Social Media Marketing Strategies You Can Start Using Today

Instagram: How you can show off your brand

Instagram has 1 billion monthly users from around the world, and about 80% of them follow at least 1 business (that’s more than the number of Instagrammers who follow celebrities). This gives you the chance to promote discounts and sales you typically include in emails to an even bigger audience, like people who aren’t already subscribed to your email list.

In Mailchimp, you create your posts right in the email builder, so you can reuse design assets from your other marketing and keep your messaging consistent.

Sharing your emails on Instagram helps you:

• Get more eyes on your brand
• Show your customers a more creative, visual side of your business
• Engage with your audience using social media marketing and bring them back to your site

Here are some tips on how you can you can show off your brand on Instagram and attract new customers:

Choose high quality images

The key to a great Instagram post is a high-quality image. Visual imagery is more likely to go viral and be shared by multiple people. Whether you have a B2B or B2C brand, you must focus on creating quality visual content for Instagram. You only have a limited amount of time to capture your audience’s attention in their feeds. High-quality images can make your followers stop scrolling to learn more about what you’re showing them. Mailchimp makes it easy to choose images from your emails and other campaigns to get your brand more visibility.

Focus on your products

Product-focused photos usually perform well on Instagram if you have a visual brand. However, your goal should not be trying to constantly sell products on social media. Instead, show your followers how they can use your products in their everyday lives using lifestyle photos.

Lifestyle photos allow individuals to visualize how they’ll use their products and determine whether or not it’s something they want to spend money on. Your lifestyle photos can also show the benefits of the product and demonstrate why your followers should use them.

Check that your photos fit the platform’s requirements

The photo you pick to share should have a width between 320 and 1080 pixels to ensure it displays the way you want. If you don’t use the right aspect ratio, your image will be cropped, which can make your grid look off if you have a specific design you’re going for when people visit your Instagram profile. Believe it or not, size matters if you want to showcase high-quality photos; opt for square, portrait, or landscape images that will look great on any feed or grid.

Use a neutral background

To make the subject of your images pop, try photographing them against a light or neutral background. You’ll want to make sure you’re sharing photos that drive people’s attention to the stuff you’re promoting.

Neutral colors go well with everything, no matter what color your products or packaging are. They can also help you showcase and highlight your products. However, don’t ever be afraid to experiment with backgrounds to find the right color scheme based on your brand guidelines.

Add more personality with a caption

Mailchimp doesn’t require you to include copy in the posts you create for your emails, but you shouldn’t leave your caption blank. Instead, you can use a popular hashtag that will help people find you, or even a few emojis to add some personality to your posts.

Your caption should also relate back to your photo. It doesn’t have to describe exactly what’s going on in the image you share, but your copy and photo should make sense together. If you’re using hashtags and emojis, make sure they’re relevant.

Lastly, your caption should be actionable. Let your audience know what you want them to do when they see your post, whether it’s buying something from your store or joining your list. Since links can’t be included in Instagram posts, be sure to add one to your bio and mention it in your caption.

Facebook: How to make your content stand out in newsfeeds

With 2.23 billion monthly users, Facebook is the top social network in the world. But people aren’t just using Facebook to talk to friends and family; they’re discovering new brands and buying their products.

Sharing your email on Facebook lets you:

• Promote your stuff to people who like your page
• Encourage people to join your list for exclusive deals
• Show off your brand to a bigger audience

Here are some tips on how you can make your Facebook content stand out in newsfeeds:

Choose photos that fit in with your followers’ posts

Facebook is a platform designed to help you connect with others, and many companies use it as part of their customer service strategy because you can let customers message you with questions and have automated responses based on their needs.

However, since Facebook is about connecting and sharing conversations with others, you should choose photos that resemble the types of photos your followers might take themselves. These can include a more personal touch with the use of photos showcasing your products in everyday life.

Include people in your posts

Boost trust in your brand by putting people in your photos. This helps show your customers how something works, fits, or can become part of their everyday lives. Including real people in your posts can help you make your brand more personable by allowing customers to put faces to the name and showing real people using your products, along with background scenes of your business and its employees.

You can include all types of individuals in your posts and even ask your followers to create posts for you. User generated content (UGC) is a popular way to fill up your social media calendar because it’s created by individuals who actually use your products. Additionally, by promoting UGC, you can reach more potential customers because your users will share content that features them.

Find the best environment to showcase your product

Sometimes people need to have more context about what you’re selling. Try to find a location that feels like a natural place to photograph your products. The best part about Facebook content is that you get to make it personal. Therefore, you don’t need to book an expensive studio to capture great moments and individuals using your products. Instead, you can use models or employees that actually use your products to create captivating content.

Use images that fit Facebook’s requirements

Choose a photo that’s 1200 x 628 pixels so that it displays the way you want it to when you share your email on social media. These dimensions are the same size as a regular Facebook link post, and you’ll be sharing your newsletter as a link on Facebook, so it’s best to keep all of your images high-resolution to ensure they can be readable in a post.

