Grow Your Business With These 10 Types Of Social Media
Did you know that the average internet user has 8.8 social media accounts?
Social media helps you connect with a diverse group of people. Every day, a user shares some type of content. As a brand, staying consistent with your content delivery on different social media platforms helps build brand awareness and loyalty.
About 90% with access to the internet use social media. As a small business owner, social media marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to bring attention to your brand. You can answer small queries, conduct interesting hashtag contests, or even engage influencers to provide emotion to your brand.
CASE STUDY VIRAL SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING EXAMPLE
Objective
- To achieve a buzz around the mentos product and increase sales
- To utilize social media and influencers to have consumers engage with their brand
The Mentos #SayHello #MentosEmoticonChallenge is one of the best examples of a social media marketing idea. Here, Mentos India reached out to stand-up comedians who, in turn, challenged each other to try and mimic the emoticon symbol on the mentos candy.
Results
- It reached out to the followers on the various social media platforms through the different comedians.
- Leveraged Instagram to keep the limited brand edition hype through different filters.
Thus, social media establishes trust and builds the tone of your brand. It helps create pride and loyalty to the point that people are willing to share about your brand for free.
Imagine, if you will, a series of signposts on the road telling you where you are, where you have to go and how to get there. While the signposts are the same, no matter who the traveller is, a consumer journey is a whole different ball game altogether.
Here, the brand holds up the signposts, and the user walks on the path, not sure how to proceed. We at Vajra Global help the brand understand the user and answer his questions based on his pain points and requirements. It is these customized signposts that make the difference to the buyer's journey. Clarifying his doubts based on his background and previous journeys is critical; else, he always has the option to abandon the path.
At Vajra Global, we establish the importance of the consumer journey while curating and publishing content. We understand the best platforms for the target audience based on the brand goals and action to be taken into consideration.
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Decision
You as a business can consider this while building your content strategy. Let us look at the ten different types of social media and how it is part of the consumer journey.
Awareness
This is a crucial stage as your audience is open to different solutions to their pain points. Consider this the stage where you make your first impression to your audience. You have to provide enough information to help them with their problem. Let us look at platforms that businesses can invest in for the awareness stage. The awareness stage can include content like blogs, whitepapers, videos, infographics and e-books.
1) Blogging and Publishing Networks
Blogging is a perfect way to describe your business. Furthermore, it encourages readers to share their thoughts in the comments section. Writing about your brand increases your SEO ranking, provides insightful content and creates a space for readers to add their opinions in the comment section.
Examples of blogging networks:
- Medium
- Tumblr
- Blogger
A blog is not just about stringing a few words. It refers to curated content with a lot of thought processes and research involved. If you publish engaging and informative blogs, you can establish yourself as a thought leader of an industry. You can also share links to your blogs on your social media platforms and increase your brand awareness.
2) Social Networks
Social networks are used widely by the general public. This helps users and the brand to meet on a common platform. A social media marketing agency would suggest that this is one of the best B2C strategies to adopt. You can even monitor your online reputation and create an engaging persona as a brand. They are free to use and are called ‘relationship platforms’ due to the accessibility of a wide range of users. They help build brand awareness and relationships with individuals.
Examples of Social networks:
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow you to share company updates, links and even create fun short polls. If you have a business account, you can access powerful in-depth analytics and plan your posts and promotions accordingly. You can plan ad campaigns where consumers can share a memorable experience with your brand and build excitement for a new product launch. Facebook also provides paid campaigns that help you gain more leads to promote your business. There are innumerable social media marketing services, and recruiting an agency can help you stay updated on the current trends without a hassle.
3) Media Sharing Networks
This is one of the best social media marketing ideas since people are enamored with visual content. This includes finding and sharing photos and videos. You can create a storyline that is relatable to your audience. This makes a positive presence for your brand.
Examples of Media Sharing Networks-
- Youtube
- Snapchat
Media sharing creates a very personal experience. People feel like they are involved in the brand’s journey due to the visual connection they experience.
Let’s look at some mind-boggling statistics to see how effective videos can be-
- People are likely to share a video than boring text-based content by about 1200%
- The second most popular website after Google is Youtube
- Around 72% of the customers find it easier to learn about a product or service through a video.
