Social Media Marketing in Business:
what it is and how to implement

Social Media Marketing (SMM) is a rapidly growing online marketing strategy that business use to promote products and services, build relationships with audiences and engage them through text, graphic, video and interactive content. In 2024, as technology evolves and audience preferences change, companies must constantly adapt their SMM techniques to effectively leverage new opportunities, such as the metaverse, which offers a unique environment for immersive brand experiences.

social media marketing

Social Media Marketing
Definition

Social media marketing in business is the use of channels such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X to achieve business goals, including increasing brand popularity and improving customer loyalty. A key aspect of SMM is the creation and distribution of valuable content that encourages audiences to communicate with the brand. In 2024, the development of the metaverse promises to evolve SMM, offering brands new opportunities to create deeply interactive experiences for their audiences.

Content marketing and social media

SMM is an integral part of content marketing, as success on social platforms depends on the ability to create and distribute content that resonates with audiences. This content, from texts to videos, must be tailored to the specifics of each channel and designed to build a community around the brand. Encouraging audiences through comments, discussions, and private messages is key to building lasting relationships and fostering brand loyalty.

What are the features of Social Media Marketing?

The features of SMM include its high dynamism and high degree of competition, which require companies to constantly innovate and adjust their strategies. In the “red ocean” of social media, successfully standing out requires not only the creation of interesting content, but also the personalization of messages and the use of analytical data to optimize activities. Strategic planning and execution of organic and paid advertising activities are key to reaching the target audience.

  1. Social media is a great way for companies around the world to interact with their customers as part of their marketing strategies.
  2. Increased reach: Social media sites allow you to reach a wide and diverse audience around the world, often in a cost-effective manner.
  3. Activating audiences: SMM allows you to build deep relationships with users through interactive information sharing.
  4. Increased brand awareness: Regularly posting content and engaging with visitors can significantly increase brand recognition.
  5. Access to data and analytics: Advanced analytics tools allow you to measure effectiveness and better understand consumer behavior.
  6. Support for lead generation: SMM supports new customer acquisition through SEO support.
  1. Reputation management: Negative reviews and comments can spread quickly, which can damage a brand’s reputation.
  2. Requiring time: SMM requires regularly creating and publishing valuable content and responding to user comments, which can be time-consuming.
  3. Risk of over-saturation: High competition and a constant barrage of content can make it harder to stand out and capture the attention of your audience.
  4. Changing algorithms: Changing algorithms affect the visibility of published content and require constant monitoring.
  5. Measuring ROI: Accurately measuring the return on investment (ROI) from SMM efforts can be a challenge, especially in the context of more subtle benefits such as building brand awareness or customer loyalty.

What social media marketing strategies for business in 2024?

In 2024, key SMM strategies for business include working with influencers and affiliates, using whisper and viral marketing, and adapting to new trends such as the Facebook metaverse. Influencer marketing allows brands to expand their reach and build authenticity, while whisper and viral marketing increase brand visibility. Strategic planning, constant tracking of changes, and data analysis are essential to effectively adapt to changing trends and audience preferences.

marketing su facebook

What kind of social media marketing in 2024?

The development of the metaverse in 2024 opens up new horizons for SMM, offering brands the ability to create immersive experiences that were previously the domain of literature and science fiction films. The Metaverse enables the creation of deeply engaging environments where audiences can interact with brands in entirely new ways. For companies that can take advantage of these new opportunities, the metaverse represents an opportunity to stand out in the marketplace and build stronger relationships with audiences.

Social media marketing vs. networking

Adapting SMM methods to the networking preferences of different generations is key in 2024. Younger generations are looking for interactive experiences on platforms such as Discord or TikTok, which requires brands to take a creative approach to community building. Older generations and the B2B sector, on the other hand, still value traditional Facebook groups for a deeper exchange of experiences. Success in this dynamic environment depends on flexibility and the ability to mobilize different demographics, as evidenced by trend research.

What is the role of smartphones in the future of social networking?

