What started as a fun way to network with friends and family has exploded over the last few decades into a multi-billion dollar industry. Social media is more than just filtered photos and short dog videos. It’s a digital marketing must-have.
In 2021 alone, social media reached over 3 billion people worldwide. In fact, the average person spends over two hours a day scrolling and engaging on a variety of social networks.
Paid vs. Organic Social Media
Anyone, brands and individuals alike, attempting to make it on social media organically will tell you just how difficult it is. That said, organic social media very much has a place. It is a great long-term, affordable way to build brand awareness and create a community around your brand and products. However, it won’t be an overnight success unless you can create truly engaging content.
Given that organic social media is more of a long game for branding and community cultivation, paid social media can help formulate a more holistic strategy. Paid advertising is a great way to introduce your brand to new people, collect contact information from your core customer groups and drive traffic and conversions on your website.
In 2022, a complete and holistic social media strategy must include both organic and paid efforts to truly make the most of your brand’s social media power.
An Integrated Strategy
The average user has over 8 different social media accounts. That means that you have approximately 8 platforms where you can reach customers if you create an integrated strategy. The goal should be to create customized content for each platform that blends seamlessly to create a cohesive brand experience.
This also gives you an opportunity to guide potential customers down your marketing funnel – hitting them with a variety of ad types across each platform to build brand visibility and fulfill your marketing objectives.
It used to be you could advertise on a platform or two but in order to create a successful and efficient marketing strategy, integrating different platforms together is key.
Social Commerce Is Here To Stay
It’s impossible to scroll through your Instagram feed without seeing shopping tags, whether on brand posts or influencer posts. The addition of these tags and the implementation of fully functional shops on Instagram is an efficient way to sell products and services in the app itself. This helps create an efficient conversion path for users looking to quickly purchase products and helps reduce the number of clicks it takes to add items to their cart and checkout.
Short Video Reigns Supreme
Video content continues to be key to any digital marketing strategy and utilizing short form video content on social media should be an integral part of your marketing plan. After a disappointing fourth quarter earnings report, Meta (the artist formerly known as Facebook) circulated an internal memo emphasizing the importance of video content. And as the reigning leader of all things social media, listening to Meta might just be the way to go.
If that wasn’t enough to illustrate the importance of short videos in your marketing plan, take a look at TikTok. TikTok has over 689 million monthly active users, most of whom land between the ages of 10 and 29. In addition, the average TikTok user spends about 45 minutes a day on the app which is a lot of content considering each video is only a minute or less. The sheer amount of content being consumed on TikTok makes it the perfect platform for many brands to advertise and partner with influencers.
It’s no surprise that social media continues to demand attention (and budget) from marketers everywhere. And while there is no one-size-fits all social media plan, there is no doubt that social media is a solid solution for those looking to grow their brand’s visibility and drive both web traffic and conversions.
