It is no secret that nearly overnight, Social Media has revolutionized online marketing. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and even YouTube have given telemarketers and B2B marketing agencies new tools and a global reach to connect with new customers. Social Media Marketing is filled with challenges, however, and in the digital marketing world, nothing stays the same for long. Despite the shifts and changes in how social media is used as a marketing tool, there exists a foundational approach to engage with customers. This article will address three cornerstones of social media marketing – timeless strategies that produce results for social media marketing efforts.

Social Media Marketing: Timeless Strategies for Success

With the ever-changing nature of social media, how can marketing professionals stay abreast of these changes, delivering impactful campaigns for their clients? The answer lies in time-honored strategies, which should be familiar to those in the marketing industry. These cross-platform strategies help to ensure that marketers and their clients are getting the most from social media promotion, helping to connect with new audiences on a global scale.

First, it is critical for marketers to develop a strategic plan with all the specifics needed to maximize the campaign and its budgetary limits. Typically, a talented social media marketing firm will develop a 12-month action plan, addressing goals, sources of information, and milestones to achieve. Aspects to consider in the long range plan include:

• Identifying target audiences (local, regional, national, or global), including demographic details like age, income level, etc.
• Messages to convey to the target audience on a regular basis, such as weekly product announcements or special offers done on a monthly timeframe.
• Identifying the tools or apps needed to deliver messages to the target audience.
• Setting goals and developing the steps needed to achieve those goals.
• Creating an integration method where traditional marketing and social media promotion work hand-in-hand in the campaign.

It is important to remember that there are no overnight solutions when it comes to social media marketing. And, it is critical that marketers convey that message to their clients. It is useful to think of these marketing efforts as a long-term plan of brand building, where immediate effects may not be apparent but the long-range payoff is worth the effort.

The next timeless strategy is in the visual nature of the campaign. This strategy holds true for any marketing endeavor, whether that is print, video, television, or digital. In short, this strategy is one of design: attracting customer attention with eye-catching layouts. Marketers will convey their clients’ messages best by producing attractive designs that introduce the company and its products or services in a professional manner.

Finally, it is important to develop engagement with potential new customers, and the time-honored method for this aspect is to produce engaging content. Say, for example, a company has a new product they’ve developed. Marketers will want to share information on the benefits and features of this new product, helping site visitors in making purchasing decisions. Content needs to be well-written, informative, and interesting – all of which work to engage viewers while answering questions they may have about the company and its product line.

Social media marketing is a complex field, and there are many variables at play in the industry. Rushing to create a marketing presence on social media platforms rarely makes a long-term impact in customer engagement, but by adhering to these time-honored strategies, marketers and their clients can get the most out of these innovative platforms.