What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is the practice of using social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to promote a business’s products and services.
Create and share content, engage with followers, run targeted social media advertising campaigns, and analyze data to measure results.
Social media marketing can help businesses build brand awareness, generate leads, drive website traffic, and convert sales. It is an essential part of digital marketing strategy.
In a nutshell, social media marketing involves promoting your business or cause online through social media platforms. The most common platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Pinterest, TikTok, Snapchat, and Reddit are also highly used too.
The goal is to create content that builds your audience and connects with them, too.
Check out our Social Media Marketing Management packages; we will plan content, schedule it, and monitor the results.
By looking to see what works for your platform, our Social Media Marketing Experts can streamline your goals with the content that gets put out across your social media channels.
They can also help speed up the process by running paid advertising campaigns, which reach a larger audience in a much quicker timeframe.
What are your current concerns?
It’s worth thinking about the current problems that you’re hoping to resolve through social media before hiring an agency or freelancer. That way, they’ll have a clear understanding of what you need from them.
On the other end of the scale, it’s also possible to find someone who attempts each of these attributes themselves, which may work out cheaper if budget is your main concern.
What changes the cost of Social Media Marketing?
The quality of the posts and the expertise required will all affect the price.
Some social media marketing agencies have copywriters, designers, developers, and statisticians who may all work together on each client. The amount you’ll pay for Social Media Marketing will be impacted by several factors, including:
The complexity of the service
Hourly rates vs. packages
Professional’s experience
The complexity of the service
The cost of social media marketing will ultimately come down to the complexity of the service you need. The frequency of posts also has an impact on cost, as the more you require, the longer it will take to generate and schedule.
The most common pricing structure social media marketers offer is a monthly package, which costs around $400 – $650 per month on average. This would include the generating of content and some feed support, but wouldn’t be as in-depth as what other packages can provide.
Though, the beauty of social media marketing is it’s customizable to your needs. So, it’s possible to start small and build up the level of support you need, or even scale back services that aren’t needed.
Social Media Marketing Management
Other topics to consider
If you’re not sure where to begin with getting your business up and running with social media, here are some key points to consider:
Your social media marketing goals
Social media channels
Monthly content creation
Customer service
Feed management
Paid advertising
Compiling stats and generating reports
What are Your Social Media Marketing Goals?
When used correctly, social media is a powerful medium that allows you to connect with your audience at scale. Identifying your goals will help streamline and concentrate your efforts.
For example, do you want to increase page followers? How about boosting sales of a particular service you offer?
Most businesses have multiple goals, which may change depending on the time of year or the needs of the business itself.
What are Social Media Channels?
If you’re a sole trader or a small business then you may not have any social media channels, let alone know which ones would work best for your company!
A Putnam Marketing expert can help you get started, or pick up from where you’re currently at. Price-wise, the more content that needs to be generated in terms of platform types and frequency, the more expensive it will be.
However, given the idea of marketing is to generate a return, if done correctly your social media marketing will produce a healthy ROI.
Facebook is important to social media marketing.
With more than 2.7 billion monthly active users, Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. It provides businesses with a powerful marketing tool to reach a global audience and engage with potential customers.
Facebook offers various advertising options, including targeted ads, sponsored posts, and promoted pages. It also provides analytics and insights to help businesses track their performance and optimize their campaigns.
Overall, Facebook plays a significant role in social media marketing and should be considered an essential platform for businesses to connect with their target audiences.
The expert you choose should be well versed in Facebook as a whole, but more specifically Facebook Ads, as managing digital advertising budgets is very important.
Engagement is a huge part of how Facebook works too. Aside from replying to customers, you need to be engaging (liking and sharing content), and getting your users to do the same with your content.
This can only happen if the content your page puts out is engaging and relevant to the audience.
With a user base of over 330 million monthly active users, Twitter provides businesses with a massive audience to reach out to and engage with.
It also allows for real-time communication and sharing of information, making it an effective tool for businesses to connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and drive website traffic.
