Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is one of the most efficient ways to generate conversions for your business. Entrepreneurs or people who want to do business should use this strategy to increase brand awareness and traffic. You can also participate in using social media for business, because with the massive growth of technology today, it can be said that digital marketing is a very effective marketing strategy to reap more profits.

In this post, we will explain what social media marketing is, the platforms you can use for social media marketing, and how to practice social media strategies for businesses. Come on, follow it to the end!

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social media marketing is a digital marketing strategy that is tried through social media platforms or social networks. Promotional strategies through social media can use content, either in the form of posts, images, or videos. In Indonesian itself, social media marketing means social media marketing.

Basically, social media marketing is a strategy that links copywriting and visuals like photos and videos to create quality content that sells products.

There are several alibis that make social media marketing a must-have strategy for your business. Some of the benefits of social media marketing are:

As an interactive platform between you and potential customers. You can build trust and intimacy, and introduce your brand to a wide network of users.

You can reach your audience faster. Social media can be accessed anytime without being limited by space and time.

More affordable than ordinary advertising media. You don’t need to spend deep to make flyers (flyers), billboards (billboards), or advertisements on television.

Share real-time reports about your campaigns. That way, you can measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategy more quickly.

Social Media Platform for Business Promotion

There are lots of social media platforms that exist and can be accessed by anyone. However, to practice an efficient social media marketing strategy, you must choose the right platform. Because, not all social media have features or places that can help you market your product.

On this basis, we have summarized some of the social media platforms that you can use to promote your business.

Here’s some social media advice for businesses:

1. YouTube

YouTube as social media for business

Sharing information from Tempo’s survey, YouTube will be the social media platform with the most users in Indonesia in 2021. On this platform, you can create various content in the form of videos, whether for guidance content or promotion or discussion of new products.

The advantages of YouTube for social media marketing are:

Has a very large number of users.

The product description is clearer through audiovisual.

Content feels more interactive and communicative.

Quality videos will increase brand reputation.

Meanwhile, the disadvantages are:

The concept of the video must be mature and it takes time to edit it.

Need gear and equipment that are not cheap to make quality videos.

You must follow the YouTube SEO method so that content is easier to find.

2. WhatsApp

WhatsApp for social media marketing

Almost all internet users in Indonesia certainly use WhatsApp. Yes, this application has become a very popular social media platform for various purposes. Not only for individual use in terms of communication, WhatsApp also provides business features that you can use in social media marketing.

Here are the advantages of WhatsApp as a social media for business:

Feels more personal because it’s through chat.

Communication can be tried both ways with more lightning.

There are business features, such as positions and catalogs to list your selling products.

Easy integration with other applications to enhance social media marketing.

The disadvantages are as follows:

The number used cannot be the same as the individual WhatsApp number.

Your business account name cannot be changed.

The customer acquisition process tends to be passive, waiting for customers to contact your number.

3. Instagram

Instagram for social media marketing

Instagram is also one of the platforms that have a great opportunity to reach potential clients quickly. The number of users reaching 91 million in Indonesia as of July 2021 is dominated by young people in the productive-consumptive age, between 18-24 years. Therefore, Instagram can be one of the most efficient social media marketing platforms.

Here are the advantages of Instagram as a social media for business:

The content is in the form of images and videos, which are usually more in demand by residents.

Integrated with various other platforms.

Has many features, such as Stories, IGTV, and Reels that can support promotions.

Can reflect your brand persona through visuals that have distinctive characteristics.

On the other hand, the disadvantages of Instagram as a promotional medium are:

Very visually accentuated so you must include as interesting content as possible.

The algorithm changes frequently, and you have to make adjustments frequently.

It is mandatory to upload content frequently so that engagement does not drop.

4. Facebook

Facebook as a promotional medium

Without a doubt, Facebook is one of the most popular social media platforms on the internet. Its popularity and wide audience reach make Facebook a pretty effective social media marketing tool. Plus, Facebook has a useful feature called Insights for business that lets you control the performance of every piece of content you upload.

