minutes (Instagram) and 40 minutes (Youtube). If you add to this the fact that half of humanity already has an account on social networking sites, it is easy to understand what a powerful tool you have in front of you. You can plan there customer lifetime value and manage the relationship with the customer in an extremely direct way.
The ultimate goal of all your marketing efforts is to generate more revenue and attract more customers. This is also the goal of activities in the area of social media. Sales support it should always be at the back of the head of people who put on and run profiles there. A common mistake is to generate social media traffic as an end in itself. After all, such action is not related to the prospering of companies in most industries. So always make sure that communication strategy and being in SM was part of a bigger plan. A plan that ends with more sales or more customers. Social media is also a good place to run PR campaigns or crisis management. You can't react faster than with a Tweet or a Facebook post.
How to be effective in social media?
Check which strategy we recommend for your company.
How to effectively use social media in marketing?
Of course, social media is used for the marketing of Polish companies. Still, many of them use them in the dark. Sometimes you can see that it is "art for the sake of art", and the pursuit of "likes" has no basis in a broader business idea. Other Polish brands are doing great in the digital environment, the pillar of which is social media. Especially marketing strategy and the sale of young brands is sometimes based solely on this environment. In Poland, YouTube is the most popular social medium today, followed by Facebook and Instagram.
However, since even the president has an account on TikTok (actually he had it until August, because he deleted it), McDonald's recruits via Snapchat, and Burberry has a store on WeChat, we also need to mention smaller platforms. The most popular Polish companies on Facebook are Orange and Play. On YouTube, the authors of most of the most popular channels cooperate with brands from time to time, and the videos often include advertising messages. It is also difficult to separate brands from influencers on Instagram, because Anna Lewandowska or Ewa Chodakowska are both stars and faces of companies or businesswomen.
Social media – can you do without them?
So is social media mandatory today? Probably yes. It is worth noting that even most of the noble brands associated with quality and class (tailors from Savile Road or the oldest stores in the world in Japan) also have their profiles at least in some social media. The problem of a company that does not even have a Facebook profile is not that fact in itself. The problem may be that her clients cannot get in touch with her quickly and find all the information they need. Meanwhile, the competition responds instantly on Messenger, advises on YouTube, and even sells via an Instagram account.
Where to start?
A well-known rule is to start with one platform that is closest to your heart, instead of opening many different channels at the same time. You should also remember that regularity and fresh information are important in social media. If the last post is from many months or years ago, the customer may get the impression that the company is not working or is having problems. Therefore, if you engage in social media activity, it is worth continuing it systematically. Posts don't have to appear every day, but it's important to connect with your customers from time to time.
Youtube is a grateful medium. Even many famous brands have just a few clips that last from tens of seconds to several minutes. However, they are made with the utmost care and gradually build brand awareness and reach also among video fans. In this medium, it is much better to focus on 1-2 quality materials ordered from the agency than many long, not very original films explaining the meanders of business.
Use of social media in marketing - threats
The presence in social media is not only a plus. Along with them, many challenges and threats arise that can contribute to the failure of the entire marketing campaign. Instead of success, the company will fail and, consequently, may lose loyal customers or generate less profit.
The first threat associated with social media is hate, i.e. hate speech. People feel with impunity on the internet. They are not afraid to express their opinions - even the extreme, controversial ones. They often post critical, vulgar, or aggressive posts for quite a reason. Unfortunately, a large number of unfavorable comments may have a negative impact on the brand's reputation.
The second threat to your social media marketing strategy is the lack of user interaction. Effective communication marketing is based on conducting a continuous, uninterrupted dialogue with customers. Recipients count on quick feedback. If they don't get it, they may feel left out and disregarded. Unfortunately, the lack of interaction from the brand may contribute to the deterioration of relations with the target group, and in the worst case, even to the loss of loyal customers.
Why is it worth monitoring social media?
In the age of the Internet, it's hard to have control over everything that people write about a brand. And it's not just about comments on the company's social profiles. This includes all mentions of the brand on the web. Users express their opinions freely, conduct discussions about the brand (good or bad). Unfortunately, the lack of control over the statements of Internet users is a threat to the success of marketing campaigns in social media. The solution to this problem is media monitoring. Monitoring tools (such as Brand24 or Hootsuite) allow you to control what is written about the brand on the Internet (also in social media). The tools analyze all mentions, inform about them, and thus allow for an immediate reaction. By using internet monitoring tools, you can be wherever there are discussions about your brand.
What to pay attention to?
When talking about the dangers of using social media in marketing, one cannot fail to mention inadequately selected advertising messages. A badly planned, inappropriate or too controversial campaign (e.g. advertising based on negative emotions or touching socially important issues / problems in an inappropriate way) will not bring the expected results and may even cause a decrease in recipients' trust in the brand.
