Social media isn’t a passing fad if its popularity is any indicator. Today, 61% of the world’s population uses social sites, and the average person bounces between seven platforms per month.

This popularity presents plenty of opportunities for marketers. You can use platforms like Instagram and TikTok to connect with customers in creative and unique ways, too. 

You can also use your social presence to build a stronger brand and improve your customer experience. This is particularly important today, as businesses from all industries are scrapping to garner the attention of digital consumers. 

Data-Driven Marketing

Successful marketing strategies leverage a blend of data-driven analytics and creative thinking. As mentioned, you can boost the veracity of your data by gathering insights on social sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. You can begin a data-driven social media marketing campaign by utilizing techniques like: 

• Social Listening: These programs are designed to highlight any mentions of your brand online. This can help with brand reputation management and give you a better idea of your business’s presence online.
• Social Search: Keyword analysis and hashtag tracking are great ways to quantify the interest in your particular niche. Keep tabs on key metrics like search volume and try to rise through the ranks over time. 
• Real-Time Data: Social media is an ever-changing landscape for businesses. Leverage social data effectively by investing in a social media management tool like Hootsuite Analytics, Google Analytics, or Sprout Social. 

These approaches to social media data collection will give you a great overview of the industry and your business’s place within it. Even simple methods of data collection — like tracking clicks and impressions — can help you better understand the impact of your campaigns. 

However, quantitative data analysis is only a piece of the puzzle. If you want to optimize your social accounts, you’ll need to gather qualitative feedback on social media, too. 

Qualitative Feedback and the Customer Experience

Businesses spend thousands of dollars every year on focus groups and consumer surveys. That’s because qualitative marketing research is extremely valuable and can help firms better understand the needs of their consumers.

Social media cannot replace interviews and focus groups, but it can give marketers a better understanding of consumer trends and the overall customer experience. Start gathering useful qualitative feedback on social media by publishing posts that drive higher rates of engagement, like: 

• Run surveys 
• Offer prizes to folks who offer feedback on certain posts
• Publish polls
• Host an “ask me anything” (AMA) on social sites like Reddit and Facebook

Capturing customer feedback is a vital step in improving the customer experience. Over time, this kind of qualitative research can help you build a more holistic consumer journey and help you connect with customers. It can also help you understand where customers are discovering your brand so you can refine certain marketing channels to better align with consumer behavior. 

Building a Persona Online

Social platforms operate a little differently from traditional marketing venues. Folks who follow you online won’t appreciate a “hard sell” and will likely hit the unfollow button if you publish a series of formal advertisements. 

Instead, try to build a social media persona when publishing posts to sites like TikTok and Twitter. This method will help build engagement on your page and reduce the risk of consumers hitting the “unfollow” button when you do announce a new product or service. 

Start your search for the perfect social persona by embracing creativity online. Followers don’t want to see mundane posts about the products you offer or the deals you’re running. Instead, connect with consumers by meeting the genre expectations of each platform. For example, if you’ve just started a TikTok page, head over to the Creative Center to discover today’s trending sounds and influencers.

Meeting the genre expectations of the social platform you’re on will help direct your creative energy, too. This is particularly useful if you are new to social media and are trying to get up to speed. Start your journey towards building an online persona by becoming a user yourself. Conduct some preliminary research by noting down the posts that resonate with you, and try to replicate the tone and style that you find most appealing. 

Publishing High-Quality Content

Building a social persona is a great way to engage your followers and grow your digital presence. However, if you want folks to stick around, you need to start publishing high-quality content to your accounts. 

Start with simple video content that resonates with your customers. For example, if you run social media pages for a gym, consider posting a series of informative videos that show folks how to use the equipment in your space. These kinds of posts add meaningful value to the lives of your followers and are almost certain to build engagement with your posts. 

Stay relevant by keeping up to date with emerging social media trends. You can tap into this style of content by working with influencers who are sponsored by your business and foreground real-life stories from your customers. 

If you sell a product online, consider linking your social posts to a social shop. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok all have digital shops built into their apps. Consider creating a few posts that highlight the products you sell on your shop, and try out a few live streams to build hype around an upcoming launch. 

If you’re struggling to invent new ideas for your social pages, consider a range of posts themed around topics like: 

• Behind-the-scenes videos that show how the product/service is made;
• Value-based short-form videos that carry an ethical message;
• Event-based posts that encourage folks to come to your point of sale;
• Prizes and giveaways that intentionally build engagement.

These types of posts can easily fill your social media calendar and help you build your presence online. Just remember to respond to comments, too, as folks want to know that they are being heard when they come to your site. 

Conclusion 

Social media can help you better understand your customers and provide a better consumer experience. However, if you’re new to social media, you may struggle to build engagement about your product or service. Make the process easier by gathering consumer data through your social site. This will guide your creative decision-making and help you better understand your consumers.

Featured image by Hans Vivek on Unsplash