Write copy that makes you stand out

Your audience is constantly scrolling through posts in their newsfeed, so you need to write copy that makes yours stand out. Whether you’re promoting a sale or asking people to join your email list, it’s important to make sure that your copy is clear, concise, and on brand.

You should aim to keep your captions as short as possible. Your customers should be able to know what your post is about at a glance (that’s about the amount of time most people spend looking at a post in their feed).

It’s also crucial to give a clear call to action in your caption. It isn’t enough to give people the information they’re looking for—you need to tell them exactly what you want them to do. Include language like “shop now” or “find out more,” so your audience knows what their next steps should be.

You can also provide a link in the caption. If your CTA is giving people something to do, you need to provide a link to where they can take action. Unlike Instagram, you can include a link directly in your Facebook post.

Use Videos

Videos are a more engaging form of content for Facebook and drive more views, likes, and comments. If you truly want your posts to stand out from the crowd, start utilizing a social media marketing strategy that includes the use of videos.

Just be careful when using videos to promote your business. Your videos should not be the same as commercials. Instead of always trying to sell your products, have a more holistic approach on Facebook. The social media marketing strategy for a small business should include videos of how to use the products, information about the products, and even testimonials from real customers. You can also create short videos that promote the products, but don’t overdo it. Your followers are looking for educational and engaging content– they do not want to see constant sales content.

Twitter: How to get more people to discover your brand

Twitter has about 330 million active users from around the world, and it’s very likely that your customers are using it. That’s why it’s a super valuable channel for sharing your emails.

With Twitter, you can:

• Grab the attention of people who use Twitter to discover new brands and content
• Join conversations that are relevant to your brand and connect with influencers

Here are some tips on how to get more people to discover your brand on Twitter.

Make bold photo choices

To stand out on Twitter, you have to be a little bit bold with your marketing. The best way to do this is with your images.

You should make your images pop with bold colors. You want your images to jump out at people as they scroll through their Twitter feeds. Choose a color palette for your photos that really stands out. Feel free to use illustrations or hand-drawn images. Colorful illustrations are a fun way to make your brand more relatable. Use them to break down a complex process or highlight how your product works.

Because many brands and people don’t share images on Twitter, yours will stand out in feeds no matter what you do. However, your images must summarize your main message. Since Twitter doesn’t rely on images as heavily as Instagram and Facebook, your images must relate back to your tweet.

Keep your captions under the character limit

While Twitter has introduced a 280-character limit for tweets, you don’t have to use them all. In fact, shorter tweets usually get more engagement, so you should aim to keep your copy as simple as possible. Since you only have a finite number of characters and words you can use, your tweet must make an impact. Only tweet when you have truly important news to share, and always link back to a post on your website to give followers a place to go to learn more.

Keep your posts conversational

Use casual language and stay away from jargon. Twitter connects individuals all over the world so if you want your business to stand out, you must talk in a way most people understand. Of course, your tone and style will depend on your brand identity and your audience. Depending on your business, your followers may expect jargon and industry terms they understand. For example, if you’re running a web development company trying to attract developers, you can still be conversational with a more professional tone.

Make people want to retweet

Retweets give your brand a boost on Twitter. Use words and phrases—more verbs than nouns—that are most likely to get people to engage. You can also make more people want to retweet by discussing things they care about, including your industry or current events. When using Twitter for marketing, don’t be self-promotional. Instead, have a conversation with your followers and become a thought leader they can trust.

Choose the right hashtags

Either choose or create a hashtag that will be recognizable to your followers. Using 1 or 2 hashtags can even increase a tweet’s engagement by 21%. Of course, you can’t use any hashtag. Instead, research the different popular hashtags that are relevant to your business or particular tweets to give your content a boost in visibility. You can also connect Twitter to a hashtag tool to help you monitor the performance of your hashtags and find the right one for any tweet.

Use Mailchimp to share your social media content

Success on social media requires a strategy. Without the right social media content strategy, you may be wasting your time creating posts your followers don’t ever see. Consider the types of content you can utilize on social media to earn more website traffic and boost engagement rates. Then, start building a plan for how you’ll use that content to increase brand awareness. Always use a mix of content, including photos, videos, infographics, and even your email newsletter.

With Mailchimp, social media management is simple and takes no time at all. These social media marketing strategies will give you what you need to engage your audience on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We’ve made it easy to get more out of your content by sharing it on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter right when you hit send—all you need to do is connect your accounts and choose which platforms to share your posts on.

Create your posts right in the email builder, and reuse design assets from your other marketing and keep your messaging consistent. You can also share your email newsletter to social media from your sent campaigns with a link, allowing you to reach more people with content you’ve already developed.

Connect your channels to get started and use Mailchimp to create a social media marketing strategy that helps your business reach new heights.