Innovative social media marketing ideas
Social media marketing is an easy way to get the best bang for your marketing budget buck. But with more content floating around the interwebs than we know what to do with, you have to get creative to stop the scroll. Try one of these ideas on for your marketing strategy:
Referral programs turn your customers into marketers. Encourage word-of-mouth marketing by adding incentives for talkative fans. Be it a discount, a free trial, or a free bonus gift with purchase — if the incentive is good enough, you’ll get people talking.
Influencer marketing is big business. But there’s no need to aim for the Kylie Jenners of the world. You’ll find thousands of micro-influencers with valuable followings (and without the million-dollar price tag.)
Connect to the influencers who have an established relationship with your target audience, then offer to send them your products or aim for a more formal marketing partnership. If you don’t have time to slog through the social media ranks, plenty of influencer agencies can help.
But remember, a giveaway only works if you ask for something in return. As a requirement for entry, ask people to follow your brand (if they haven’t already), mention your handle, or tag a friend. Then sit back and watch your audience grow.
There is strength in numbers. Band together with a brand or account that complements your own but isn’t your direct competition. Launch a collaboration project, join forces for a good cause, or just feature each other on your socials with a sponsored post. If you scratch their back, they’ll scratch yours.
Branch out from your standard static Instagram images and give video a try. Video is not only more engaging and better at getting your message across, but you get more time and space to be creative.
At the end of the day, the opinion that matters most comes from people who already buy your product or use your service. Distill your customer feedback to find loyal advocates for your product, and give their voice a platform with a customer testimonial video or graphic. Bonus points if you can manifest first-person footage of the customers themselves.
When the internet hands you lemons, make lemonade. Keep an eye on current memes and trends, and jump on the ones that work for your brand. Do the same for holidays and events. As a starting point, the Biteable Marketing Calendar offers timely content for every day of the year.
Facebook marketing ideas
Facebook is home to some of the most powerful advertising and targeting tools in the marketing game, not to mention its billions of users. Make the most of Facebook with one of these ideas.
The liveness of Lives is sometimes daunting, but you can’t deny the stats: Facebook Live consistently receives more engagement than almost any other content on Facebook. Get creative with the format and build a better relationship with your followers at the same time. Tell your audience about a new product, give them a behind-the-scenes scoop, or just answer their questions. Humanize your brand with a real, friendly face.
The 21st century might not have flying cars, but we do have Messenger chatbots. And these helpful little bots do more than just answer common questions; they are also a powerful tool for creative marketing.
Consider the Messenger bot your new marketing assistant. Turn your chatbot into a personal shopper with customized product suggestions, or use it to give your Facebook followers helpful information related to your service.
This one isn’t so much a creative idea as it is a chance to get creative. Facebook’s current algorithm loves meaningful content that users are inclined to interact with. Playful memes have their place, but make sure some of your posts have more meat on their bones.
Instagram marketing ideas
Influencers run Instagram. With their built-in loyal audiences, a well-placed influencer takeover is hard to beat. That person’s followers will jump over to your page to see what their favorite influencer is up to, and many will end up sticking around. If an influencer is a good match for your business, a takeover can nab you a whole lot of positive brand awareness.
Instagram Stories knows how to deliver on engagement — especially when polls and questions are involved. Get creative and interactive with a Story your followers can participate in.
Just like Facebook live, Instagram Live is a powerful platform for answering questions and building relationships. Instagram sends your followers a notification when you’re live, so they’re more inclined to stop by.
Content marketing ideas for creative minds
Partner up with other experts or interesting perspectives and invite them to write a guest post for your blog. They’ll likely share it, and their followers might just become new fans of your content. Plus, if the guest blogger has their own website, you’ll share a good old-fashioned link swap and a dose of SEO juice.
Turn your post’s content into a listicle video for easy social sharing, and then plop it at the top of your blog page. Search engines rank pages with video embedded near the top higher than those without, so you’ll feed two birds with one delightfully engaging scone.
Create content that gives people a reason to read it. Share your knowledge and expertise, and trust that you’ll be rewarded with clicks and engagement. You’ll establish yourself as a trusted knowledge source. This carries a lot of weight when it comes time for buyers to make purchasing decisions.
Help other people in your position by putting together a shareable content marketing calendar. Include suggestions for content ideas, events and holidays, relevant hashtags, and even graphics, images, or videos other brands can use.
6. Promote Your Social Proof
When it comes to marketing, social proof is invaluable. It’s way to capture the attention of a wide audience using the evidence of just a few. For a small business, consider using the following:
- Testimonials – having a strategy designed to collect testimonials is a great way to utilize social proof. Because they come from your clients, not your brand, people will be more likely to view them as credible
- Ratings – anytime you receive a 5-star review, promote it wherever possible – your website, social ads, etc.
- Badges and Awards – remember those business awards you’re signing up for? When you win, display your badge on all of your marketing materials to further your credibility
- Social shares – if your articles are receiving significant comments or shares, it’s a good idea to display the number with your share buttons. Be cautious though – you don’t want to display low numbers, so make sure you’re consistently receiving a hefty number before you turn your share numbers on
10. Look for Guest Posting Opportunities
By posting on the site, you and your brand will be exposed to a much larger audience. You’ll likely include links to your own site, which could have a positive effect on your traffic. And overall, you stand to collect a much bigger return on investment.
Your first job is finding a place to post. Luckily, you’ll find many top blogs are happy to accept guest blogs (if you’re a marketer, find a big list of opportunities here) . Otherwise, it’s a matter of searching them out, finding the proper contact info, and making your pitch.
Brand Awareness / Media Attention
While much of the world has moved online, print media is still a popular and worthwhile advertising vehicle. And in some markets, print media still thrives. In fact, as recently as 2014 , retail customers cited print materials as the chief source of information behind their purchasing decisions.
Small businesses thrive when they engage their local community, and what better way to do it than by advertising in your local media outlets? That being said, print is best used in conjunction with online marketing strategies to act as a complement and to create better brand awareness.
Join Local Business Groups and Events
Joining a local networking group or attending an event will give you the opportunity to meet and connect with other like-minded people. While there are a lot of general entrepreneur groups, there might also be some niche-specific groups or meetups in your area. These groups are a great way to bounce ideas off other smart people, share referrals, find talent and identify new opportunities. Attending these events can also help you expand your network in the community you call home.
Well, there you have it. Building your marketing plan may seem like a daunting task, but it will reward you in the form of new customers and a growing business. Remember that utilizing several strategies and tactics will increase your marketing success.
Sources:
https://biteable.com/blog/marketing-ideas/
https://johnlincoln.marketing/marketing-ideas-small-businesses/
https://www.swiftlocalsolutions.com/blog/7-marketing-campaign-ideas-for-small-business