Social media marketing (SMM) explained
Social media has become a part of our everyday lives. More than half the world uses social media. The average person spends almost two and a half hours on social media a day. That’s a lot of people, a lot of time, and a lot of opportunity.
This in-depth article discusses the basics of social media marketing and its importance in today’s business landscape. With 93% of marketers worldwide using social media for business, having a strong social media presence can impact your company’s success.
We explore the different social media platforms businesses can use, the benefits of social media marketing, and strategies for creating an effective social media marketing campaign.
Summary/Overview
What is social media marketing (SMM)?
Social media marketing (SMM) means using social media platforms to promote your business. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn allow businesses to reach a large and diverse audience.
This is what’s known as “big business.” In the United States, social media ad spending is expected to reach over $94.4 billion in 2023. Organizations of all sizes use social media to drive brand awareness, increase website traffic, and generate leads.
Digital marketing on social media includes a variety of ads and techniques for reaching and engaging with potential customers. Some common types of ad formats on social media include:
- Sponsored ads: You can use paid ads to promote your products or services on social media platforms. These ads typically appear in posts, videos, or images and target specific demographics, interests, or behaviors.
- Influencer marketing: This is a form of SMM wherein you partner with social media influencers to promote your products or services. Influencers have a large following on social media and are considered by their audiences to be experts or thought leaders in their field.
- Video ads: Video ads are a popular way to promote a product or service on social media. They can tell a story, demonstrate a product, or provide educational content.
- Carousel ads: Carousel ads allow you to display multiple images or videos in a single ad. They’re often used to showcase a product or service from different angles or tell a story.
- Story ads: Some social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat have a feature called “Stories,” where users can post a photo or video that remains visible for 24 hours. You can use this feature to promote your products or services.
- Interactive ads: Interactive ads are a new form of social media advertising that allow users to interact with the ad, for example, by playing a game or taking a survey.
- Live streaming: Live streaming is becoming increasingly popular on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. You can use live videos to interact with your audience in real time and provide behind-the-scenes access to your products or services.
The importance of social media for business.
Social media isn’t going anywhere — it’s only growing. From 2021 to 2022, social media users increased by more than 10%. That’s over 376 million new users worldwide.
Many entrepreneurs and business owners have already realized the importance of using social media to reach new customers and engage with current ones.
Here are some of the benefits of SMM:
- Reach a wider audience. Social media allows businesses to reach a much wider audience than traditional forms of advertising. You can target potential customers based on their interests, location, age, and more.
- Increase brand awareness. The number one reason people follow brands on social media is to learn more about new products and services. Posting regularly on social media can increase brand awareness and help you build relationships with current and potential customers.
- Grow traffic to your website. Sharing engaging content on social media can drive traffic to your website, increasing the chance of conversions and helping you reach your business goals.
- Understand your customers. Customer data is a valuable asset. Social media gives you insight into your customers’ interests and behaviors. These metrics can help inform decisions about product development, marketing campaigns, and more.
- Generate leads. Social media is a great way to share content that generates leads for your business. You can use it to promote offers or discounts, encourage people to join your email list, or link to your products or services.
- Improve customer service. You can use social media to respond to customer inquiries and complaints, building trust in your brand.
How to set up your social media marketing strategy.
Whether you have a small business or were hired as a social media manager for an organization looking to explore new marketing channels, developing a solid social media marketing plan is your first step.
Let’s dive into how you can use social networks to boost your business.
1. Identify campaign goals and objectives.
The first step in setting up an SMM plan is identifying your campaign goals and objectives. This helps you determine which metrics to track, what content to post, and how often to post it.
Your goals should be measurable and achievable, such as increasing brand awareness by 20% or generating 500 leads in the next six months.
Some other examples are:
- Increase website traffic by 30%.
- Boost social media engagement by 15%.
- Grow the number of followers on a specific platform by 10%.
- Increase sales by 5%.
Knowing your goals also helps you know which social media analytics to track.
2. Research and segment your target audience.
You can’t create compelling social media campaigns if you don’t know who your target audience is. Researching and segmenting your audience can help you create content that resonates with them.
Segmenting your audience also allows you to tailor messages to different groups of people, making it more effective at reaching the right people.