The role of smartphones in the future of social networking will continue to evolve, solidifying their position in shaping the ways people communicate, share content, and are drawn to digital communities. With continued advances in technology, smartphones will become an even more integral part of the experience, offering users new and improved ways to interact with content, brands and each other.

In the near future, we can expect smartphones to use advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) to offer even more immersive and personalized experiences. AI can help tailor content to individual consumer preferences, while AR and VR will open up new opportunities for creating interactive content. In addition, the development of 5G technology will provide faster and more reliable connections, enabling the transmission of high-definition content in real-time, and increasing the quality and availability of live and on-demand broadcasts. This is worth paying attention to, as smartphones will continue to be the center of experience, enabling audiences to create, share, and consume content in a way that is more immersive, interactive, and personalized than ever before.

Social marketing in the smart city

Social marketing in smart cities plays a fundamental role in engaging citizens in city life and promoting sustainability and innovation. Through social and mobile networks, cities can effectively communicate with citizens, informing them about services, and environmental initiatives and encouraging participation in city projects.

The use of data allows advertising actions to be tailored to the needs and preferences of residents, making them more effective. These advertising campaigns can inform people about green behavior, such as the use of public transportation or recycling, helping to improve the quality of life in the city. At the same time, social networks enable community building around local initiatives, increasing the sense of belonging and fostering community involvement. As a result, online marketing is becoming an important element in creating smart cities that are more sustainable, innovative and focused on the needs of their residents.

How to implement social media marketing in business?

To implement social media marketing in business, companies should first identify where their customers spend time online and which channels they prefer. This step will allow them to focus their efforts on the most effective channels. Next, it’s necessary to assess the resources available to ensure that the strategy is sustainable and can continue in the long term. This includes both budget and human resources, as well as the technology needed for content production and data analysis.

It is also important to involve the entire company team in the content and idea-generation process. This enables the use of internal knowledge and creativity, which can contribute to the creation of authentic and interesting material. In addition, companies need to prepare for the heavy use of video content, which dominates the media and consider using artificial intelligence to personalize content and analyze user behavior. The use of modern technologies, such as AI and 2.5D interactive formats, can significantly increase audience engagement and set brands apart from the competition.

Who is responsible for running the company's social networks?

The company’s social networks are usually the responsibility of the marketing team, including specially designated specialists. These people must know marketing techniques, know the specifics of various social networks, but also know how to answer questions about the company. They must know how to analyze data to assess the effectiveness of their activities.

In many cases, especially when a company aims to create content with high viral potential or needs specialized skills such as video production or graphic design, outside agencies can also be hired to work with the company. Working with agencies allows access to a wide range of expertise and experience, which can significantly increase the quality and effectiveness of activities. Whether the activities are carried out internally or with the help of external partners, the key is to ensure consistency in brand communications and tailor content to the expectations and needs of one’s target audience.

buzz marketing facebook

Where to start with digital marketing?

Launching digital marketing activities on social media in 2024 requires a strategic approach, which starts with establishing goals in accordance with SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) methodology. Such goals provide clarity and direction for all activities, enabling effective tracking of progress and evaluation of promotion effectiveness. Next, it is crucial to implement appropriate metrics for published content to track its impact and audience engagement. In the face of increasing competition and high user expectations, content must not only be engaging but also valuable and interesting in order to stand out and build a positive relationship with the audience.

In addition, creating an internal news channel within the company to serve as a hub for sharing content ideas and inspiration is essential to fostering creativity and brand authenticity. Activating employees from different departments not only increases the variety and richness of content generated but also builds internal commitment to success. In such a dynamic environment as digital media in 2024, flexibility, creativity, and authenticity become a way to capture attention and nurture long-term relationships with audiences.

How to do marketing to be effective?

For business marketing on social channels to be effective, it is crucial to focus on the quality and value of content, not just its regularity. Content that is necessary, inspiring, educational or helps solve problems has more potential to become viral. In today’s fast-paced world, where visual content dominates over textual content, materials such as infographics, video, and interactive 2.5D formats are effective at capturing attention and stimulating audiences.

