Key Social Media Branding Strategies in 2018
Digital Marketing Agency,
Which social media branding strategies should businesses use in 2018?
- Influencer marketing
- Social media automation
- Gen Z focus
Any digital marketing agency here in the Philippines would tell you that, to this day, social media is still one of the best avenues to use when it comes to activities such as content marketing, social selling, and customer support. And, it is likely to hold the crown for a couple more years or even decades.
With everybody’s eyes and faces stuck to their respective screens, the only way for your business or brand to get noticed is through the utilization of these social media platforms. A lot of them are available for aspiring business owners such as yourself, with the most famous ones being Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter.
Over 2 million unique users are active across these platforms and they can easily be tapped with a single click. And that’s not even the best part! Most of these tools can be used free of charge and are equipped with special features that can help you reach your specific target audience. Essentially, this keeps you from wasting time chasing dead leads! Basically, you could spend almost next to nothing and still increase brand recognition and business revenue – the ROI is absolutely astounding!
All that said, however, social media branding or the proper utilization of social media in order to engage with your audience doesn’t just mean creating an account in every single platform and posting everything you can. There are methods and strategies involved in this practice and we’ve listed the ones that are sure to let you stand out of the crowd in 2018!
Influencer Marketing
Social media influencer marketing is a strategy that involves employing an influential individual on social media to promote your products, services, campaigns, and other offerings. These individuals are often referred to as ‘social media influencers’ and have a solid, dedicated, and engaged following either in a single social media platform or across multiple ones.
Celebrities are at the forefront of influencer marketing and are considered mega influencers because of their huge followings which typically consists of a few million unique users. There are also macro influencers, otherwise known as product specialist or freelancers, who have amassed ten thousand to almost a million followers. Mini-celebrities or micro influencers who reach less than a thousand people also exist and are important for businesses that are following long-tail strategies.
Influencer marketing was considered to be the best social media branding strategy in 2017 and its effectiveness isn’t expected to die down anytime soon which is why smart marketers are still focusing on it even in 2018.
Social Media Automation
As a social media marketer, you should be well aware of how energy- and time-consuming it is to schedule and manage social media updates especially when you’re using various platforms. Even if you have one person assigned to each social media platform, effectively posting, scaling, and tracking social activity is still going to be a difficult challenge to overcome.
The only way to get over this high hurdle is to make use of social media automation tools. These things are sure to save you a lot of energy and time. These tools allow you to schedule your content in advance, post them when the time comes, and track mentions of your brand. There are a lot more things social media automation tools can do, but these three are, without a doubt, the most basic and beneficial for all.
One thing you have to remember, though, is to avoid over-automating or over-scheduling. Social media automation tools should only help lighten your load and not carry it all. If you depend on them for everything, you risk losing the humanity of your brand and eventually your followers.
Gen Z Focus
In previous years, brands and organizations were set on tapping their millennial market since they have the largest buying power. Times are about to change, however, and the group that is expected to be the largest financial influencers within the next couple of years is the Generation Z.
Generation Z, or simply Gen Z, is the generation after millennials and are composed of people born from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. Come 2020, they will make up 40% of the market and are going to be the largest generation of consumers. Currently, they already account for $29 billion to $143 billion in direct spending. As for those that don’t yet have the power to spend, they make their impact by influencing family and household purchases, adding $600 billion of family spending to their overall value.
There have been studies indicating that Gen Z is currently the most valuable to businesses, so it’s crucial for marketers to make their content more appealing, engaging, and relevant to them. Most of these individuals spend their time on platforms that are heavy on visual content such as Instagram and Youtube, prompting businesses to invest in them.
Key Takeaway
Social media branding isn’t the thoughtless utilization of social media platforms to advertise and market yourself. It involves effectively engaging and appealing to your intended market and gaining their trust, which takes a lot of time, money, and effort. While it’s not impossible to master this art by yourself, it is highly recommended that you hire a digital marketing agency in the Philippines to guide you. They know the ins and outs of every social media platform and are sure to help you make full use of them and keep up with the ever-changing times!
