Social Media Marketing 2024: Ultimate Guide

What Is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing involves creating and posting content and responding to online trends. Businesses create digital marketing content for social media to achieve sales goals, grow general brand awareness and increase loyalty among followers.

This can include large-scale social media marketing campaigns, like Spotify Wrapped, or organic posts that take off, like Wendy’s viral tweets. A company’s social media strategy could include influencer marketing to promote and sell products or consist of posting regular updates and content to engage followers and maintain a positive brand image.

Being active on social media is one part of a brand’s broader marketing strategy. By posting engaging content, businesses help consumers discover new products or services and, in turn, generate potential sales.

Here are some of the top benefits of social media marketing for businesses:

• Free to set up: Businesses can set up accounts on social media networks for free. Unless you pay someone to run your brand account or want to invest in paid ads, social media marketing can be a low or no-cost operation.
• Increased traffic: With direct link sharing or link-in-bio features, you can lead social media followers to your website or online shop.
• Gain new customers: Your social media profile could be a new customer’s first impression of your business. By posting interesting content, you can attract more followers and entice potential customers to learn more about your product or service. 
• Engagement: You’ll engage with some of your most loyal followers on social media. One way brands can interact with customers is to encourage and re-share user-generated content (UGC) — posts, photos or videos made by followers about your product or brand.
• Sell products: Many social media platforms feature built-in shopping or product listing which can help you promote your products and make buying easier for customers.
• Reputation management: By responding to negative comments or reviews and engaging in social listening, businesses can monitor public perception and head off potential crises. This allows you to manage your brand’s reputation and creates opportunities to turn bad reviews into positive customer experiences.

The first step for success on social media comes well before your first post. Creating a strong social media marketing strategy is essential to guide your decision-making around content. To help you devise your business’s social media strategy, we’ve detailed below six steps.

1. Set Goals 

Identify exactly what you want to achieve for your business on social media. Why does social media seem like the right marketing channel for your message? What do you hope to accomplish — more followers, more sales or something else? When you identify the key performance indicators (KPIs), you can track progress toward your goals and make strategic decisions around the timing of posts and content.

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Consider what type of user your brand is trying to reach on social media. Are you looking to expand into a new demographic, or do you want social media to be an alternative channel for your current audience? Each social media platform attracts a segment of consumers, based on factors like age, gender, occupation and more. By identifying the specific audience you want to reach, you can make smarter decisions about which platform to use and what type of content to produce.

3. Study the Competition 

Competitive analysis is always a good idea, and checking your competitors’ social media accounts is easy. Take note of which platforms other brands use, how often they post and the type of content they create and share. This research gives you a better understanding of what’s working for businesses in your industry or niche. You may also find ideas for social media where your business could dominate and do better. This is also a good time to take note of any competitor strategies or approaches you want to avoid.

4. Choose Your Social Media Platforms

Once you establish goals, fine-tune your audience targeting, and know what your competitors are up to, you should have a good idea of which social media platforms will work best for your business. The type of content you want to make also plays a significant role. Some platforms will be better suited to short videos, like Instagram or TikTok, while some will be better suited to text-only updates, like Facebook or LinkedIn. Before committing, make sure you can create content that will resonate on your chosen platforms.

5. Create and Optimize Your Accounts 

Creating your social media accounts is more than just adding your business name and uploading your logo. First, choose an account name and other profile information that makes your brand easy to find. Ask yourself: If someone were to search for my business’s core product or services, what would they type? This can help with your account’s SEO (search engine optimization) as well as your visibility on social media. It’s also important to keep your branding consistent across all accounts. This means using the same logo, colors and naming conventions as well as a consistent voice or tone when communicating with followers.

6. Plan Your Social Content 

Create a social media content calendar to plan your posting schedule. You can do this yourself or with the help of social media management software like Hootsuite or Sprout Social. Tools like these can help you manage content, create posts across platforms and track social media marketing performance. It’s best practice to post consistently and keeping to a schedule can help you perform better based on social media site algorithms.