It is also important to adapt content to the specifics and preferences of audiences on different portals. Adapting the message to the nature of the site and expectations significantly increases effectiveness. In addition, analysis of data and audience feedback is essential for continuous improvement of content. The use of analytical tools allows you to understand what content resonates best with your audience, allowing you to optimize it and adapt it to changing trends and preferences. As a result, effective marketing requires the creation of valuable, visually appealing, and well-tailored content that is able to elicit positive responses and audience engagement.

What KPI metrics?

Effective social media marketing is based on an integrated approach to KPI metrics that includes both traditional post-publication metrics and predictive metrics prior to content deployment. Traditional metrics such as reach, engagement, number of clicks, conversion, and ROI remain key to evaluating performance. However, predictive metrics are becoming equally important to assess the potential effectiveness of content even before it is published.

Among the predictive metrics, special attention should be paid to the emotion evocation scale, which makes it possible to predict audience reactions to content. Emotional analysis can indicate whether content will evoke positive or negative emotions, which directly affects its potential to be shared. In addition, assessing the potential of content for sharing, based on its quality, value, and alignment with customer group expectations, is essential in the context of increasing competition and changing algorithms. Only content that is authentic and resonates with the audience influences increased activity on the profile and builds a positive brand image.

Free or paid?

In the area of social media marketing, an effective combination of organic activities and paid advertising is key to maximizing reach and engagement. Organic activities allow you to build authentic relationships with your audience, while paid marketing ensures that you quickly reach a wide and precisely defined audience.

Organic activities rely on the creation of valuable content that naturally grabs the attention of the audience and encourages them to get in touch, which fosters brand loyalty. Advertising campaigns, on the other hand, make it possible to reach new users and quickly increase brand awareness, which is especially important in the face of the limitations of websites’ algorithms. Integrating the two approaches allows you to create a balanced strategy that leverages the best features of each, ensuring optimal use of your company’s budget and resources.

Which platform is best for business?

Choosing the right platform for a business should be closely tailored to the company’s specific business, its user group, and specific marketing goals. For B2B companies LinkedIn offers access to a professional network and allows for building business relationships, while YouTube serves as a service for sharing industry knowledge through visual content. For B2C and MLM businesses, on the other hand, portals such as YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram allow for the creation of engaging video content that can attract the attention of a wider audience and increase brand recognition.

Additionally, the importance of providing an excellent experience (customer experience) cannot be overlooked, making channels like Reddit a place where brands can interact more deeply with users and build a community around their products or services. While Twitter (now X) is more difficult for businesses to navigate, it still offers value in terms of communicating quickly with customers and learning about trends. That being said, it’s critical to understand where your specific target audience is and how you can best communicate your brand values with them, which may require using a combination of different portals to achieve optimal results.

What is social sharing?

Social sharing, or the sharing of content by users on their profiles, is an important part of building a brand’s reach and visibility online. This activity not only naturally expands the reach of content, but also influences the perception of the brand by new audiences, as content shared by friends is perceived as more credible.

The development of brand experience (customer experience) sharing through social sharing is extremely valuable for companies. Affiliate programs and partnerships with brand ambassadors or influencers encourage people to share content and positive experiences with products or services. However, the most viral and effective in build trust is organic content sharing by actual end users. Their authentic opinions and experiences shared online have a huge impact on potential customers’ purchasing decisions and are highly valued by search engine algorithms, further increasing a brand’s online visibility.

What tools to build effective campaigns?

A number of tools are used to build effective marketing campaigns, which support both content creation, distribution, and analysis of results. Programs such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social allow for effective content management and post-scheduling, which is key to maintaining regularity and consistency in communications. In turn, Google Analytics and other analytical software provide valuable data on audience behavior and the effectiveness of specific activities.

