The social network user base has grown at a 115.59% pace from 2.078 billion active users in 2015 to 4.480 billion in 2021. With unprecedented growth rates and substantial opportunities for business growth, there is no doubt businesses are not holding back to hop on the social bandwagon.

Hence, social media offers an opportunity for businesses to tap into almost half of the global population. And, it is clearly evident why 90% of the marketers are happy with their social network results. However, driving business results through social media marketing is not as simple as creating a profile.

Yet clever marketers leverage the power of these social media channels to scale rapidly despite the stiff competition. Non-strategic and imprudent marketing strategies are not advised. But, marketers usually employ some common tricks in their marketing plans to derive maximum results from their social media marketing.

Successful social media marketing tactics

1. Test content ideas

Most upcoming marketers use Twitter for their content marketing endeavors. But unfortunately, fewer marketers realize and harness the true potential of this microblogging platform.

Sometimes, it is hard to predict which idea will resonate with your audience or which ones will fall flat. Twitter serves as a 'content lab' that experienced marketers often use to gauge the audience's interests.

1. Remarketing

With a 1,046% efficiency rate, a study revealed that retargeting could increase website visits by over 726%. In addition, 57% of marketers surveyed concurred that social media is an excellent place for remarketing. Remarketing is believed to increase sales by 50%, given the increased visibility rate. The higher conversion rates and brand recognition through remarketing are the reason why marketers vouch for this tactic very much.

1. Leverage business events and growth studies

Since the pandemic kicked in, almost all major brands shifted their marketing focus. As a result, social media marketing is as much about thought leadership, authority building, and business intelligence as sales, business growth, and visibility.

The shift in virtual strategies of brands is evidently visible in the increase of virtual business events. Besides devising and organizing a successful social media event, tuning into the competitor's events provides competitive leverage to businesses. And that exactly is what marketers like to do on social media.

Social listening equips marketers with insightful business intelligence and gives businesses a competitive edge and strategic advantage.

1. Community building

Community building is the future of social media marketing. According to a research report, over 76% of internet users are a part of at least one online community (forum, page, group, or event).

The pandemic spearheaded the trend of digital communities to substitute regular social interactions. The movement, however, doesn't seem to fade off even in the post-pandemic era. If anything, they are going to grow stronger.

Brands focusing on building 'marketable communities' are already clearly visible. In addition, marketers are taking appropriate steps to make their marketing campaigns more humane to trigger a sense of belongingness, which is, again, quite visible in the quality of marketing content on social media.

1. Brand collabs

All the business perspectives aside, 71% of the consumers confessed that they like brand collaborations. Cross-business, cross-industry, and businesses from different industries are occasionally co-branding for broader reach and solidifying consumer trust.

The below case studies and proven results signify why brand collaborations are a favorite tactic for marketers.

• The click share of Estee Lauder increased by over 70% after partnering with a top local retailer in the USA.
  
• An agency coordinated cross-promotion of two gaming brands, resulting in a 32% increase in their downloads.
  
• A co-marketing effort of Coors with National Geography resulted in an 8% increase in Coors' brand favorability.
  

Business model vs. social media marketing strategy

When setting up your social media marketing strategy, you must understand that not all businesses have the exact needs. Whether you're a B2C or B2B business will make a massive difference in approaching social media marketing.

In general, B2B businesses are looking to create content that demonstrates their expertise and establishes them as thought leaders in their industry. On the other hand, B2C businesses want to connect with customers on a more personal level, providing entertaining or useful content.

B2B

According to HootSuite’s Digital Trends Report 2021, 31.3% of internet users use social media for business-related research and 22.7% for business networking.

B2B is a complex market, and social media is not merely a marketing tool for B2B businesses. It is about proving how you can bring about a business impact for your prospects. It is about brand awareness, lead generation and nurturing, and authority building.