Here are the advantages of Facebook as a promotional medium:

Has a marketplace feature with millions of users.

You can create a business garden as you wish.

Shared written and visual content is highlighted.

There are fanspage and team features to increase the effectiveness of the promotion.

On the other hand, the disadvantages of Facebook as a promotional medium are:

It’s hard to get organic traffic, unless you pay some fees.

Your ad can only be seen by users who are logged into this platform.

Articles are easy to sink because the flow of article displays that continue to pile up.

This video platform began to rise in Indonesia in 2020 later, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread. People are looking for lots of activities so they don’t get bored at home so they have started working on creating entertaining content on TikTok. Moreover, some users have also started business promotions on TikTok to attract more customers.

The advantages of TikTok as a promotional medium are:

Its users are dominated by young people who like to try products.

There is an Ads feature to help you advertise products.

There are many trending topics or challenges that you can use for promotion.

Your promotional video can be seen by anyone without having to have an account.

Meanwhile, the disadvantages of TikTok for social media marketing are:

Content must be made as creative as possible in order to reach FYP.

The user group is still limited to young children.

It’s hard to monitor your content’s performance metrics/analytics.

It doesn’t have certain marketplace features yet.

6. Twitter

Unlike social media first, Twitter focuses on content in the form of writing with a limited number of personalities. However, this personality limitation can be a certain advantage because it can make your uploads or tweets more effective.

Not only that, your tweets can go viral quickly with the Retweet and Like features that will automatically share your content with other users’ followers if they retweet or like your tweets.

The advantages of Twitter for promotional media:

There are Retweet and Like features so that tweets are easy to go viral.

You can run a more personal and interactive closeness with customers.

A very efficient search feature for finding product keywords.

Business promotion content can be customized more flexibly in the form of tweets.

On the other hand, the disadvantages of Twitter as a social media for businesses are:

Limited personality requires you to create short but efficient content.

There are many bots and buzzers that can interfere with your promotional activities.

There is no special place to sell or promote products.

7. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is now gaining popularity in Indonesia for things related to business, such as for the recruitment process or looking for work. However, LinkedIn is also quite efficient as a social media marketing tool by targeting a specific niche in your market.

The majority of LinkedIn users are educated people, so you have the opportunity to provide content about your product or brand in more depth.

The advantages of LinkedIn as a social media for business:

Most of its users are people who understand business.

Promotion is more planned because the majority of the content is business related.

You can build a reliable network for various business models.

On the other hand, LinkedIn’s shortcomings for business promotion are:

Promotional content is less flexible because it has to look reliable.

The user interface is a little confusing.

The price for the marketing solution is considered very expensive.

8. Pinterest

The social media platform Pinterest is currently in great demand by users because of its pretty good personalization features. Users can familiarize the content they observe based on their interest in a particular field, such as food formulas, home make-up, or works of art.

Pinterest which focuses on images and visuals also has its own place among internet users who like aesthetic and beautiful things. Well, you can also use it for social media marketing.

Here are the advantages of Pinterest for promotional media:

Promotions are more targeted because users can familiarize their interests.

Content can be enjoyed widely because users are not required to log in.

Photos or images can use hyperlinks to your website or other sources.

There is no need for continuous interaction to maintain engagement rates.

On the other hand, Pinterest’s shortcomings for promotional media are:

Still not very well known in Indonesia.

Can be attacked by copyright infringement if your content is not original.

You have to keep creating Pins often because Pinterest prioritizes content freshness.

Promotion Strategy Through Social Media

In order to promote products through social media, you must have a mature strategy. You cannot immediately post promotional content without a clear purpose or goal. Not only that, you also have to familiarize yourself with what content you want to use for promotion so that you can post it on the right social media.