Twitter's advertising options allow businesses to target specific audiences and cost-effectively promote their products or services.
It still requires a knowledgeable approach to hit the right audience. You’ll need to consider the content of your messaging and the time at which it goes out to achieve success.
Instagram is an important social media platform for marketing.
With over 1 billion active users, Instagram provides a vast audience for businesses to reach and engage with potential customers.
It allows businesses to showcase their products and services through visual content such as photos and videos and also offers various marketing tools such as sponsored posts, story ads, and influencer partnerships.
Instagram's algorithm also prioritizes content that is engaging and relevant, making it easier for businesses to boost their reach and visibility on the platform. Overall, incorporating Instagram into a social media marketing strategy can be highly beneficial for businesses looking to promote their brand and increase their online presence.
YouTube
Video content is a powerful tool for engaging audiences. As a business, it’s one of the best ways to promote your services.
With over 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube offers a huge potential audience for businesses to reach.
It is a highly engaging platform that allows businesses to showcase their products or services through video content, and it offers various targeting options and ad formats to ensure that the message reaches the right audience.
Additionally, YouTube allows businesses to measure the performance of their campaigns and make adjustments accordingly. Incorporating YouTube into a social media marketing strategy can help businesses increase brand awareness, engagement, and sales.
For example, a mechanic could upload a ‘how-to’ guide on how to change a tire.
The video itself can be monetized, meaning you’ll earn money for each view. However, you can also leave your contact details in the description box so that customers can find you.
YouTube videos can be shared on social media or embedded into your blog pages.
However, it takes skill to capture engaging video content, edit it, and then share it correctly.
Elements of SEO also come into play here, which is why it’s best to leave your YouTube videos to a social media marketing expert.
How do I get customers involved and engaged in my social media posts?
1. Ask for their opinions and feedback: Encourage your followers to share their thoughts about a particular topic or ask them for suggestions for your future content.
2. Share user-generated content: Highlight your customers' posts that feature your product or service and give them a shout-out.
3. Host contests or giveaways: Give your followers a chance to win something by participating in a contest or giveaway.
4. Use interactive content: Add polls, quizzes, and interactive features to your posts to encourage engagement and participation.
5. Share behind-the-scenes stories: Give your followers a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes of your brand or company to make them feel more connected to your brand.
6. Create engaging visuals: Use attractive images, videos, GIFs, and infographics to make your posts more appealing.
7. Be responsive: Respond to your followers' comments, messages, and questions in a timely and friendly manner to foster a sense of community engagement.
Post frequently and engage with customers.
We take care of that for you. Putnam Marketing has Social Media Management packages to meet a variety of demands. All you have to do is sit back and let the leads come in.
Monthly content creation
The majority of a social media marketer’s job is to create, schedule, and publish content. Depending on your business, you may want a post to go out across all feeds every day. However, some businesses increase this to every hour throughout the day.
We will help you work this out, by checking your analytics to see when your followers are most active.
The content needs to be relevant to your business, but also be something people, in general, will want to engage with.
From decisive polls to humorous posts, there’s a lot more to getting social media right than is first apparent. That’s why your monthly content needs to be on point.
Customer service
If you own an online business or eCommerce store, then you may require customer support as part of your social media marketing package.
This includes replying to customers who send your direct messages, and those who leave comments on your page.
Keeping on top of this can take up quite a bit of time, which is why it’s so handy to be able to outsource this to a social media marketing expert instead.
Feed Management
The golden rule of social media is that it’s a public platform, which means your social media channel could become subject to spam or offensive content.
That’s why you must have somebody closely monitoring your feeds to remove such content before it has the chance to negatively impact your feed as a whole.
This also extends to aspects such as negative reviews, which all businesses will encounter to some degree.
Such issues require a thoughtful approach to how the situation is dealt with, as an unprofessional reply could cause more harm than good.
