Social Media Marketing 101: Making Sense of These Essential Terms

There’s more to social media marketing than posting your products and services online. It’s one of the more highly dynamic areas of marketing, with trends changing in a blink of an eye. What brought hundreds of clients to your business last year may become obsolete in the present. That is why companies, whether they’re a law firm consisting of divorce attorneys or a start-up launching a software, must be proactive in updating themselves of the latest rules of the game. One example of a significant shift in the industry is the removal of the “like” button on Instagram, which was initially used as a success metric for posts. It was a way for the platform to disincentivize fake likes and followers that made brands look like they have a wider reach. Facebook, the mother company of Instagram, also wanted to test their theory that hiding likes will increase post volume. The move, Facebook argues, will be beneficial to users in the long run. If done right, social media marketing can amplify generating leads and interests to what a company has to offer. An emotional video on Facebook or an insightful article on LinkedIn can bring traffic to the company’s website and even improve its search rankings. Here are essential terms businesses should be familiar with if they want to conquer social media:

Engagement Rate

Arguably one of the vital metrics any business should be aware of, engagement rate shows how interesting their content is to their audience. Each social media platform has its definitions, but engagement can be measured by how many likes, comments, shares, or retweets a post has. To illustrate, if a post was seen by 10,000 people and received 1,000 engagements, then it has a 10% engagement rate. There are a lot of ways that businesses can improve their engagement rate. One recommendation is to favor videos over still photos because the former gets 135% more interaction than the latter. That is because people can easily scroll through images without giving it much thought. Videos, on the other hand, demands more attention that users will provide for interesting content.

Influencer

Customers of today value positive interactions and relationships with brands, rather than being contented with static product advertisements. That is because their main concern is looking for credible and effective ways to solve their problem. Influencers can help brands connect with these people because either they’re experts of a specific topic or they already have a loyal following. Posts from influencers generate high engagement and conversion rates.

Social Listening

Businesses that engage in social listening regularly monitor what is being talked about their products and services. The practice allows them to understand the demographics of their audiences, interact with them, and deal with issues that may crop up. If there are unsatisfied customers, it is the company’s best interest to learn why and implement damage control. Customers are likely to patronize a business that values their opinions and feelings instead of being blind to their concerns. Social media is here to stay as more and more people integrate these applications into their daily lives. Businesses should learn how to make use of this opportunity to connect with their customers.