Well, here’s a social media marketing strategy that will push your business:

1. Make a Well-Delivered Goal Plan

If you want to use social media as a social media marketing tool, you must make a mature goal plan. This matter must be legal so that the effort you spend can reach the desired target.

Do you want to use social media solely to introduce your brand?

Or, do you want to directly sell your products on social media?

Or maybe you want to use social media to increase your engagement rate?

After determining these initial goals, you can also control the next strategy according to your goals.

2. Know Your Target Customers

Knowing your target audience is definitely important for achieving a successful social media marketing campaign. There are various factors that must be taken into account when identifying your target audience, such as age, gender, and others.

Not only that, to master the right audience, you also have to know the details of the products being sold. Think about the benefits of your product. What solution does it offer? For example, if you sell clothing products with anime personality images, you can target young people aged 15-25 years. Or, if you sell ergonomic toddler carriers, you can target new parents, generally 28-35 years old.

After identifying your target audience, the next thing you need to do is create content that matches the characteristics of your audience. This will help increase engagement rates, while building closeness with customers.

3. Selection of Social Media Platforms for Business

Have set goals early? After that, have you found out your target customers? Now is the time to choose a social media platform that fits the product and age of your potential customer.

For that, try to observe the demographics of each social media platform that you want to use as a promotional medium.

For information from Statista, social media users in Indonesia in 2020 reached 180 million people. More than half of Indonesia’s population in 2020 reached 273.5 million people.

In this number, the dominant age group is 25-34 years, followed by the 18-24 year age group. From here, you can choose a social media marketing platform that fits perfectly with the background of your target customers.

4. Create Interesting Content Suitable for Platforms and Audiences

Each age group has different routines and preferences. That’s why you need to find out how they think, the type of content they like, and how they talk.

Match all of this to the product you are selling and the average age of the customer you are targeting.

To start creating content, you can first determine the tone and atmosphere of your article, for example formal or informal. When targeting young people, use an informal tone that seems slang.

On the other hand, when targeting the age group, use official and standard language, and seem respectful. Do not turn it upside down, because the impact can be severe.

After that, adjust the type of content with the social media that you want to use to post the promotional content. For Instagram, for example, create visual content that steals users’ thoughts, is data-intensive, without much writing.

Then make TikTok, make videos with famous sound and great transitions.

5. Build Closeness with Your Customers

Frequent two-way communication with customers to show that your business cares about them. Find out what customers want or don’t like, then use that information to create promotional content that is more suited to customer preferences.

Not only that, interaction with customers can also increase engagement rates, which will later contribute to the success of your social media marketing.

6. Monitor Competitors and Assess Strategy

Competitor studies also mean that you are constantly updated and can compete with them to be superior. Find out what products and prices are offered by competitors, and what kind of content they provide on social media for businesses.

Compare the performance of your campaign with theirs, then use it as an assessment to improve your next social media strategy.

7. Optimization of Marketing Content

When everything is ready and you want to optimize your social media marketing efforts, try using some paid tools to advertise on social media. For example, you can use Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, or YouTube Ads.

Whichever you want to choose, make sure the service matches your original goal of using social media marketing.

So, Social Media Marketing Is…

End! In this post, you have explored what social media marketing is and its benefits, types of social media for business, and social media marketing methods that can help boost sales figures.

Given the large number of social media users both in Indonesia and throughout the world, it can be concluded that social media marketing is one of the strategies that you must apply.

Well, to help you remember, below we will outline the steps to help you optimize social networks as promotional media.

The following is an efficient promotion strategy through social media:

Make a well-thought-out goal plan

Study of potential target customers

Selection of the right social media marketing platform

Create interesting and relevant content

Build closeness with customers

Monitor competitors and assess strategy

Optimization of marketing content with Ads

Although it takes a long time to design social media marketing, if you do it seriously and with careful consideration, the results obtained will also be proportional.

So, have you decided social media for your business? Good luck!