As social media experts, we are well-versed in all aspects of feed management, which will help protect your business image and work to resolve any issues constructively.
Paid Advertising
Most social media platforms have paid advertising options such as Facebook Ads. Understanding how to create campaigns successfully takes a fair bit of technical knowledge, not to mention mathematical ability.
If you get it wrong, you could waste large amounts of money on advertising that fails or gets rejected by the platform. Therefore, understanding paid advertising is an important aspect of social media marketing.
A Putnam Marketing expert will work with you to devise an audience and a budget. You’ll agree on a budget in advance, tailoring the reach following your budget.
Compiling Stats and Generating Reports
As well as generating content for your social media, Putnam Marketing will compile stats and generate reports about the progress of your campaigns.
For example, presenting the increase in followers since they started managing the feeds. Or, how many users your paid advertising reached and how many conversions this generated for the business.
This type of service is more comprehensive but is the best way of determining what is working for your social media feeds and what isn’t.
It’s also a great opportunity for them to share ideas about what could work for upcoming posts, based on how previous content has performed.
Investing in Social Media Marketing – is it worth the cost?
If you lack the time or knowledge to market your business successfully through social media, then getting a Putnam Marketing expert on board is well worth the investment.
We will plan your monthly content, schedule it, and monitor how successful each post is. Social media marketing also involves launching paid ads from your platforms, which requires a specialist approach to get right.
In our digital age, social media marketing is an important platform for reaching new audiences.
It’s worth having yours taken care of by someone who not only knows what they are doing but is genuinely passionate about it too. That’s why social media marketing experts are well worth the investment.
Bring your business into the 21st century – find a trusted Social Media Marketing expert with Putnam Marketing.
Do I need social media for my business?
If you have a website, then you need active social media too.
Social Media is where your target audience is. Social media is so prevalent in today’s society it is where your target audience likes to spend their free time. Social media marketing is an easy way for businesses to connect with their customers directly.
Which social media platforms should I be on?
The most popular social media platforms are; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Can I repost the same content on different social media platforms?
Yes! Users normally only follow certain brands on each platform. Normally people have a favorite platform that they spend most of their time on. It is best to post on all platforms to cover all the bases.
How do I create content specific to my audience?
1. Know who your audience is - Understanding your audience is key to creating content that they will find useful and engaging. Identify their age, gender, location, interests, and pain points.
2. Conduct research - Use market research tools such as surveys, focus groups, and social media analytics to gather information about your audience, their preferences, and their needs.
3. Analyze your competitors - Look at what kind of content your competitors are creating and analyze their customer engagement. This will give you ideas about what kind of content resonates with your target audience.
4. Use language and tone appropriate for your audience - Use vocabulary and language that resonates with your audience and is understandable. The tone of your content should reflect the type of audience you are targeting.
5. Address their pain points - Create content that addresses their problems. Offer solutions and insights into their pain points and challenges.
6. Share stories and experiences - Personalize your content by sharing relevant stories and experiences that resonate with your audience.
7. Use visuals - Use relevant and engaging visuals such as images and videos to enhance the context and emotional value of your content. By following these tips, you can create content that is tailored to your audience and engages them in a meaningful way.
How long are contracts?
We offer initial contract terms of 3 months. After the initial contract term is complete, your account will be serviced on a month-to-month basis.
You have the option to cancel at any time with a 30-day written or digital notice. After 30 days, we will cancel all services and return any information we have back to you.
Are there any setup fees?
There is a one-time setup fee. It is primarily for getting you set up on or end to run your campaign.
We will set you up in our search engine systems, analytics systems, and other administrative tasks. We would also set up necessary advertising accounts for you.
How long does it take to get started?
If you are ready to get started, contact us.
One of our sales consultants will help you identify the best plan of action and develop a proposal for you. Upon your approval, we will send you a contract and get your campaign started ASAP.
Service & Working Together
You will be assigned a dedicated Specialist.
A team member will reach out to you. This person is trained in Social Media Management and will be your dedicated partner.
If you are looking for SEO (search engine optimization) then a specialist will reach out to you and has experience helping clients move up the rankings.
This person will be your main point of contact. In addition, each SEO specialist reports to the Director, who reviews all deliverables before it is sent to you. This is to ensure that you receive quality work and resolve tough situations.
How will you identify keywords for my business?
We will first gain an understanding of your business through a formal questionnaire.
From there, we will perform keyword research to identify high-traffic keywords that will be valuable for your business.
To do this, we use our keyword planning tools that allow us to find keywords related to your business, the competition level, and how many times it is searched each month.
Once we conclude our research, we will report to you our findings and recommendations.
Will you do a competitive analysis?
We will first identify the keywords that we are going to target for your business. Once this has been identified, we will analyze the websites of competitors who are already ranking on the first page of Google.
A competitive analysis is a process of identifying, analyzing, and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of your business with those of your competitors.
It involves gathering and evaluating information about your competitors' products, services, marketing strategies, customer base, pricing, and distribution channels to gain insights that can help you improve your business strategy.
This analysis can help you identify opportunities and threats in the market and develop a clear understanding of your competitive landscape, which can be used to make informed decisions about your business.
We would use tools that we have to analyze the structure of their websites, and we may be able to apply a similar strategy to your website.
What will change on my website? Will it be different?
Depending on which package you choose, if it’s the SEO package, then we would change technical things on your website, such as coding, tags, and some of the words to include the keywords you want to rank for.
If you’d like to apply for our Website in a Day plan please do so here.
However, we would not change the physical design of your website.
All of the changes to your website will be run by you first so that you are aware of what we are doing to your website.
How are you going to write blogs for my business?
We will write blogs by first obtaining an understanding of your business.
Once we do this, we will develop a blog calendar.
This calendar will include topics we will write about.
You will be able to approve the blog topics before we write anything and approve it.
Once the blog calendar is approved, we will write the blogs and optimize the blogs for SEO.
To write the blogs, we will research the topics to write valuable content. Before we post the blog, you will be able to review it to make sure it meets your standards.
How will you get backlinks for my business?
1. Create high-quality content that others will want to link to. This could include blog posts, infographics, videos, case studies, and other valuable resources.
2. Reach out to other relevant websites and offer to guest post or contribute content in exchange for a backlink.
3. Build relationships with other websites in your industry and strategically link to each other's content.
4. Use social media to promote your content and build a following. As your content gets shared, it can generate natural backlinks.
5. Participate in online forums and communities where your target audience is active. Be helpful share insights, and include links to your content where relevant.
6. Register your business on relevant directories and business listings. These can provide valuable backlinks and also improve your visibility in search results.
Keep in mind that generating high-quality backlinks takes time and effort. Focus on creating valuable content and building relationships with other websites in your industry, and the backlinks will follow.
Can I contribute to blog ideas or blog content?
Yes, if you have information that you would like us to write about you can send it to us. We can incorporate your ideas or content into the blogs we’re writing to make them even better.
Putnam SEO
Our approach to SEO is rooted in data-driven strategies that align with your business objectives.
By analyzing your website and identifying gaps in your online presence, we tailor a custom roadmap that puts you in front of your target audience.
Through technical SEO optimization, content marketing, link building, and analytics, we have helped businesses like yours increase website traffic, generate high-quality leads, and grow revenue.
We are confident that with our expertise, we can achieve the same record-breaking results for you.
Kate Putnam 20+ Yr Digital Marketing Pro | Driving Success for Local SEO & National Brands | SEO & Social Media | Innovative Solutions Expert | Results-Oriented Leader
Let's Collaborate!
Enhance your brand's visibility, engage your audience, and get on the top of Google.
Email: kate@putnam-seo.com
Website: putnam-seo.com
Are You On the Top of Google? 15 Practical SEO Tips and Tricks for 2024 by Putnam SEO Marketing