How To Boost Your Social Media Growth In 2021 Paul James and Nafez Husseini outline tips to help brands grow their reach and revenues on the dynamic social media landscape
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
The year 2020 has shown how vital and necessary social media marketing is in a brand's growth. With the pandemic and lockdown forcing people to stay indoors, the time spent online on social media platforms has dramatically increased. This year, companies that invested in a proper social media strategy reaped the benefits of more followers and more sales. Those who didn't have one still have time to get it right in 2021, according to digital marketing experts Paul James and Nafez Husseini.
Utilization of social commerce
Long gone are the times when you had to visit a store or an e-commerce website to buy a product. Nowadays, you can see a product you want on a social media platform such as Instagram, research it, and finally complete the checkout process; all on the platform without ever having to leave it.
"Most people have spent quite a lot of time online due to being indoors for a large part of the year. This is the right time to use social commerce, since people can easily shop when scrolling on, say, Facebook or Instagram," says Husseini.
According to James, social commerce is perfect since the process is fast and easy for the buyer. "Social commerce is fast since the entire transaction takes place on social media. This increases the chances of someone buying your product instead of seeing the ad, then going to your website, adding to cart, filling in their card information, and finally buying. The more steps there are between someone seeing a product and completing the purchase, the easier it is for them to lose interest and stop the purchase," he explains.
Use of targeted ads
James argues that the use of targeted ads on social media should be at the top of each brand's social media strategy.
"Place targeted ads on social media based on different demographics, such as gender, occupation, and location. Instead of using a generic ad, you can customize the ads such that a college student will see ads related to college life while a new mum will see baby products," explains James.
Husseini adds that brands can utilize user-data and precisely target the audience they want. For instance, teenagers will be on TikTok while moms and dads will most likely be on Facebook.
"Targeted ads on social media help you run successful marketing campaigns since each user sees an ad that is relevant to them."
Use of video content marketing
Videos have rapidly grown on social media. From pure video platforms such as TikTok and YouTube to other platforms such as Instagram and Facebook utilizing videos to pass a message, video marketing is necessary for any good social media marketing strategy.
"Having been a YouTuber for the last decade, I've seen first-hand the benefits of using videos to advertise products," explains James. "It is easier to talk about the product and showcase its importance on a video."
Video marketing isn't limited to YouTube, as Husseini adds.
"Short and captivating videos on social media often go viral. They have a wider reach and increased engagement, and result in higher conversion rates and increased revenue," he concludes.
