Why your content strategy should involve social media

By Charlie Britten
22 Feb 2019
Nearly every company in the UK now has an online presence, with websites coming as standard. However, firms that stop there are likely to be at a disadvantage against those who use social media as part of a content marketing strategy.
 

As one of the top marketing agencies in Manchester, we know an effective web presence needs much more than just a website containing basic information and points of contact.

First of all you need to highlight your presence to potential customers. By publishing content on social media you can step out into the world and tell a story to thousands, maybe millions of people, creating awareness about why you do what you do and what you have to offer, as well as getting information back in return that can help you enhance your services.  

Why do you need to use social media? 

For this reason, it makes sense to have a social media marketing strategy. But these bare facts hardly scratch the surface of what you might potentially achieve by having a well-designed plan with a long-term focus. 

The use of social media can also help you to target your market more. For example, when targeting the legal or financial sectors professional sites such as LinkedIn are a good place to go, while e-commerce site might focus on sites frequented by those with an interest in their goods. For example, a sports goods firm might look to sites used by younger people. 

What should your content be like?

  • Content for social media should not be too long. Busy people who see lengthy pieces tend to scroll past or swiftly lose interest 
  • Search engine optimisation is not as important as it is or other forms of content, such as blogs on your website, as the latter is the sort of thing search engines will lead people to. 
  • Remember you are telling a story, so keep it compelling.
  • To be truly effective on social media, a post should not just be all text, whatever its length. Research has shown that an interesting picture will gain much more engagement, and video is the most effective of all.  
  • While all these factors can determine how much initial engagement your social media posts get, it is important not to lose sight of its ultimate purpose, which is to engage with and steer the customer journey.
 


As mentioned above, a social media presence can do wonders for the first stage, that of awareness, but one post alone is not enough; to successfully take a potential customer through the ‘consideration’ stage, when they are thinking about whether to take up your offer or not, may require a lot of persistence. According to the marketing rule of seven, on average it takes seven interactions before they make the commitment.

Why do you need to delight your customers?

After this, you move to the final stage of delighting customers and ensuring their retention. Social media can play a big role in this because it is interactive in nature; you can start a conversation that helps you learn more about your clients and how to meet their needs.

Once you have people buying your products and services, you can adjust your social media even more to meet their needs as you get to know more about them. You can use this to make special offers to delight them as well. 

The best thing of all about this last part of a successful social media strategy is your happy customers will be willing to use their own social media tell their colleagues and peers what a great service they got. Through this interaction you can help generate more custom and good publicity.  

How BeUniqueness can help 

At BeUniqueness, we have a wealth of experience in marketing for companies in Manchester, which includes developing social media marketing strategies. Whether it is choosing the right platforms to use, creating social media ads or revamping your social media pages, we can help you maximise the potential of one of the best ways for you to connect with potential and existing customers.