How to Use Social Media Data to Boost Content Marketing Strategy

• Read original article here

There are a select few moments in the day that make any mundane moment great. One is when we taste that first sweet sip of coffee. Another, is when that last piece of work is handed in. And one of the best ones is when we get those spare seconds to check through our socials.

Everyone loves watching a video on Facebook of a dog jumping in a bath with their hooman. Or reading through funny and controversial opinions on Twitter. Or even being inspired by a fabulous photo of a chocolate cake on Insta. Let’s not forget about YouTube! You can ask something like, “What are some interesting telephone facts?”, and you will soon know the ins and outs of this nifty piece of tech just by watching a clip.

Whatever you use it for, social media is great. It lets us connect with the world and be a bit more educated in the process.

But did you realize that social media is also a brilliant way of boosting content? The data from social media can be used to build a top-notch marketing strategy. Social media can turn your start-up into a household name.

But it isn’t just a case of posting a couple of things and crossing your fingers. To grow your brand, you will need to devise a well-thought-out social media content strategy.

Luckily for you, we have set out some advice to help you on your way.

A good plan of action for any business strategy is to set goals. First, you need to acknowledge that every strategy will be different. So, you will need to set your own social media marketing strategy and goals. It may be tempting to copy a company that’s similar to yours, but it simply won’t work.

Because say, for example, you run a plastic-free cosmetics company. Maybe someone like you decided to increase its brand awareness on Facebook by focusing on a vegan demographic. And they succeed in their goal!

So, you try the same. But your products contain beeswax. You are then shunned from the vegan community for selling a non-vegan product. And then get a negative reputation for misinformation.

Thus, creating your own goals will help you plan a better strategy. Just remember to be specific and tailor objectives.

A great part of setting targets is that it can help you assess what your values are. When setting up a brand, values can often get a little bit lost. So, this is a great opportunity to head back to your roots and look at why you set up the business in the first place.

And on social media, values tend to be very, well, valued.

This may seem obvious, but a big part of boosting your content is to sell it to the right audience. This links in with planning your goals and staying on-brand, too.

Trying to share your content with anyone and everyone is not only a waste of time and effort, but it won’t have much return. Say you make and sell handmade cat beds. There’s no point in making a video of your cat sleeping in it and then posting it to a page on tropical fish care.

Just because it’s related to pet care, doesn’t make it relevant.

The first thing you will need to do is research your audience. This is where you’ll want to collect lots of qualitative data, oftentimes using the best sales apps, as well as getting stuck into the social media community yourself.

Join a plethora of Facebook groups that discuss the thing you are trying to sell. No matter how niche your product is, there will be some sort of group relating to this. Facebook marketplace is the perfect place to start to find it.

Become your audience! Follow successful influencers and add suggested people. They will often follow you back if you are posting things that interest them.

Read comments on other posted content and add your own two cents. This helps you find gaps in the market and see where your company fits into this.

i-scoop suggests that work tends to be more shared if there is something in it that relates to that person. So getting to know your audience will help you produce relevant content across the board. Whether for a blog, your knowledge base, your social posts, or something else entirely.

Now, you need to collect and examine quantitative data. This is a really simple way of seeing which posts and content are working well on which sites. And which aren’t.

Using a social media management platform and DAM enables you to look at specifics from the back end. It helps you view things as a whole, as well as looking at specific sites and content. Remember, many people are working remotely right now and this will make a difference to stats.

Facebook, LinkedIn Business, Twitter, and Pinterest let you analyze from the back end. This is a great chance to check that your results are matching up with your goals.

Say you are an IT firm and your aim is to get your brand exposed to software engineers. You can see if you have managed to succeed in this. You can also take this opportunity to follow people relevant to you who are sharing your content.

This is a great way to see how well content is being shared from the front end. Look at how many times a piece has been shared, liked, or commented on.

Pay close attention to what the comments are saying and use this to improve the next piece of content. These remarks are going to be the most honest piece of feedback you will get. Listen to what people have to say.

This is also a great opportunity to provide some customer support if needs be.

No matter if it’s positive or negative, try to say something back to each comment. Ignoring people’s posts, or only responding when someone says something nice, won’t paint you in a good light. And it will make those people with a complaint even more upset.

People may start to buy your products through social media sites, which is great when you’re starting to figure out how to promote an Etsy shop. You can then engage with them through SMS marketing tools. This will further promote your company.

A good marketing strategy to boost content is to analyze your audience to develop your means of communicating with them. Look into demographics and content preferences, email alternatives, and look at who they follow. Analyze the platforms your content works best on. And then figure out what tone will suit your brand of voice.

Addressing situations and posting content is also a way to develop a brand voice.

For example, say you are a vintage fashion brand and you share a blog about upcycling. One person may comment saying:

“You make such a valid point on fast fashion.”

You can comment back saying:

“Thank you! I feel like vintage fashion is having a positive impact on this.”

Here, you are seeing the points that people are engaging with. You are also getting the opportunity to promote your brand.

Or, if someone comments saying something like:

“You hate fast fashion, do you also hate fast delivery? It took a month for my top to arrive.”

This is your opportunity to say:

“I’m so sorry you experienced a long wait. Please DM me and we can arrange a refund on postage for you.”

Here, you address their disgruntlement and seem trustworthy to an audience of thousands.

Using a dedicated platform to share your work will make things so much easier.

All you have to do is upload the content to the site and it automatically shares it when the time is right. There are plenty of YouTube videos that discuss the best time to share content on which platform.

The way you display the content will make a huge difference to who will engage with it, too.

Do what you can to reflect on your brand voice, but make sure it is shareable and engaging. You may want to make a dramatic statement or a funny question when you post it.

For example, ask a question like: “ As a start-up, do you know how to get a business phone number? Our guide answers the essential beginner’s questions”.

Then link to your piece with an illustrated picture. This is more likely to get a better response than: “Read this piece on start-ups.”

It’s okay to repost the same thing a few times, too, to get more traction and let as many people as possible see it.

Don’t forget to add link buttons and hyperlinks to other pieces of content you may have produced, as well.

A great content marketing strategy is to keep an eye on current events and relevancy and ecommerce trends. Also, try tagging certain people and hashtag the right phrases. This helps you to reach more people who are interested in what you have to say.

From setting goals to engaging, there are plenty of ways to use social media and the data you can glean from it to boost content. Just be aware that content won’t be a success on all platforms. That’s because each site is designed for different topics.

If there is content that isn’t being shared as much, try changing the language, picture, or title. Small changes can make a huge difference.

But just remember to keep the brand tone of voice as much as possible and keep your interactions personable. After all, it is called SOCIAL media. Part of its appeal is knowing that behind the phones, we are all real people with real thoughts.