16 Best Social Media Marketing Strategies in 2024 with Examples for Businesses & Professionals

Before talking about the strategies, it is important to discuss what is social media marketing. Because how will you make great plans and strategies for social media if you don’t know what social media marketing entails? 

Social media marketing is promoting your brand using social media platforms. But it’s not just that. Social media marketing is about understanding the right target audience for your brand, making content that is relevant to the brand and interests the set target audience as well, and driving engagement to the brand pages. A good strategy of social media marketing is only possible if you maintain the above guidelines on the social handles of your brand. 

Before we dive deeper into how each industry can use and excel in the social media game, let’s talk about how you can set up your social media strategy and make a full-fledged marketing plan for social media in a general sense:

1. Set up a marketing plan first

Making a plan is the first and foremost step of every mission, and then the research follows through. In this case, your research will be related to the content. But chances are that you will fail if you do not have a marketing plan for your social media. Consider what your brand expects from its social media presence. For example, if your primary goal is brand awareness, then accordingly, you will make engaging posts, content formats, and copies for your social media to make people like and remember your brand.

2. Research your target audience and set a primary content format

If your target audience includes millennials, then most of your content will be based on memes and trendy topics, but if your target audience is Gen Z, then your content has to be more mindful and woke. Similarly, if your target audience is kids, then you will focus on mothers as well, and accordingly, you will decide on your social media platform and copy formats. For example, many mothers like to see engaging videos in Instagram reel format as well as on local apps like ShareChat.  

3. Understand your competitors and pre-plan your content

Understand what type of content they post on social media, whether it is topical, informational, or promotional. Also, analyze which content works best for them and pre-plan your content accordingly. This may take a while, but once you get a hang of pre-planning your content, your social media calendar and the content will run smoothly. 

4. Divide your content into buckets 

Informational, entertaining, and emotional are some of the bucket types of content. Dividing your content into these buckets can help you understand your audience as well as measure your goals. For example, if you want lead generation, you might focus more on promotion, while if you want more impressions, you might focus more on topical and entertainment. Your content can always be a mix of more than two buckets.

5. Always Experiment 

Analyzing what your target audience likes is important, but experimenting with content to attract new followers is also important. Your content on all your social media handles should strike a perfect balance between the most liked content and the experimental content. 

What is a social media plan & strategy? 

A social media strategy or plan is like a blueprint or a detailed summary of what your social media goals are and how you are going to achieve them.  

A well-thought-through plan will enable you to increase conversions and drive traffic to your website as well. There are many social media marketing plans. One should do their research before picking one.

If you’re fairly new to this field, take up IIDE’s Online social media marketing course taught by industry experts and leaders! 

 

Benefits of using Social Media Marketing

As you now have a fair understanding of the concept of social media marketing, let us now understand how leveraging these platforms can prove to be profitable for your business.

1. Humanize your business

Using social media platforms in order to upload posts and interact with your customers helps people to get familiar with your content and business. Creating an approachable persona will help your audience connect with and eventually trust your business.

2. Traffic

The links you paste on your social media posts or your profile help to drive traffic to your website. Users may like your post, click on the link, and browse your product after which they may eventually convert into your customers.

3. Facilitates lead generation

Features such as Facebook/Instagram shops, direct messages, CTA(call to action) button on the profile, etc, will help you to generate leads directly on these social media platforms.

4. Helps to raise brand awareness

Using visuals helps you to register your content more easily in the minds of your target audience compared to text. Also, people who don’t search for your content or product on search engines can be reached through social media. These efforts facilitate raising brand awareness

5. Facilitates relation-building

Connecting with your audience directly on social media by holding live discussions, collecting their feedback, catering to their queries, etc., will help them feel very valuable. This will help instill a sense of confidence in the minds of your audience that will eventually develop into a good customer-business relationship.

 

How to Create your own Social Media Marketing Plan

You can only benefit from mentioned above provided you create a perfect social media marketing plan to execute your campaign:

1. Select Your Platform

You will need to select which platform will suit best for your business. Depending on your business or product the social media platform that you employ to run promotional campaigns will vary accordingly.

You can always start by employing one platform and eventually move on to other platforms when you are capable of effectively handling your campaigns on other platforms.

2. Define your Goals and Objectives

You should set realistic goals as to how many posts you should upload in a day, what should be the frequency of posts, etc., depending on the objective of your campaign.

You can also check how your competitors interact with their audience and make alterations to your social media calendar accordingly.

3. Track Performance and Make Changes

You should continuously monitor the performance of your social media campaigns and check if your audience is engaging with your posts, generating traffic, driving leads, etc. 

Check how far has this campaign met your targets. In the event of any discrepancy check the areas that are responsible for not meeting your target and make adjustments accordingly.

Social Media Marketing Strategies For Small And Large Businesses 

In today’s world, only having a social media page without any direction is almost pointless. Let’s have a look at how you can leverage social media by having a strategy in place for both, small and large businesses

There are many social media marketing strategy templates available out there for small businesses. You can pick and choose the right tactics to help your business grow. Let’s have a look at some of the most effective social media strategies – 

1. Set objectives 

The first step is to set clear goals. What is it that you’re trying to achieve? Some common goals include an increase in conversions, brand visibility, etc.

