DEAR ENTREPRENEUR,
The short answer is yes, there is a difference between Social Media Marketing and Management, but if you’re here it’s because you already knew that- you just weren’t sure what this difference is.
Please allow me to explain it using terminology that we all know and understand:
Social Media Management can be referred to as a cake, and Social Media Marketing is the ingredients that you will need in order to bake a cake.
LET ME BREAK DOWN THE SOCIAL MEDIA BAKING PROCESS,
The ingredients:
Your social media marketing will consist of 5 simple ingredients: what, where when, how and who (or for the Marketers out there, the 5 P’s of marketing)
WHAT- The product/ service that you offer (and sometimes price)
You need a clear understanding of what it is that you are offering to your audience. This includes having researched your product/service, understanding why this product/service is required and deciding how you will be different.
WHERE- The social media platform that you will use to promote this product/service
Social media is an excellent tool, but it is important to remember that you do not need to show up on every platform.
Instagram has over one billion users from all over the world and different age groups – As of January 2021, 33 percent of global Instagram audiences were aged between 25 and 34 years. In total, over two-thirds of total Instagram audiences were aged 34 years and younger and this makes the platform particularly attractive for marketers* The most common consumer behaviour on Instagram is to review your business or brand on a whole via your grid/bio/content.
Facebook is all about groups, community and being able to SHARE your opinion. This is a great platform to build awareness and trust, but understand that not everyone is going to like what you have to offer. So always remember your worth.
LinkedIn is all about thought leadership and building a brilliant network of businesses. The great thing about LinkedIn is that it still has a wonderful organic algorithm.
YouTube is all about tutorials, vlogging, vlogcasting and basically helps you to be your very own media agency.
TikTok allows for creativity in realness that surpasses any other platform. This is probably my favourite social media platform to date as it allows you your 60 seconds of fame with algorithms that drive your profile to viewers.
As you have noticed in your own personal use of social media platforms, you turn to different platforms for different wants and needs. So, the question to ask is where would the consumer turn to when they are searching for what I am offering?
WHEN- The time/ day you will be posting to your chosen social media platform.
Believe me when I say, just because you’re showing up doesn’t mean you will be seen. I can’t even count the times I’ve been asked: “but when should I be posting?” The answer to that is do your research, know your target audience, and use that as your basis for the What, Where, and When.
Consumer behaviour is important when trying to reach your target audience, and understanding this will be trial and error at first. You will have to play around and do split tests, sometimes posting 2 to 3 times a day at different times. With this being said, don’t panic, creating content should be natural and not forced, and this is where understanding your audience is important.
HOW- Your Promotion (Communications & Advertising):
The customer journey. Now this one is the biggest stumbling block for so many entrepreneurs – big or small. I see it time and time again.
Again, know your audience, and you’ll know the way they manoeuvre across the internet. What questions they want answering, where they prefer to invest their time and energy, how they prefer their content to be structured. Understanding this helps you with your Social Media MARKETING.
WHO- Your People:
This is the most important of all the marketing ingredients, your audience. As a soul brand marketer, your ideal audience should be your soul client. Someone who wants to hear from you, it’s someone you attract, and not just “sell” to. Your audience needs to be your focus all the damned time, because at the end of the day they are who you’re doing all of this for. For your Social Media Marketing to work you need to not just know your audience, you need to want to connect with your audience!
THE BAKING PROCESS:
Now that you’ve gathered the ingredients, it’s time to start combining all five aspects in preparation for your social media approach.
This process includes taking what you have researched and creating all of the collateral that you will use for your business to be seen and heard, including:
- Setting up your chosen platforms
- Artworks (video, images)
- Copywriting (blog articles, website copy)
THE CAKE:
Your social media management is when you take what you’ve created from the ingredients and you finally get the ball rolling.
This means publishing the blog article, posting the image, tweeting the copy- it’s the step you take to reach out to your audience.
This step requires less manpower, but a more organized approach as you need to keep track of where and when you have posted, where you should be posting and what you will post next.
Thank you to social media management tools, such as tailwind, Later, Planoly, Hootsuite, Sales Navigator, CRM etc. for taking this step and making it easier to access multiple social media platforms from one interface.
Want to know more about how to use Social Media Marketing for your business or corporation in a way that will make you stand out? Click here.
