Where to Start?

When it comes to marketing on social media, many direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands see it as a place to showcase their products. They, in turn, completely miss out on the opportunity to interact with their customers. This lack of understanding has led to nearly 3 out of 4 users dissatisfied with the ads they see.

So, we’d like to help you avoid annoying your audience with repetitive and irrelevant product placements and provide the steps to implementing your own social media strategy that works.

Why Use Social Media Marketing?

Simply put, social media campaigns are often more engaging than traditional email or TV campaigns. With more and more people looking for meaningful connections with brands that they shop with, social media offers brands the opportunity to bridge that gap.

There are many other advantages to social media campaigns for brands looking to build a community with their customers. Below are the top 5 benefits you’ll be able to take advantage of right away.

Benefits:

Brand Awareness:

Social media platforms are, generally speaking, free to use and come with nearly 4.9 billion social media users worldwide as of 2023. It would be a missed opportunity to not use them to get your brand’s name out there. The sheer amount of users increases the likelihood that your content will make it to someone who is interested. For DTC brands this is the first step to generating traffic.

Leads & Customers:

Current generations are growing up in the world of social media, and with companies like Instagram and TikTok integrating shops into their platforms more and more people are looking on social media for products. Over a quarter (25.9%) of users use social media to find products. You can’t get any more direct-to-consumer than this. Use this opportunity to provide your customers with more insight and context into your products, increasing the likelihood that they will visit your site and purchase.

Marketing Costs:

For new DTC brands, social media marketing can seem like a tall order. But it doesn’t have to break the bank. While paid social promotions produce results faster, organic social content is more affordable and relatively easier to sustain. Customers will also engage more with organic content as opposed to promotional ads because they see it as more authentic and, thus more trustworthy.

Build Relationships:

Before social media, brands were just that–brands. There was no personality and limited ways for customers to voice their opinions on products. Now, it is encouraged that brands engage and develop a strong brand identity on social media.

Engagement is a great way to foster these relationships, especially if you‘re doing business directly with customers. It is a lot more meaningful and builds brand loyalty when customers have two-way communication with their favorite brands.

Target Audience Needs:

Social media provides you with everything you need to know about your customers. It is a treasure trove of information and people ready to give their, often too honest, opinions. It is the perfect place for you to learn more about those who choose to support your brand. It can also help to steer your products in a direction that keeps customers coming back.

Check out these tools to help you get started with social media marketing:

Now that you know why so many brands leverage social media marketing, let’s take a look at how to build a strong campaign. Going in blind doesn’t result in the best content or the best return on investment. So before you jump off the deep end without floaties consider the following steps when building your social media strategy.

First Steps:

1. Define Your Goals

Before starting you should know what you would like to achieve with your strategy i.e.

• Increase awareness

• Drive traffic

• Generate leads

• Audience growth

• Engagement

Be as specific as possible.

2. Know Your Audience

As a DTC brand understanding your target audience is the top priority. Research your audience, looking at demographics, psychographics, and patterns in behavior. Ways to do this include:

• Surveys

• Interviews

• Researching competing brands

• Support tickets

• Your analytics

3. Audit Your Social Profile

Auditing your posts can provide a better understanding of what content you post garners the most impressions. This allows you to gauge what your followers prefer to see from your brand.

• Analyze engagement on top-performing posts.

• Identify patterns i.e. times your followers are most active

• Audit all social channels. Each platform is different, so pay attention to what works on each platform.

4. Choose the Best Platforms

Auditing your social profiles will help you to decide which platforms are right for you. While you may want to get on every platform you can, focusing on two or three is better. Consider the following when choosing the right platform.

• Audience activity

• Your goals and objectives

• A platform ability to promote your products or services

• Your contents performance

• Your industry

5. Develop a Content Strategy

Create a plan for the type of content you want to produce and share for each chosen platform. Content can and often should vary from site to site. Having a good content mix can help you engage with each of your brand personas and help create a rhythm for your strategy. Consider incorporating:

• Inspiration

• News

• Education

• Contests

• Giveaways

• Promotions

• Q&As

• Behind the scenes

• Tips & Tricks

• Etc.

6. Develop a Content Calendar

Establish a publishing schedule for when your posts will go live and how often you publish them. This will come down to the activity of your followers. You can start slow and then increase volume as you find your footing, so long as you are consistent.

7. Engage your audience

It should go without saying but active engagement is key to fostering a sense of community. A few things you can do to engage with your audience are:

• Resharing content

• Asking questions

• Running polls

• Engaging in trends

• Responding to comments

8. Influencer Marketing

Influencers are an effective way to reach larger audiences. So, building relationships with influencers within your industry or niche can help to amplify brand awareness and engagement. Be sure to do your research beforehand so you know who they are and what their brand is about.

9. Track Data

As you continue to make the content, always monitor and track performance data. This will help steer you with the content and will be one of the first indicators that something needs to change.

Pay attention to these key metrics:

• Reach

• Engagement

• Click-through rates

• Conversions

10. Rinse, Refine, Repeat

Because of the nature of social media, you must always be working on refining and improving your strategy. Adaptation is the name of the game and your aim is always to get a positive return on your invested time, money, and effort.j@grwothde

Platforms to consider: