"Lead generation" - that's the most common response from MSMEs when we ask them what is their objective for social media marketing. While generating quality leads is indeed a worthy objective, a business first needs to build trust and credibility before expecting leads from social media marketing.

SMO (Social Media Optimisation) or SMM (Social Media Marketing) essentially mean the same thing, which is marketing a business on any of the relevant social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest etc. This is a mix of organic and paid tactics. The KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) usually tracked are shown in the illustration below. The KPIs tracked vary depending on the type of business, but if done right, result in lead generation or sales or app downloads.

Before we go ahead, you might be wondering if your business needs social media marketing. Read our blog here to know 👉 Why Social Media Marketing?

Now that you know that you need social media marketing, read on.

What do I need for Social Media Marketing?

Company page

To begin social media marketing for any business, we first create their business or company page. The term used varies with platforms but they mean the same thing - the identity of the business on a social media platform. This identity may be linked to a personal profile as in the case of Facebook or LinkedIn which means one needs admin access to manage the business/company page. This identity may not be linked to a personal profile as in the case of Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter which means one needs separate credentials to manage the business account. In either case, the business/company page is different from a personal profile. The main difference is that you can do a paid promotion on a business page, but not on a personal profile.

Posting engaging content. Consistently.

On social media, people are looking to connect to their family, friends, business associates or simply research a particular topic. They may not be looking to “buy anything” which is why posting new and engaging content regularly helps to build a connection. Different platforms offer different formats of content. Some of the most common examples are

● Static post
● Carousel
● Short videos - Reels
● Long videos
● Articles
● Text post
● Story

Depending on the message that we want to convey through a post and the target, we decide the type of content. For example, If we are targeting the Operations Manager of an energy-intensive industry with a success story of implementing an Intelligent Load Management System, we can write a short application note (article) on it. This can also be converted into an infographics (static) post or a whiteboard animated video.

Content can also be re-purposed in different forms to ensure the hammering of the concept or product that a business is trying to sell. Another example could be an e-commerce website selling clothes for pets. In this case, reels or short videos or photos of the pets in the clothes would be more engaging. Client testimonials can also be showcased

Keeping the content strategy in line with the business strategy helps generate leads.Click To Tweet

As a social media marketing agency, we work with our clients to create such a strategy and then execute it to get the desired results - brand visibility, awareness and leads.

Budget for paid campaigns

The content that gets posted on the social media page and is shown to the followers of a page without any money being spent on reaching these followers is called organic reach. Organic reach is almost dead on most social media platforms. If you want to reach a wider base audience, you should definitely invest in paid marketing.

In our interaction with the prospective clients, we have come across instances where they think that paid marketing is bad and organic is good. However, paid marketing is different from “buying” followers. The paid marketing that we are referring to is the legitimate service provided by the respective platforms wherein the advertisers can target the audience depending upon various parameters such as age, gender, location, interests, designation etc. There are various objectives of doing this paid marketing and depending upon the strategy a business can look for brand awareness, website visits or lead generation.

Measurement

In our experience, this is one of the most important parts of social media marketing.

Lead qualification is mostly a sales activity and the timely feedback on this can help the social media marketing team to make the necessary changes in the audience targeting, messaging or even bidding strategy. Evaluation of the cost per lead and using the feedback from the client regarding the quality of the leads/enquiries to improve the performance of the paid/organic campaigns is critical to the success of social media marketing.

Social media might be free, but social media marketing is not. It costs money, time and effort to build an effective social media presence. With the right approach though, this can definitely be one of the best methods of lead generation for MSMEs. What matters is how effectively we ideate and execute the ideas generated.

Schedule a call with our expert and discover how we as an SMO agency can help your business take advantage of the benefits of social media marketing through effective content strategy.

Disclaimer:
The trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Idecution Marketing Studio LLP does not claim any intellectual copyright over or intend to use it for any commercial purposes whatsoever. This blog is only meant to provide information to the digital marketing community.

Schedule A Call