“Social media marketing is complex.” “It doesn’t work.” “It’s a waste of time and money.” These are sentences that you probably don’t hear too often these days. The big corporations like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Budweiser, Toyota, Apple, and Disney know that one of the most dynamic and fastest ways to promote a business and brand is to use social media marketing. Social media has proven to be important in today’s world and such a powerful marketing tool for businesses of all sizes.

The 4 Steps to Effective Social Media Marketing

1. Figure out who your ideal customer is
You need to get as specific as possible with this part. For example, if you identified your target market as dog owners it would be ok. However, if you identify your ideal customer as a dog owner that lives in the southeastern part of the United States, is between 30 and 50 years of age, earns over $50,000, primarily uses Facebook and has an interest in outdoors activities you will have far greater success.

Answering the following questions will help you determine your targeted customer:
• Age
• Location
• Job Title
• Income
• Pain Points (that your business can solve)
• Primary Social Network used

2. Set Up The Accounts
One of the biggest advantages of social media marketing is that it’s entirely free to start. The largest platforms have no signup fees so the only investment you’ll need to make is your time. Whether you use one or all of the major platforms to promote your business, you need to decide which social network(s) to start with? Each one focuses on a particular demographic and has a different audience, character, and medium. Find your niches and create the accounts.

3. Create Engaging Content
Creating high quality, engaging content is a top priority. You’ve figured out who your ideal customer is, now you need to create a plan and decide what you will post and when. Content is what fuels social media, so it’s very important that you put some thought into what you will share on social media.
Here are a few examples of content you could create:
• Images – A picture is worth a thousand words
• Videos – #1 way to capture the attention of the audience
• Company News
• Accomplishments
• Relevant Links
• Educational Information

4. Track your results
This may be the most important step of successful social media marketing. It might seem simple, but you need to track your results and analyze the data. You need to monitor your successes and failures, and determine what’s working and what needs modifying.