• Lead generation

Social media marketing is an efficient and easy way for B2B businesses for lead generation. There are several ways to go about it, but here are the two most popular:

• Segmentation for personalization

Segmenting your target audience based on geography, industry, behavior, and other demographics helps you with more personalization. For example, you can start sending out more targeted ads that will appeal to specific groups of people. This allows you to create content that is more likely to resonate with a user's interests and needs—and thus results in more conversions!

• Paid ads

Bypassing the popularity of organic reach for a while, over 59% of marketers say that paid marketing is more efficient. So as you venture out into organic marketing, paid marketing will be your secret weapon with a strategic approach.

Targeted paid ads are believed to produce 200% ROI. Some examples are segmentation or targeting based on multiple factors like business type, prospect behavior, and geography.

• Lead nurturing

Lead nurturing is a crucial part of a prospect’s journey. Businesses that excel at lead nurturing can generate more sales-ready leads with lower prospecting costs.

While content creation helps in visibility, discoverability, and brand awareness, business intelligence equips you with the right and insightful data about your prospect’s business. It further helps you with better targeting and personalization for a smooth lead-conversion process.

• Authority building

As a marketer, it's not enough to just do marketing anymore. You have to be an authority who can speak to the industry and your audience with confidence, expertise, and charisma.

While speaking engagements and other "offline" activities certainly help, social media is where you'll be able to build your brand as an authority in the most cost-effective manner.

• Have a voice: Social media thrives because of its user-generated content, so the more you can engage with your customers, prospects, and businesses, the better.
  
  
• Be active: The more active you are, the more noticeable you will be. You don’t have to post 4-5 times a day. Post at your own pace and frequency. But remember to maintain consistency and always serve quality and value to your prospects.
  
  
• Show off your expertise and thought leadership! Share it if you're an authority on something related to your industry or products! People love following businesses that show what they know and care about what they do.

B2C

Social media is a great way to connect with your audience personally. It also allows you to do market research by understanding what people like and don't like about your brand or what they are saying about it. It eliminates the hierarchical gap and establishes a direct connection between brands and audiences. It builds brand awareness, which gives you a leg up on the competition.

• People who are familiar with your brand are more likely to buy from you because they trust you. They know what they'll get when they purchase your product or service.
  
  
• Brand trust: They are also more likely to pay a higher price because they trust that your product will be worth it. So you can charge premium prices without losing customers to competitors with lower prices.
  
  
• Customer retention: A loyal customer base is a great asset to have. Brand awareness can help you maintain a consistent image across all of your marketing channels to reach those customers deeper. It also plays an important role in keeping your existing customer base happy and engaged with your product/service. When you have a strong brand, your customers are more likely to keep coming back to you.

D2C

Social media marketing is an incredibly important part of any marketing strategy, especially for direct-to-consumer companies. These companies often have smaller marketing budgets and a narrower audience to target, so social media can be the key to getting their name out there. In addition, it's more accessible to them than other outlets.

• Customer-centricity

When you make your customers feel like they're at the center of your organization, you'll find that they are. They'll be happier with you, which means they'll be more willing to trust you and tell their friends about you. People want to buy from companies they feel like they can trust. And one of the easiest ways to build that relationship is to put them at the center of everything you do.

• Sales

By crafting a unique strategy for each platform and setting clear goals with realistic measurements of success, you can use social media marketing to drive more traffic to your site and increase your sales numbers over time!

• Wider reach

Social media marketing has no borders, which means you can instantly connect with customers on the other side of the world. You could reach people who have never even heard of your company and instantly introduce your brand to them. You can get feedback from consumers in real-time and ensure that your message is being received the way you intended it to be. It's an easy, affordable way to connect with customers in every country.

Conclusion

Social media marketing isn't a cinch. However, with the growing competition and dynamic marketing landscape, only a strategic and empathetic approach and staying ahead of the curve can help you tackle this daunting task.

Social media marketing is different for every business model, so it's essential to take enough time to figure out what works best for you. Whether you're focused on customer service or sales, the tips above will help you maximize the potential of your social media marketing efforts for success. After all, if you don't use social media effectively, your competitors will—and they'll win.