As trends and best practices on social media change frequently, businesses must embrace the fast pace to make the most of social media marketing. The platforms you use impact your marketing strategy and your brand’s overall online presence. While your business may be active on every major platform, you could select only those that tend to attract the bulk of your target audience. Below you’ll find our round-up of the top social media platforms that could be potential starting points for your brand’s marketing effort.

Facebook

The well-known social media giant was founded in 2004. Facebook now has over 3 billion monthly active users, making it the world’s most-used social media platform. Facebook is a popular choice for small or local businesses and it’s easy to set up a business page to create a presence for your brand. Businesses with an advertising budget may want to consider PPC (pay-per-click) marketing through Facebook Ad Manager. Or you can drive brand awareness and loyalty by posting updates or announcements for your Facebook followers. Video, images and text are all popular content types on Facebook’s platform.

YouTube

Owned by Google, YouTube is widely influential with billions of videos posted to the site since it launched in 2005. Today, YouTube users watch everything from how-to videos to music videos and product reviews. As part of a social media strategy, starting a YouTube channel can help your brand establish authority or thought leadership. Posting helpful, insightful or entertaining videos related to topics in your niche can drive traffic to your business.

Instagram

Initially launched in 2010 as a photo-sharing app, Instagram has morphed into a multi-media channel for social media strategists. Instagram was purchased by Meta, Facebook’s parent company, and expanded to include video, livestreaming and a text post platform called Threads. With over 2 billion users worldwide, the platform is popular for sharing photos and short vertical videos called Reels. American adults under 30 report using Instagram more than any other age group, making it a key platform for brands targeting younger demographics. Sharing photo and video content on an Instagram business profile can be essential to any social media strategy targeting Gen Z and millennials. Instagram Reels are similar to TikTok’s video format, and Instagram Live allows you to stream videos to your followers in real-time.

TikTok

TikTok is one of the newest breakout social media platforms, known for its viral short-form videos and ever-changing trends. It first gained popularity in the U.S. after merging with a similar social video app called Musical.ly. In 2023, there were 150 million Americans on TikTok. TikTok should be top of mind for e-commerce businesses, especially those targeting younger demographics. Products that go viral on the platform consistently sell out, often without major marketing campaigns, though influencer marketing is common. Word-of-mouth or earned media exposure on TikTok can be immensely powerful for brands and this platform’s popularity make it a vital part of your social media marketing strategy.

Pinterest

This image-sharing platform is less focused on social interactions and more centered on the discovery of ideas. Pinterest users “pin” photos, recipes, tutorials and other content to boards for sharing and inspiration. Especially popular with women, Pinterest reached 450 million users in 2023. Businesses can make the most of Pinterest by tapping into the typical users’ curiosity to discover products. Creating content that users can pin to their inspiration boards can also help boost brand awareness.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional social networking site that boasts over 1 billion users. Users profiles function similarly to digital resumes and LinkedIn features both content sharing and job posting opportunities. If you’re looking to attract and hire new talent, LinkedIn should be part of your social media strategy. Businesses can create LinkedIn platforms to share updates about the company and establish thought leadership through collaborative articles and unique posts. This platform is especially critical for business-to-business (B2B) sales and marketing. 

Snapchat

Snapchat is a messaging and social media app that gained popularity for its concept of temporary messages that disappear after the recipient has opened them. Since then, it’s popularized the “stories” format, which are online images that are no longer shared after a certain amount of time, usually 24 hours. Snapchat reached over 750 million users in 2023 and is especially popular among users aged 24 and younger. Businesses targeting younger demographics can consider using Snapchat as an advertising platform through its Discover page feature.

X (Formerly Twitter)

Formerly called Twitter, the X platform is popular with users looking for news, especially on politics, and entertaining memes. Originally posts were limited to 140 characters but that expanded to 280 characters in 2017. The platform was acquired and renamed in 2022. Small business leaders can use Twitter to establish their brand or themselves as a credible or insightful voice in their niche. Hashtags and geotags are popular on Twitter as are threads and live trending discussions.