Create a buyer persona. This fictional representation of your ideal customer helps you create content tailored to them. Include specific demographics like age, location, and job title.
You should also include psychographics like interests, values, and lifestyle, so you know how best to engage and serve your ideal customer.
3. Choose the right social media platforms.
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok are some of the most popular social media networks. But there’s also Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr, and many others.
Each social platform has different demographics, so knowing your target audience is essential when selecting the right platforms for your SMM. Consider things like age, location, and interests when making your decision. Consider investing in a social media management tool to keep track of the different platforms you are posting on.
You should also think about the types of content you plan to create and how best to reach your target market on each platform. For example, if your audience loves video content on TikTok, your content creation plan should reflect that.
The best social media marketing platforms.
Let’s take a closer look at the different social media platforms and what they can offer for your marketing efforts.
Facebook.
Facebook remains the world’s most used social media platform. Around 2.96 billion users log into Facebook each day. (Learn more about the platform demographics.)
For businesses, Facebook is well worth considering. Over 200 million businesses are active on the platform; small, local businesses are a huge part of that user base.
Searches and clicks on local business pages increased by over 30% in 2020. In terms of marketing campaigns, Facebook Ads yielded the highest return on investment.
More than seven million advertisers use Facebook Ads to achieve their goals. You can tailor ad campaigns to various objectives — from increasing brand awareness, website visits, and engagement to driving sales.
Instagram.
Instagram has over 1 billion active monthly users spending an average of 30 minutes a day on the platform. The demographics break down to primarily female (51%) and under 35 (71%).
Instagram is also a key place for brands and businesses. Over 70% of U.S. businesses use Instagram, and 200 million users visit at least one business profile daily.
Instagram Stories are wildly popular. Over 500 million Instagram users view Instagram Stories daily, making it a great way to reach a large audience to showcase your brand.
Instagram also offers paid ads with fair pricing. Various ad formats — including sponsored posts, sponsored stories, and in-feed video ads — make advertising on the platform attractive.
For e-commerce businesses, Instagram is an easy frontrunner. Over 80% of people use the social platform to research services and products, and half the users have visited a website to make a purchase after seeing the product on Instagram. Each month, 180 million people tap on Instagram e-commerce shopping posts.
Influencer marketing is a great way to use your Instagram presence. You can reach people interested in your product or service but may not have heard of you yet.
Identifying influencers with an existing following similar to your ideal customer and having them feature your product or service on their feed can lead to organic growth and increased sales.
YouTube.
YouTube might not be the first platform that comes to mind when you think of powerful social media marketing tools, but you’d be overlooking this platform in that case. It’s the second most visited social media platform in the world. YouTube has mass appeal, reaching a wide range of different age groups. In 2021, 81% of adults in the U.S. said they use YouTube.
Around 90% of people have heard about a brand by seeing content on YouTube, making the platform a great way to reach a mass audience quickly and cost-effectively.
When creating YouTube content, don’t worry about being the next viral sensation. Instead, focus on creating quality content that adds value to your ideal customer. Content like tutorials, how-tos, live streams, video ads, and more can be a great way to engage with potential customers. Even better, you can recycle content from other platforms like TikTok videos and Instagram Reels to re-share your top posts for a different audience.
When making content for YouTube, create a visually appealing thumbnail that makes people want to click. Also, make sure your intro is engaging.
The average adult attention span is just eight seconds, so you don’t have long to hook a viewer. You will also want to use search engine optimization (SEO) best practices to get your videos to show up in users’ search queries. Your title, description, and keywords are all metadata that tell search engines how to index your content.
TikTok.
TikTok has 1 billion monthly active users. It’s a short-form video-sharing platform that allows users to create and share video content set to music, comedy skits, tutorials, and other creative content.
If you’re looking to engage a younger audience, TikTok is a great option. TikTok users open the app eight times a day, showing how active the audience is on the platform.
TikTok users are mainly young, with 40% being 18 to 24 years old. The platform’s success with younger demographics makes it a great platform for businesses in fashion, beauty, entertainment, and consumer goods.
Twitter.
About 77.75 million people in the U.S. use Twitter. Most users are between the ages of 25 and 34, and 70% identify as male.
Twitter can be a great place for social listening, which is essential for better understanding your customers. Around 80% of people on Twitter have mentioned a brand in a tweet.