Lack of authenticity and spreading false information (e.g. breaking promises, repeating lies or sharing fake news) are also a significant threat. Users will quickly sense a falsehood, which may have a negative impact on the brand image.
Focusing strictly on sales and generating profits, and at the same time not including the element of building positive, lasting relationships with recipients is a big mistake. You have to keep a balance in the social media.
Social media and their role in business
"If you are not on Facebook, you do not exist" - once a popular slogan among young people, which today can also be successfully applied to brands. Social media has become an inseparable element of the functioning of companies on the market. Properly applied, they play a huge role in business.
First of all, they are an excellent tool for building lasting, long-term relationships with customers. Through engagement and interactions, you can gain the loyalty and trust of your target audience. What's more, social media allows you to reach a much larger audience than other media. The specificity of social media allows you to create interesting content that loyal fans of the brand will be happy to share on their profiles. Forwarding posts is a form of referral marketing. A satisfied customer talks about the brand among his community, and encouraged by a positive message, he visits the company's profile.
Social media allows you to prepare a detailed profile of a potential customer. They have been enriched with special tools that collect data about users - e.g. statistics on Instagram, where data such as the age range of observers, place of residence or gender are provided. A brand that gets to know its target group better will create more effective advertising messages.
What is Influencer marketing?
There is a concept associated with social media influencer marketing. It is a form of marketing in social media, which consists in promoting specific brands or their products / services by internet creators in return for remuneration (money or product). Well-run influencer marketing can bring many business benefits. It is a great tool for building brand awareness and increasing its popularity on the market.
It is an effective form of advertising that not only allows you to reach new customers (influencer followers), but also creates a brand that is closer to its recipients - gives it a human face. The brand accompanies the creators every day. Influencers identify with her and create good PR around her. Thanks to this, the company gains popularity, generates higher profits and strengthens its position on the market.
Friendly brand in social media - image building process
For social media marketing to be effective, it must be well-thought-out and conducted in an appropriate manner. Before you create a marketing strategy, take care of your brand's image in the media. A positive image is a solid foundation for a marketing strategy.
Creation image in social media takes time and commitment. There are no shortcuts. You have to take conscious steps and consistently pursue the goal - and at the same time act in accordance with the mission and vision of the brand. The image in social media must be authentic. A fake image will not work in the long run. Pretending to be someone you are not will not do you any good. The truth will come out sooner or later, and the brand will lose instead of gaining.
The first step image creation is the analysis of the target group - which will enable the selection of the appropriate social medium. Some people are easier to reach through Facebook, while others spend more time on Instagram. Choosing the right medium is the key to creating effective advertising messages.
What matters in social media is consistency - visual identification, content, communication and other elements. Consistency will allow you to maintain the aesthetics of the image.
Content in social media
Let's stay with the content for a moment. More than one marketer will tell you that "content is the key". The content must be engaging, creative, consistent with the brand's mission and vision, and unique in its own way. They should reflect what the brand is outside of social media. You have to get involved in creating content. Passion and regularity count. People will definitely appreciate interesting, original content. They will be happy to read it, watch it, and pass it on.
The relationship with users cannot be forgotten either. A company that maintains contact with its recipients, cares about them and pays attention to their needs, will be much better received than one that does not interact with observers.
When creating an image in social media, the important thing is to create positive associations around the brand that will distinguish it from the competition - emotions, impressions, feelings, values that will appear in people's minds at the thought of the company. The situation in social media must be constantly monitored and, if necessary, the marketing strategy must be modified accordingly - in such a way as to adjust the message to the changing trends as much as possible.
Social media in marketing in 2024
In the forecasts for 2018 or 2019, social media was about to end, but we are still seeing its boom. It can be said that e-commerce in social media just crawling. After all, shopping on Instagram has been possible only since 2017, and Facebook is just getting started with such solutions on a large scale. In October 2020, Bloomberg wrote that Google wants to make YouTube an important place to shop. This means that the most interesting things in social media marketing are still ahead of us.
Intelligent marketing, what is it?
Wise companies will understand that intelligent marketing in 2024 will be expressed in transparency, authenticity and even sensitivity. People ultimately connect with people, not companies. This means that the brand should be personified in a way that reveals who and what it represents.
The online marketplace is becoming more and more saturated and social media is outdoing each other in the fight for users' attention. Advertising costs on these platforms continue to rise. What does it mean? Going back to the fundamental aspects of running an advertising campaign on Facebook and Instagram will be crucial to your success. Behind this is a careful assessment of the customer's lifecycle.
Knowledge about CLV and average customer value are necessary. Without this, the company does not know how much it can pay for a potential customer to keep it profitable. In turn, with this information, he can develop forecasts and an advertising strategy that reflects real customer data. Then it can deal with the development of innovative advertising campaigns that in a creative way correspond to the preferences of Facebook users. So it remains to answer the fundamental question.