Thus, the viral distribution of visual content is what makes it the most preferred method by businesses. Besides educating your customers on the product or service you offer, you are also allowing them to engage with your brand by providing helpful feedback.
4) Audio Sharing Networks
Podcasts, audiobooks are equally good types of content that you can utilize to leverage leads. There is a lot of diversity in terms of age groups. Thus, your reach as a business is extensive.
Examples of audio sharing networks
- Soundcloud
- Spotify
Though not as popular as social media networks, you can find many young adult audience segments browsing, sharing, and recommending audiobooks and podcasts here.
Consideration
Here, your audience is contemplating the options available to them and debating what would align with their pain points. Thus, you need to make sure your business is listed in their subconscious shortlist. You have to build trust at this stage. Besides using social networks like Instagram and Facebook again, we can look at other platforms to help establish a relationship with your audience.
5) Discussion Forums
Answering queries is an excellent way to lead customers to your websites. Forums are where like-minded people discuss, share hobbies and opinions. As a brand, you can establish your presence as an expert by assisting the innumerable queries put forth by your customers.
Examples of Discussion Forums-
- Quora
- Specialized industry-based forums
Discussion forums are a great way to connect with your passionate audience. Businesses can show how resourceful they are by showcasing their skills in answering questions that are not easy to solve. People would also understand the topic in detail and perhaps even connect with you for a consultation. Businesses can also analyze their customers and understand their pain points if they do in-depth research on regularly discussed opinions.
6) Bookmarking and Content Curation networks
Social media marketing agencies not only love discovering new content trends but also create unique personalized content. These networks help audiences discover, share and save content for inspiration.
Examples of bookmarking and content curation networks
- Behance
- Stumble Upon
These networks are excellent for building brand awareness and increasing your leads. Engage your audience with good content that they can easily save and share. These channels are easily accessible to your audience. Thus, it should be included in your social media marketing plan.
Decision
Here, the prospect is in the final phase and ready to make a purchase. As a business, you can look at posting reviews on sites or engage in networks where consumers shop or post queries. This will help to convert your leads to loyal customers.
7) Consumer Review Networks
Consumers nowadays are always looking for sites with testimonies and overall satisfaction ratings of products or services they have come across. This is the best way for customers to get their hesitation sorted and take the final step of the buyer journey.
Examples of consumer review networks
- Glassdoor
- TripAdvisor
- Zomato
Consumer review networks like Glassdoor help prospective employees get an idea of the organization they may work for. As a business, you can understand your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to employee management. This will help you improve their experience in the organization.
8) Sharing Economy Networks
Sharing economy networks encourage people to connect with the providers of the product or service. They can buy, sell or advertise products and services.
Examples of sharing economy networks
- Airbnb
- Uber
- Olx
These networks are target intensive and generate leads that convert easily. Businesses that use these networks have better sales due to the trust that sellers and buyers have in them.
9) Social Shopping Networks
Social marketing agencies recommend social shopping networks to businesses since it is a combination of e-commerce and social media. Users can find reviews of products they want to purchase and make decisions accordingly.
Examples of social shopping networks
- Instagram Shoppable Posts
- Facebook Shoppable Posts
Let’s take the example of a famous case study by Levis. They had almost a quarter of their traffic coming in due to Facebook. This was due to the fact that users could see what their friends liked on Facebook and make a similar purchase. This blend of social media and e-commerce made people purchase products at an instant without deliberation. This was because it was easier to make purchase decisions when you knew a close friend had made the recommendation.
10) Interest-Based Networks
These are networks that are created naturally due to common shared interests or hobbies. It can range from music and books to even food photography.
Examples of interest-based networks
- Goodreads
- Soundcloud
Social media services recognize that these networks are a massive opportunity for lead generation and conversions. Since they are segmented due to their hobbies, it is easy to convert them to sales. For example, a person looking for book recommendations can go to Goodreads and then get directed to the site to buy the novel.
Conclusion
Social marketing ideas nowadays can be as innovative as possible due to the platforms available in the market. This detailed guide should help you understand the importance of the different types of social media.
Connect here for a call if you require a unique bait strategy for your business.