Social Media Marketing Best Practices: The Top Three

There are a lot of social media platforms out there. From Tumblr to Pinterest, TikTok to Instagram, best practices vary. Usage must account for audience, time of day, trending content . . . the list goes on and on. It begs the question: what are the top three social media best practices, and how can they be applied for success across the board?

#1: Know Your Audience

At The Forum, a digital marketing agency based in San Diego, we work closely with innovators and entrepreneurs across many verticals, including the following:

• Architecture, Engineering, and Environmental Consulting (AEC)

• Cannabis and CBD

• Additive Manufacturing

• ITSM

• Medical Device Manufacturing

• Craft Beer and Beverages

• Celebrity Representation

• Finance

• Mortgage

• Professional Services

• Real Estate

• Wellness

• Biotech and Therapeutics

• Energy Management

Each of our clients targets a different demographic. Their ideal customer could be a young, affluent homeowner, a celebrity, a construction firm, or a yoga instructor. Knowing both your client AND their demo can help you to narrow down your focus on the many available social media options.

A financial client likely won’t spend a great deal of time on TikTok, but a budding celeb is going to want to capitalize on those 15 seconds of fame (TikTok has a particularly youthful appeal with its short viral videos.) A real estate company could benefit greatly from a platform based on imagery like Pinterest or Instagram. Folks in the cannabis and CBD arena are loving Reddit and Tumblr, along with targeted paid marketing. This brings us to our second pick for best practices:

#2: Utilize a Blend of Paid and Organic Strategy

Some platforms, including Facebook and LinkedIn, allow paid ads. Even better, the ads can be crafted to target customers in a region, by age, by gender, or all three.

#3: Know Your Brand

Cat videos are super cute, but you probably wouldn’t share them on a page about organic clean eating. The right marketing doesn’t guess at what your audience is going to love . . . it already knows. With each post, those insights are refined further. Make sure your social media strategy speaks directly to the person who wants to buy what you are selling.

There are plenty of other social media marketing best practices, and we’ll talk about them another time — those are the big three. Smart, well-crafted content will get the customer to come to YOU instead of the other way around. Make sure you’re taking advantage of the platforms where the people you want to talk to are already hanging out! And to discuss a customized social media strategy with us now, click here.