In addition, developments in AI technologies for graphics and video, such as Midjourney, the Adobe suite (Premiere, After Effects, Firefly), and for text generation, such as ChatGPT, among others, are opening up new opportunities for quality content creation. Trending software, such as Google Trends and Exploding Topics, allows you to identify your audience’s current interests and tailor content to them. Semrush and other SEO programs, on the other hand, offer support in optimizing content for search engines, which can significantly increase the organic reach of published material. Using these tools allows you to reach your target audience, increase their engagement, and achieve specific business goals.

What is driving social media in B2B?

Business-to-business (B2B) social media involves communication and relationship-building between companies. The purpose of B2B activities is not only to promote one’s products and services to other businesses but also to build brand authority, share industry knowledge, and position oneself as a thought leader. In this context, networks such as LinkedIn and YouTube play a key role, offering a space for professional content sharing and information exchange.

LinkedIn is considered the flagship channel for B2B, allowing companies to make business connections, publish industry articles, participate in group discussions, and promote successes and achievements. YouTube, on the other hand, allows knowledge sharing through video content such as tutorials, case studies, webinars, or product presentations, which can significantly increase the reach and impact of B2B communications. Using these portals in B2B allows you to build long-term relationships with business customers, strengthen your brand image, and effectively reach a precisely defined group of business buyers.

What is social media marketing in e-commerce?

Social marketing in e-commerce uses social channels as channels to promote products and services offered by online stores while mobilizing customers and encouraging them to make purchases. In e-commerce, the creation and distribution of compelling commercial content, which can take the form of posts, stories, videos, infographics, or interactive quizzes, aims not only to inform customers about the offerings but also to support their purchasing decisions.

An important element in e-commerce is paid advertising, which allows precise targeting of selected groups and rapid expansion of communication reach. Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest offer advanced opportunities to create ad campaigns that can be tailored to specific business goals, such as generating website traffic, purchase conversions, or building brand awareness. With audience segmentation capabilities, ads allow you to target your message to people with specific interests, demographics, or buying behaviors, which significantly increases the effectiveness of your e-commerce efforts.

What is an acceptable cost for business?

The acceptable cost of social media marketing activities for business is directly related to the expected return on investment (ROI) and product margin. For activities to be profitable, the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) must be lower than the margin generated. For example, if a company achieves a margin of 40% and the cost of order acquisition is 20%, this means that the company is 20% ahead, which is a profitable situation.

In practice, the acceptable cost can vary depending on a number of factors, including the industry, the customer’s Lifetime Value (LTV) and the company’s long-term goals. Companies often aim for a high ROI, for example, 500%, meaning that each currency unit invested should yield five times that value in revenue. Achieving such a goal requires meticulous data analysis, optimization of campaigns and constant adjustment to changing market conditions. It is therefore crucial to monitor the effectiveness of each campaign and flexibly manage the budget to maximize return on investment while minimizing costs.

Key Takeaways

  1. Dynamic SMM: Social media marketing is evolving rapidly, so it requires companies to constantly adapt to new technologies, changing audience preferences and evolving portals such as the metaverse.
  2. Importance of content: Success in SMM depends on the ability to create and distribute valuable, engaging content that is tailored to the specifics of each platform and designed to build a community around the brand.
  3. Diversity: Channel selection must be tailored to the company’s business profile, target audience and business goals, with different portals serving different purposes (e.g. LinkedIn for B2B, Instagram and Facebook for B2C).
  4. Integration of organic and paid activities: Combine organic posts, which build engagement and relationships with audiences, with paid campaigns, which increase reach and target precisely defined audiences.
  5. Analytics and optimization: It is crucial to use KPI metrics, both traditional (reach, engagement, conversion) and predictive (e.g., evocation scale), to monitor and optimize the effectiveness of activities.
  6. The role of technology: Developments in technology, including AI, AR, VR and 5G, will continue to shape the future of SMM, offering new opportunities for creating immersive and personalized experiences.
  7. Management and accountability: A marketing team or dedicated specialist is usually responsible for running a company’s social channels, although outside agencies are often used to meet the challenges of creating viral content.
  8. Evaluating costs and ROI: The acceptable cost of activities must be appropriate to the expected return on investment (ROI), with activity costs allocated to the most effective activities.