In today’s world, social media remains one of the most dominant digital topics, as leading platforms continue to expand their audiences and account for a growing share of consumers’ time spent on the web.
Considering nearly half of social media users tend to share other people’s content more than their own, the way in which businesses use social media as a marketing tool is highly imperative to their success.
Now, more than ever, businesses are able to use data to improve their marketing strategy. Companies can host live video content and integrate direct chat to engage their intended audiences and generate potential leads.
Additionally, they can use social listening to monitor their brand across social media and gain invaluable insight into the overall health of their brand.
Branding companies can support your vision as your company explores the benefits of social media marketing.
Host Live Video Content
Companies now have the ability to host live video content as a means of engaging their current audience and generating potential leads.
Audiences can comment on and share live feeds, providing pivotal market insight for business strategy. For example, companies often choose Facebook Live to reach new audiences and interact with followers in real time. Facebook Live has watch times that are 3 times longer than those that are not live.
A Facebook Live session can last up to 4 hours. Businesses can use Facebook Live to engage directly with consumers and make them feel personally involved with the business.
Since visuals are the most readable form of media now, live feeds generate longer audience attention and provide a more authentic feel in terms of marketing strategy. Integrating live videos into your branding strategy can increase customer trust and loyalty.
Integrate Direct Chat
In addition to hosting live video feeds, companies are now choosing to integrate direct chat into their strategy.
According to a Facebook-commissioned study conducted last year, consumers prefer to message a business rather than call customers service over the phone — 56% would prefer to text and 67% said they expect to message more businesses in the near future.
Consumers expect a response within an hour from customer service, opening an increasing demand for chatbots.
For example, Nordstrom offers personalized ad experiences using a chatbot on Facebook Messenger that interacts with consumers via text. Below is an example of a Nordstrom messenger chat:
Nordstrom provides unique discounts and recommendations based on previous search history, and gives easy access to these perks using direct chat.
Conveniently, chatbots are growing in popularity on social media, making it easier for companies to communicate with customers and potential customers.
Overall, direct chat allows for more efficient real-time communication between the consumer and company. People prefer brands that offer personalization, and direct messaging provides a direct line between business and consumer.
Use Social Listening
Lastly, companies are now choosing to use social listening as a means of social media marketing.
Social listening is the process of analyzing conversations around particular topics, keywords, and industries. Businesses use social listening to find who is and how people are talking about their brand.
Companies can then leverage these insights to discover opportunities or create content for these audiences. With social media monitoring and listening, businesses now have the ability to more conveniently track overall brand health, find consumer leads, and improve customer experience.
Social listening allows businesses to understand exactly how the brand is perceived. Businesses can use what consumers like and dislike to craft a better service line and improve certain areas.
Market Your Company Successfully on Social Media
With the continuous expansion of social media, it is incredibly important for companies to adjust their marketing strategy around these platforms.
Businesses are now choosing to host live video content as a direct response to the growing demand for this more authentic mode of communication.
The integration of direct chat is another way in which social media marketing is changing. Direct chat facilitates the flow of real-time communication between businesses and consumers, creating a direct channel to the company.
As well, businesses are using social listening to track conversations around specific topics, phrases, and brands. They then use this market insight to find new leads, monitor brand health, and improve the experience of their customers.
Overall, social media provides businesses with crucial market insight, allowing businesses to use this data to improve their marketing strategy. If your company is unsure about how to implement an effective social media campaign, then hire an experienced branding agency to help begin the process.