Social media is a powerful tool for small businesses but it takes time and effort — and financial commitment — to engage well on all platforms. Below we’ve outlined the pros and cons to weigh while building your social media marketing strategy.

Pros 

• Direct engagement: Interacting with potential and current customers on social media helps create a more authentic image or positive perception of your brand.
• Relative low-cost: Getting started on social media doesn’t require a considerable investment. It’s free and relatively easy to create social media content. Compared to other forms of advertising, this is a low-cost way to reach your target audience and build brand recognition.
• Word-of-mouth marketing: Social media users often want to research products or businesses and see what others say about your brand. Both online reviews and social media posts by your fans can create a positive social media presence and a ripple effect of engagement.
• Targeted reach: Social media can help your business reach a wider audience than other marketing channels, especially in terms of younger consumers or more niche products.

Cons

• Rapid pace: Best practices and trends are constantly shifting on social media. Algorithms dictate whether your content is viewed and it takes time to keep up with changes. Businesses must move quickly to stay on top of trends.
• Long-term payoff: It can take some time to see results. You’ll need much more than a handful of social media posts to reap marketing benefits. Creating your social presence and building your follower base take time and persistence.
• Luck is involved: Huge viral success is far from guaranteed and while strategy helps, luck and timing play a major role. While creating popular online content will boost your business, there’s no formula for going viral. Businesses shouldn’t expect high engagement numbers especially early on.
• Time intensive: Because trends are always changing, social media success requires more involvement than other advertising and marketing channels. Small businesses will need to plan content and post consistently to see growth. Upkeep and monitoring are time-intensive, hands-on tasks.

It’s best to be wary of any method or strategy claiming instant success or guaranteed results on social media. As social media algorithms change, so do best practices. One of the best things you can do as a business on social media is to remain flexible with your strategy and be open to change. What worked last week may not work in a month.

Across platforms, maintain a consistent brand voice and prioritize authenticity when interacting with followers. Many brands want to go viral, but going viral for the wrong reasons can be detrimental. Social media profiles have a huge impact on how your brand is perceived. Here are some best practices: 

• Keep brand reputation top of mind: Your social content can typically be more fun and engaging than any other content or marketing materials you create. But make sure you consider how a post or image might be perceived before hitting publish.
• Maintain your originality and brand voice: Even when quickly reacting to trends and staying current, it’s important to make sure you’re not simply following what other brands are doing. Find ways to bring your own spin to trending topics and content, keeping your unique brand voice front and center.
• Make use of different content types: Social media platforms will offer a variety of post types and typically include functionality for hashtags and geotags. Use these to your advantage rather than simply posting text and photos. Make use of popular hashtags and mix things up with video, live stream or story content. Local businesses with physical store locations should make sure to tag their location on social media as well.
• Encourage engagement: Interact with your followers by responding to comments and reposting user-generated content. These small interactions can go a long way in fostering positive associations with your brand and increasing engagement.

Social media marketing involves creating and posting content and responding to online trends. Businesses create digital marketing content for social media to achieve sales goals, grow general brand awareness and increase loyalty among followers.

This can include large-scale social media marketing campaigns, like Spotify Wrapped, or organic posts that take off, like Wendy’s viral tweets. A company’s social media strategy could include influencer marketing to promote and sell products or consist of posting regular updates and content to engage followers and maintain a positive brand image.

The Bottom Line

Effective social media marketing takes time and effort but with the right approach, small businesses can see a major return on investment. Being active with engaging and helpful social media content helps followers and potential customers connect deeply with your business. In addition, responding to reviews and comments can build trust among your audience and solidify your brand’s voice.

Depending on whether you want to drive traffic to your site, increase sales or promote new products, you can find a platform to reach your goal. Creating a social media marketing plan is essential, and there are social media planning and analytics tools that can help with this. Before you get started, draft a content calendar with topics and ideas to guide upcoming posts. Be sure to source both text and a variety of visuals for your social media account content.