2. Start with a plan 

Once you’ve identified your goals and objectives, the next step is to come up with a brief plan.

3. Competitor research 

Competitor research is what your competitors are doing. How are they getting it right? You will get a good sense of what people are doing and how you can apply it to your own strategy.

4. Social media audit 

If you already have a social media page, identify what kind of content is working for you and what isn’t. Know more about how to conduct a content audit.  

You can do so through web analytics like Google analytics. If you’re new to web analytics, check out this online Google Analytics course.

5. Social media calendar 

The next step is to create a social media calendar. A content calendar will give you direction as well and help Identify any special days.  

6. Use influencer marketing 

Influencer marketing is a great way to spread the word about your small business to increase visibility and credibility. 

7. Know who your audience is 

Understand who your target audience is and what they are looking for. You can understand this better through social media analytics.

8. Expand your audience 

Once you’ve identified who your target audience is, start looking for ways to expand it to further reach a bigger audience.

9. Get networking 

Reach out to bigger businesses or other entrepreneurs in related fields for collaborations.

10. Online reputation management 

Online reputation management is very important. How the brand is perceived by the audience can make or break your small business. 

11. Use chatbots 

Artificial intelligence has made tremendous contributions to digital marketing. The chatbot is here to stay. It can communicate and resolve consumer problems with ease.

If you are interested in learning about how businesses leverage AI to communicate with your customers then I would recommend you to check out our blog on artificial intelligence and digital marketing.

12. Create a personalized experience 

Send out personalized communication to your customers. Email marketing is a great digital marketing channel to do so. Check this course on email marketing out to know more.

13. Quality Content 

Your content needs to be relatable, impactful and have a very strong connection with the audience. It is important to have authentic content as well.  

14. Invest in SEO 

SEO is a very important factor in digital marketing. You need to be able to attract an organic audience and it also contributes to brand credibility. 

You need to target the right keywords for your SEO efforts to reap results. In order to target the keywords you will have to conduct keyword research. 

This will help you rank higher for these keywords on SERP and will help users to come across your page more easily for those keywords.

15. Create a community 

It is very important to create a community with your followers. This will give your brand a humanistic approach. Engage with them, ask them questions to understand their views on different matters, like and comment on their pictures instead of them like yours. Make sure this is done in a nice way – do not impose on their privacy. 

16. Hold live sessions  

Holding live sessions engages the audience. Invite industry-relevant guest speakers and opinion leaders to attract a large audience.

These were the top 16 generic social media marketing strategies that every marketer must know. Moving on, we have curated some social media marketing strategy ideas for specific professions. 

Read on to find out some ideas for your niche. 

But before that, do check out this Beginner’s Guide on Social Media Marketing

Bonus tip: If you are considering enrolling in a digital marketing course but check out our list of the top 11 Best Digital Marketing Courses with Placements, which can provide you with valuable insights and options for your educational journey.

Social Media Marketing Strategies For Doctors

 

(Dr. Siddhant Bhargava- A doctor and a social media influencer)

Here’s a list of some good social media strategies for doctors –

• Identify your target audience – Understand your audience demographics. Their age, what are they interested in knowing about the healthcare sector, etc. Your best source of information is your patients. Talk to them about it and if they seem inquisitive, ask them to follow your account.
• Content is key – Create content that is relevant to your target audience. Publish regularly. It’ll help build a relationship with your followers. 
• Pick the right platforms – Understand which platform is more popular amongst your target audience. 
• Useful information – Share useful information, tips, and things that are interesting enough to be shared.
• Keep it short – Keep your content short and not too long. Keep it pictorial as well if possible and communicate through the visual.
• Do not overdo it – Link your contact number in your profile. Do not sell your services in every post as it is a huge social media put-off. 
• SEO – Add SEO keywords to your content to make it SEO rich. You can also add a blog to your website and boost your SEO.
• Cross-promote – Cross-promote your communication on different channels such as adding your blog link to your social media. 

 

Social Media Marketing Strategies For Ecommerce Stores 

We’ve listed some of the best social media marketing strategies for E-commerce stores out there – 

• Display brand personality – Social media is a great way to display your brand personality. Is your brand luxurious? Is it fun and playful? You can accordingly create content and visuals that convey your brand personality to your target audience. 
• Collaborate with brands – Brand collaborations boost visibility as their followers are also exposed to your brand. If the brand is trusted and well-known it is a big win.  
• Influencer marketing – Since most Gen Zers and millennials use social media to seek information, reach out to an influencer to form a connection with them. Read more about how to connect with Gen Z here.
• Promotional Offers – Communicate promotional offers on your social media. Since it is easily sharable, people can spread the word easily.
• Short format videos – Invest in short format videos on social media. They have good engagement.

If you are interested in gaining an in-depth understanding of social media marketing strategies with the help of an example then you must read our blog on Analysis of Amazon’s Digital Marketing Strategies to understand and implement these strategies for your online e-commerce store.

