[Metro Journal] 10 Social Media Marketing Tips for SMEs / Startups

Marketing is the most important element in any business; be it small scale, medium scale or a large-scale business. Marketing is even more crucial when we talk about startups or SMEs, if one is new to the market or is a small-scale firm then one has to aggressively publicize their products and brands to make any success out of their business.

Marketing has always been a critical factor in any kind of business, across industries. It has taken a more prominent shape with the dawn of the internet era. It is much easier these days to get in touch with your target audience and to create a lasting bond with them. The World Wide Web has provided a far-reaching platform for businesses to even create new markets for their products and offerings; you don’t necessarily need to be physically present in all the location you want to market your products and services.

How to make the most out of the internet revolution for your business?

Let’s look at the 10 most sought-after tips for SME’s or Startups in social media marketing.

The foremost important aspect in any marketing activity is to have a solid plan in place, and this goes without saying for social media marketing as well. It’s never a good idea to venture aimlessly in the social media arena. A proper plan will help in assessing the social media marketing strategy, whether you are able to attain your goals, such as are you able to get enough leads as per the plan, etc.

Websites have become a significant part of any organization, be it business, hospitals, schools, government offices, etc. Every business must have a professionally built website giving out as much information about the company as possible; however it must be in a way that will generate more one-on-one connection with the audience/potential clients, having an aim of only making sales may not be such a good idea.

Internet has reached a very high level of advancement. As consumers the first reaction to any new product is a quick ‘Google search’ of the product to understand more about it before one can pursue it further. Every startup must have a good social media or online presence, especially on those platforms where they know they can generate better leads or where their intended audience is at.

Having a great marketing strategy is of no use if it is not being monitored. By tracking the activities businesses can make sure they are on the correct path; this will also help understand their visitor’s behavior, interests, and which of the offerings the visitors might be interested in, etc.

If you want to know how your startup is doing viz-a-viz your competitors, web analytical tools will come to your rescue. There are many options from paid to free analytical tools, Google analytics is a great free tool that one can start with and progressing onto the paid ones with more features such as providing real-time data, some tools insert the most popular keywords automatically onto your marketing web pages.

In this technology world, there is hardly anyone who is not part of one of the dozen social media platforms that are available to us. Businesses need to find the best way to tap their target audience, connect with them and be in touch by regular interactions. It shouldn’t be just to convert them into leads but social media should be used to give out information about the company as well as what is happenings in and around the company and the industry they are part of.

Simply put, content marketing is a way of helping your target audience to solve some of their problems by sharing relevant and concise information, without actually promoting your products or services. This will help your audience associate with your business and eventually convert into a loyal customer. Content marketing also helps in increasing the bottom line of the company while keeping the marketing costs to a bare minimum.

Just having a name sake website in place, or a couple of profiles on various social media platforms is not going to be enough in this fast-changing technology era. Mobile devices are taking the center stage now for all the right reasons like portability, ease of access, quick connectivity, etc. Therefore, a business needs to make sure their websites are compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Having applications that your potential clients will appreciate is a great way to building leads and ultimately earning profits.

Another good method to become a well-known and popular name is by being part of ratings and reviews websites such as www.glassdoor.com or www.vault.com. They will provide a third-party view of your company which can add a lot of credit for your company and brand.

Digital advertising is picking up like wild fire. With the possibility of advertising directly onto the target audience’s personal devices through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. it has become a popular (and economical) form of advertising among SME’s and startups.  Paid ads on google searches have been around for a while now which serve as a great place for new products to feature. Every click means that many more of your target audience being educated about your product or service.

Social media has become an integral part of any business to build a successful brand. Therefore, the strategy or the plan for social media marketing also needs to be among the top goals of any business. Conventional marketing has taken a back seat to a large extent; even big companies prefer to connect with their clients and potential clients in an informal environment such as on social media platforms. Social media marketing most certainly looks like the future of any companies marketing agenda.