When you listen on Twitter, you can see what people are saying about your brand and what topics they’re talking about that are related to it. This allows you to adjust your messaging and customer service as needed.
LinkedIn.
LinkedIn is a professional networking platform with 310 million monthly active users. It’s the most trusted digital network in the U.S.
This platform has a user base largely composed of professionals and business-minded individuals. Nearly 48% of people using LinkedIn are between 18 and 39 years old, making it a great platform for reaching a young and educated audience.
If your company needs business-to-business (B2B) marketing, LinkedIn is the place to be because it’s a hub for businesses and professionals. In fact, 78% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn Ads. It’s also a great platform for recruiting and job searching, with 40 million people searching for jobs every month.
When choosing what type of content marketing to do on LinkedIn, consider professional and informative content. Keep in mind that posts with video content are much more likely to reach your audience.
Snapchat.
There are 347 million daily active users on Snapchat — and when we say “active,” we mean active. The typical Snapchatter uses the app every day and spends 31 minutes a day engaging with the platform, opening the app more than 20 times per day.
In the U.S., 59% of Snapchat users are 13 to 24 years old, making it a great platform for reaching a younger audience.
Snapchat users are 300% more likely to make purchases from their mobile devices than non-Snapchat users (so make sure your website is mobile-friendly) and 60% more likely to make impulse purchases.
These statistics make it a great platform for businesses looking to increase sales and brand awareness. The average swipe-up rate for Snapchat Ads is 50%, and the average cost per swipe is $0.30 to $1, making it a cost-effective platform for businesses to advertise.
Social media marketing tips.
Here are some best practices and tips for SMM success:
- Build a strong brand presence. A strong brand presence on social media platforms is crucial for customer retention. Try using the same colors, logos, and messaging across all social media profiles to create a strong and recognizable visual identity. A strong brand presence helps build trust and loyalty with customers, making reaching and retaining your target audience easier. Templates can make this a bit easier.
- Experiment with different types of content. Experimenting with different types of content can help you reach different audiences at various times. For example, paid ads might be more effective at reaching new audiences, while you can use regular social media posts to engage with existing followers. You can also use videos, reels, polls, giveaways, and other social media content to reach different audiences and increase engagement. Consider reposting old content or highlighting user-generated content to see how it resonates with your audience,
- Engage with your audience regularly. Responding to comments and engaging with your audience are important in promoting user engagement. This includes responding to positive and negative comments and using engagement-promoting post styles, such as polls, giveaways, and share/follow/comment posts. Make sure to schedule posts regularly to keep your audience engaged and check popular forums for any important discussions or feedback.
- Stay on top of trends and algorithm updates. Using trends (like hashtags, viral sounds, or popular memes) early on can help you stay ahead of the curve and reach new audiences. Algorithm updates can impact your overall strategy, so staying informed and adapting as needed is important.
- Measure and analyze your campaign’s performance and continue to optimize. Regularly measuring and analyzing your campaign’s performance can help you optimize your overall strategy and marketing efforts. This includes competitive analysis, analyzing post time frames, styles of posts, general and audience analytics, and times of engagement. Many social media platforms have built-in analytics tools, so make sure to check those out. Identifying which posts have been most successful and at what time of day they get the most interaction can help you optimize your future marketing efforts.
Build a successful social media marketing strategy.
Social media marketing is a powerful tool that can help you reach your target audience, build relationships with customers, and grow your business. By creating engaging content, sharing valuable information, and interacting with your followers, you can build a strong online presence that will help you achieve your marketing goals.
If you're looking for a way to create stunning visuals for your social media marketing campaigns, Adobe Express is a great option. With Adobe Express, you can create engaging posts, stories, and ads that stand out from the crowd. You can also use Adobe Express to create custom graphics for your website or blog.
Adobe Express is easy to use and offers a variety of features that make it a great choice for social media marketers. With Adobe Express, you can:
- Choose from a variety of pre-made templates to get started quickly.
- Customize your designs with your own text, images, and colors.
- Add animations, filters, and effects to make your designs more visually appealing.
- Post your designs directly to your social media accounts or share them with others.
If you're looking for a way to create engaging social media content that will help you reach your target audience, Adobe Express is a great option. Give it a try today.
This post was updated on March 25, 2024.