 

Social Media Marketing Strategies For Healthcare

Turning to social media is a great way for the healthcare industry to stay connected with its patients and other related industries. Here are some top social media strategies for the healthcare sector –

• Include common queries – Include common queries in your communication. These could be related to any ailment. Ask expert doctors to answer these questions.
• Provide health information – Provide valuable health information in a simple manner, in layman’s terms. Do not complicate it. 
• Create trends – Create health trends. Break the stigma attached to many ailments. For example, Cipla’s Breathe Free campaign is an example of how they tried to normalize and break the stigma attached to asthma by leveraging social media. 
• Include CSR – Cover any kind of CSR activities done on your social media. This will add positively to your brand image.
• SEO – Add SEO keywords to your social media as well. Include more searched keywords and phrases in your communication, hashtags, profile information, etc.

 

Social Media Marketing Strategies For Restaurants 

Here is a list of some new social media marketing strategies for restaurants we thought you’d like to have a look at – 

• Perfect your website – It is very important to keep updating your website. One should be able to easily navigate it. It also needs to be mobile responsive as more than 50% of users use their smartphones for information. Check this online WordPress course out to know how to make a website.
• Focus on SEO – Invest in local SEO. This will help people know about your restaurant locally and internationally as well. For example, if your restaurant serves Italian food in Mumbai, focus on long-tail keywords like Italian restaurants in Mumbai. So when a person looks for Italian food in Mumbai, your restaurant will show up.  
• Increase Followers – Focus on increasing the number of followers. Post regularly and post good content. 
• UGC content – User-generated content is a big hit when it comes to restaurants. Request your customers to share their experience and post it on your page with their permission. Reviews are a great way of building your brand.  
• Visually appealing content – Your images need to look very appealing. Write catchy captions as well. Invest in a good photographer to take good images of the ambiance and the food.
• Increase engagement – Increase engagement through competitions, free giveaways like dinner nights, and live sessions.

 

Social Media Marketing Strategies For B2B

Here’s a list of top social media marketing strategies for a B2B business – 

• Paid media to target buyers – Use paid media to target potential buyers. See how you can use Google Ads for this here.
• Influencer marketing – Leverage influencers relevant to your industry to spread the word. If your industry has a niche and is very tight-knit, even better. 
• Focus on conversions – Your communication needs to be more focused on conversions and all about the consumer buying stages. 
• Focus on customer support – Be quick in answering queries and any concerns. Online reputation management is key. Check this short online reputation management course out to know how to go about it. 
• Follow trends – If there is a trend in your industry, be quick to leverage it. 

 

Famous Social Media Marketing Strategies Examples 

We have listed some interesting social media marketing strategy examples below –  

 

• Netflix India 

Netflix has a unique way of using memes for its social media. The content is fun, engaging, and appealing to its target audience. The engagement is always high and since it is relatable, timely, and relevant it is consumed easily. 

Netflix created a fun Instagram post where they showed what their famous characters’ Instagram profiles look like. Have a look at the image above. 

 

• Sabyasachi

Sabyasachi, an Indian luxury designer label is a great example of good social media marketing. Every time there is a new launch, the designer label creates hype through influencers and opinion leaders. The brand makes every new launch feel like a story appealing to the audience’s aspirational factor.

 For example, the H&M x Sabyasachi collaboration that you can see in the image above.

 

• Zomato

Zomato’s social media marketing comprises contests and high audience engagement. Their social media strategy makes the best use of moment marketing. As you can see in the image how Zomato celebrated the 2019 election win on Social Media.

 

• Durex India

Durex India’s content has always been smart and witty. As they say, content is king. They have included various sexual innuendos in their marketing strategy, whilst also keeping it subtle and not out there.

Durex even congratulated Vicky and Katrina for their wedding in a quirky post. 

If you found this interesting, check these top case studies out as well!

 

Template for Social Media Marketing Strategies

Here’s a standardized template for social media marketing strategies that you can refer to-

• Identify your goals and target audience.
• Understand your competitors before planning and strategizing.
• Conduct a social media audit to know what has worked for you or not.
• Create a social media content calendar to schedule tasks and posting times for your social media.
• Set up brand profiles on various social media platforms once you have 2 weeks’ content bank ready to post. 
• Consistency is the key to success on social media platforms as it is algorithm-friendly. 

Track, analyze and report the strategies that are running to know what works for you.

FAQs

Q1. What are the five most effective social media marketing strategies?

The five most effective social media marketing strategies are –

• Using chatbots
• Personalized communication
• Influencer marketing
• Create a community of your audience
• Live sessions

Q2. What is the most powerful social media marketing strategy?

The most powerful social media marketing strategy is remarketing or retargeting. It reminds a user who has shown interest in your product or service to make a purchase or conversion. It also helps with brand visibility.

Conclusion 

We really hope you enjoyed reading our blog. Tell us in the comments below which strategy worked the best for you!

If you’re looking for a comprehensive digital marketing course, this online digital marketing course is a good option. if you’re a professional seeking a more detailed course, then this MBA in Digital Marketing is a good option. 

Get in touch with IIDE’s senior academic counselor at admissions@iide.co or +91 9619958615 and they will answer all your doubts regarding digital marketing.