Social Media Marketing FAQs

Social media is an effective marketing tool for brands and organizations of any size. Even if you’ve had a dedicated social media marketing strategy for years, it’s sometimes hard to evaluate ROI, determine strengths and weaknesses or accurately track social media’s role in driving conversions. We’ve worked with local brand, national home service franchises and B2B companies for more than 20 years. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, there are some basics to social media marketing worth checking out.

Our Social Media Marketing FAQs are meant to offer those big, existential questions about social, including why you’re on these platforms in the first place.

We’ve got this. Learn more about our social media expertise.

Frequently Asked Questions About Social Media Strategy

• What metrics should I measure in social media?
• What social platforms should I be using?
• How can I increase my followers?
• How effective is video on social media?
• What are some common issues with social media marketing plans?
• How has social media changed marketing strategies?
• Why should I invest in social media marketing?
• How much does social media marketing cost?
• Have any advice on how to manage social media marketing?

What metrics should I measure in social media?

The social media metrics your company uses to measure success or find opportunities should be based on your business goals. These are common metrics used to measure social media marketing performance:

• Impressions – Are you growing the number of people who see your brand on social?
• Engagement – Are people joining the conversation and sharing your posts?
• Mentions – How often are people talking about your brand?
• Social Referral Traffic – How many people click through to your website?
• Followers – How many people are in your immediate social networks?

To get the best picture of how social media is benefiting your company, look at social media metrics in tandem with the other channels. For example, are leads from social media referrals more qualified than those from paid media?

We have more recommendations for social media KPIs – and KPIs for other marketing channels.

What social media platforms should I be using?

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype about new social media platforms, but every social channel you adopt requires time, energy and budget to effectively meet your business goals. To start, choose one or two that makes the most sense, and really capitalize on them by making frequent, high-quality posts. Read our blog about choosing the right social media platforms for your business to see more specific tips.

How can I increase my followers?

When your social media properties are managed appropriately, you see growth through targeted boosts or ads, carefully crafted copy, highly shareable resources, captivating imagery and platform-specific best practices. We believe in the value of gaining quality followers and qualified traffic, meaning your new followers should be members of your target audience – not just all breathing humans. So avoid buying followers or using other questionable tactics, as it’s unlikely to help your business. When a social media account has vibrant and regularly posted content, backed with some professional strategies for promotion, quality followers grow naturally.

How effective is video on social media?

Very. Your company’s social media strategy should absolutely include video, especially for platforms like Instagram and YouTube. Every mainstream social media channel can support video assets, and 81 percent of businesses use video marketing to boost brand awareness and sales (HubSpot, 2018). Try incorporating a mix of live and produced (scripted and edited) videos into your social media strategy. These days you can create social media–worthy videos with just a smartphone and an editing app – and there are free apps out there to help with this.

If you’re looking for a more professional-grade video, perhaps with an optimized landing page, hire an agency like ours that offers video marketing and production supported by other digital content experts.

What are some common issues with social media marketing plans?

Many businesses fail to curate content specifically for each platform. While cross-posting on Facebook and Instagram may be convenient, we recommend at the very least optimizing your posts’ descriptions for each platform.

Another common issue we see is improper use of hashtags on each platform. By making sure your content is optimized for specific platforms, you align with user expectations. This makes your brand appear proficient in social media, which is a form of social proof.

How has social media changed marketing strategies?

Social media is now an integral part of an effective digital marketing strategy. Many brands use social media for top-of-funnel marketing and then utilize paid advertising on social media to drive middle-of-funnel or bottom-of-funnel efforts. It has heavily influenced design and video strategies, as users today expect to get information very quickly. For example, videos that can be understood while muted are popular now, as people want to consume that content while in public. 

Why should I invest in social media marketing?

At the very least, social media is great for increasing brand awareness and building a community of prospects. At most, social media can be a major revenue driver. It’s a facilitator of conversation. It’s one of the best ways to make an audience feel like a part of your brand, which drives purchases. Finally, audience targeting is a great reason to invest in social. Boosted/promoted posts and display advertising are great ways to launch a retargeting or brand awareness campaign.

How much does social media marketing cost?

Above all, social media costs you time. It’s important to spend time creating your assets, writing description copy and participating in community engagement (answering comments, sharing content to your story, etc.). There are true costs associated with social media marketing if you pay for professionally designed assets, hire an agency to manage your channels for you, or utilize advertising or boosting capabilities. Cost varies drastically by vendor, and you get what you pay for if you go too cheap.

To help you focus your efforts on aspects of your social media platforms that will get you the highest return on investment, we recommend auditing your social media platforms. We offer a free social media audit checklist so you can identify your top priorities.

Have any advice for how to manage social media marketing?

An effective social media marketing strategy involves many moving parts. We recommend using a planning tool like our free social media calendar so you can keep track of all your assets in one place. There are other options available, like Oneupweb’s Condario calendar, which can include design, content and other execution support. You may also benefit from social management tools like Loomly or Sprout Social, which allow you to automate future posts.

Get More Social Media Support

If you want social media strategy and management that’s backed by extensive experience, customized for your brand, and built around your ROI goals, consider working with Oneupweb. Explore our social media marketing services, or contact us today to see how we can help.