First up, let me just start by throwing some numbers at you - 4.8 billion active social media users; 140 minutes of average usage every single day; and 5.22 billion active mobile phone users. These are over a billion reasons and 2.5 hours of incredible opportunity for every business to tap on fast and inexpensive ways to reach more than half of the world’s population every day.

The above stats may be overwhelming, but it also means that, in 2021, using social media for business is a no-brainer. Your potential customers are already on the social platforms and a smart marketing strategy is the only way to connect with them. And, if you think all of this may be a bit too much to keep track of, read this article till the end to find all the dots connected together.

Instagram for Business
Instagram is used by over a billion people every month and 90% of the users follow a business on the platform. In less than a decade, Instagram went on from being just a photo-sharing platform to a marketing giant. Consistency is the key on Instagram; interact consistently with your audience and see them grow. The best thing about social marketing is the fact that everything can be measured and adjusted by tracking your results with analytics.

Here’s a list of specially curated strategies for Effective Instagram Marketing:

•Laser Targeted Ads
Whether you are looking to specifically target the tech enthusiasts in Indranagar, Bengaluru, the fashion experts of Worli, Mumbai, or the Vegans of South Delhi - Instagram’s Laser Targeted ads let you define your audience better than ever before. Pinpoint every single detail like location, languages, user behaviour, interests, age range, and demographic to get the most enhanced targeting for your brand. Laser Targeting helps you stay ahead of the curve by directly reaching the audience that matters and boost your brand awareness.

•Increase your reach with Reels, Stories, and IG TV
The fast-paced world calls for fast-paced content! Consumers like to consume content in a fast manner and there is no better way to leverage this trend than with Reels, Stories, and IG TV. The major role of the trio is to increase your reach and impressions to a wider section of people. Stories help you direct engagement with mentions, quizzes, and polls whereas Reels is a great way to build your consumer base as it is pushed to a wider section of the audience. On the other hand, IG TV is the longest format out of the three. It helps you with Tutorials, behind the scenes, and Q&A sessions, helping you put out your message in front of your audience.

•Brand x Brand Collab Posts
Brand x Brand collabs should not be confused with influencer partnerships. The former is about a brand collaborating with another brand to come up with a product or service that works with both their combined audiences. It is very essential for a startup as they can team up with another brand without blowing their budget and still come up with something unique and exciting. Brand x Brand collaboration can be 25x less expensive than digital advertising and opens several multi-channel marketing opportunities for your brand. One of the biggest examples is the collaboration between Nike and Ben & Jerry’s for a sneaker giveaway.

•Try Instagram’s Augmented Reality
Instagram AR enables your audience to try on your product even before the purchase. Sometimes, as a brand, you have to bank on the impulse decision of your target consumers and AR provides exactly that. This feature can also be implemented in stories with AR filters. You can choose among numerous filters that relate to your core audience. Augmented Reality provides endless interaction scenarios and lots of customizations. However, where Instagram AR truly excels is to show your audience that you are enthusiastic about tech and are on the same page as your users.

•Design your Timeline for Visual Storytelling
Your profile tells your brand’s story and it’s important to have a recognizable visual identity. In most cases, the content is obviously dependent on your brand, so it all comes down to the way you present it. Go for a consistent visual look that your fans will resonate with and recognize when they see you on their feed. Explore all the different formats like Carousels, Grid Posts, Stories, Instagram Live, and more. Although Instagram is a visual platform, it is your content that gives your visuals meaning. Good copy helps your brand with empathy and trust.

Facebook for Business

On the surface, it might seem like Facebook is a platform for your aunt to watch funny cat videos and occasionally comment on your profile picture when you decide to finally update it after 3 years - but it’s also the prime place for businesses to connect with their audiences; big and small. Compared to a billion active monthly users of Instagram, Facebook caters to 2.9 billion active monthly users. This number should explain the significance of the platform for your business.

Here’s a list of specially curated strategies for effective Facebook Marketing:

•Optimize Facebook Business Manager
Want to manage your Facebook Pages, Ad Accounts, and Ads efficiently in one single place? Facebook’s Business Manager has got your back! It helps you manage your entire process on a centralized dashboard which makes it easier to prepare business and performance management reports. As an advertiser, you can create parallel ad sets to have multi-level control over your ad campaigns. You can also assign roles to your employees from Business Manager and collaborate directly with other brands.

•Cross-sell and Up-sell with WhatsApp Business API
If your brand needs interactive communication - WhatsApp API is the perfect tool for you. Surveys show that up to 70% of people say that WhatsApp is the easiest way for them to connect with a brand for service-related issues. With features like Click-to-Chat and Conversation Buttons, startups can create superior brand connections and make their marketing strategy more personal. It also allows you to engage globally to enhance your visibility and expand your market reach. By engaging with customers directly a brand can personalize its communication and increase cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.

•Facebook Display Ads Network
Yes, the Google Display ads may have a better reach when it comes to reaching a unique audience, but Facebook ads can target the same people over and over again. This in turn influences their buying decision and creates a pattern that is more effective than Google ads for certain businesses and brands. You also have the option of micro-targeting your audience and when combined with Display ads - it may just work wonders for your brand.
Facebook Display Network also has a cheaper conversion rate when compared to Google - making it a good strategy for startups to generate leads and sales.

•Go Past the Urban-Divide with Laser Targeted Ads
Instagram’s and Facebook’s Laser Targetting may seem very similar on paper but can be very different in reality based on your brand’s need. For starters, Instagram’s targeting works well only in tier-1 and tier-2 cities. However, if your brand is looking for a PAN India targeting - Facebook Ads is your way to go. Facebook has the capacity to reach a larger section of people by targeting tier-3 cities for effective conversion. This is not possible with Instagram as their target audience is very urban-centric at this point in time.

•Send Page Like Invites to your Potential Customers
Facebook has made sending Page Like Invites fairly simple! Just keep a track of your engagement and send invites to people who have engaged with your post, but do not follow your page. It is a good way to keep track of your potential audience and making sure they don’t miss your communication in the future.

Whew! Yes, there’s a lot to learn when it comes to social marketing, but best of all - you can get started without investing a dime. So, get in there, and grow as you go!