Social Media Marketing PDF

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CIM Level 4 Award in Social Media Marketing (1) RASHID SHAWEESH WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING? Is the process of creating content for social media platforms to promote your products and/or services, build community with your target a...

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING CIM Level 4 Award in Social Media Marketing (1) RASHID SHAWEESH WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING? Is the process of creating content for social media platforms to promote your products and/or services, build community with your target audience, and drive traffic to your business. BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING INCREASE YOUR BRAND AWARENESS Due to the sheer number of people on social media, you're missing out on the potential to reach thousands, and even millions, if you don't have a presence. Social Media has proven to boost brand awareness by driving up engagement, including things like comments, likes, shares, reposts, and saves. And also by directing traffic straight to your site. GENERATE LEADS AND BOOST CONVERSIONS Promoting and sharing your products on social media is a simple way to improve lead generation, boost conversions, and increase sales because you're advertising to people who have opted to engage with you by following your account. BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING FOSTER RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS Connecting and engaging with your social media followers can build lasting relationships between them and your business. You can do this by interacting with them on your posts, responding to their questions and comments, and providing them with any help they may need. LEARN FROM YOUR COMPETITORS Social media is a great way to keep tabs on your competitors — whether it's their social media tactics, the products they're promoting, the campaigns they're implementing, or their level of interaction with followers.  LIMITATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA 1. Negative Publicity and Brand Image 5. Limited Control over Messaging Risks Users may misinterpret or distort Viral negative feedback or content, affecting the brand's mishandled crises can damage an intended message. organization's reputation. 6. Over-Saturation of Content 2. Privacy and Security Concerns High competition and content Risks associated with data breaches clutter make it challenging to and improper handling of user capture and retain audience information. attention. 3. Time-Intensive Management 7. Short Lifespan of Posts Consistent engagement, content Content visibility can be brief, creation, and monitoring require requiring continuous posting to significant time and resources. stay relevant. 4. Algorithm Dependence 8. Difficulty Measuring ROI Content visibility depends heavily on While analytics are available, platform algorithms, which can attributing exact ROI to social change unpredictably. media efforts can be complex.  The definition of ALGORITHM A computer program used to follow a specific set of rules in order to organize and structure large data sets. For example the Facebook algorithm is used to decide the posts and adverts that appear in your newsfeed. THE FACEBOOK ALGORITHM The Facebook algorithm for business and organization accounts determines how posts are ranked in users' feeds. It prioritizes content based on relevance, engagement potential, and alignment with user preferences. Business and organization accounts face challenges due to Facebook's emphasis on meaningful interactions and paid promotion.  HOW THE FACEBOOK ALGORITHM WORKS FOR BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTS Facebook’s algorithm uses machine learning to evaluate and promote content. It follows a four-step process: Signals Facebook Considers Facebook’s Ranking Criteria Paid vs. Organic Reach Content Prioritization  1. SIGNALS FACEBOOK CONSIDERS TYPES OF SIGNALS Engagement Signals: Likes, comments, shares, saves. Content-Type Signals: Videos, quality visuals, trending topics. User-Specific Signals: Interaction history, time spent, recency. Business-Specific Signals: Consistency, ad integration. 2. FACEBOOK’S RANKING CRITERIA Facebook uses the following ranking steps to determine how content appears: 2 4 1 3 Signals Relevance Score Predictions Inventory Each post is analyzed A score is assigned to based on user prioritize posts based on The algorithm scans preferences, Facebook predicts how the likelihood of all available posts engagement history, likely the user is to engagement. from the pages a user and content quality. engage with a specific follows. post.  3. PAID VS. ORGANIC REACH ORGANIC REACH PAID REACH Facebook has significantly reduced the Businesses can use Facebook Ads organic reach of business and Manager to target specific audiences. organization pages. Only a small percentage (around 5%– Paid promotions bypass organic 10%) of your followers are likely to see limitations, but success depends on ad organic posts unless they perform quality, targeting, and budget. exceptionally well.  4. CONTENT PRIORITIZATION a. Posts That Perform Well b. Posts That Struggle Videos: Overly Promotional Content: Videos (especially native Posts that explicitly push sales uploads) are heavily promoted by without offering value often Facebook. perform poorly. Live Videos generate 6x more Clickbait: interactions than regular videos. Sensationalist headlines or low- Interactive Posts: Polls, questions, and quizzes quality content can be demoted. encourage engagement and are External Links: favored. Facebook deprioritizes posts that Personalized and Relatable Content: drive users away from the Stories that resonate emotionally platform unless they’re tend to perform well. sponsored. BEST PRACTICES FOR BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION ACCOUNTS 1- Create Engaging Content: 4- Optimize Posting Times: Use storytelling to make your posts Post during peak activity hours based on relatable and spark conversations. your audience’s timezone and habits. Include questions, polls, or prompts to 5- Encourage Follower Interaction: encourage comments. Respond to comments and messages 2- Use Video and Interactive Formats: promptly. Prioritize native videos, live streams, and Encourage users to share or tag friends in carousel posts. posts. Invest in high-quality visuals to maintain 6- Diversify Content: attention. Combine educational, entertaining, and 3- Leverage Facebook Ads: promotional posts. Use Facebook Ads Manager to target Use Facebook Stories for real-time audiences by demographics, behavior, updates and informal content. and location. 7- Utilize Analytics: Run retargeting campaigns to reach Monitor performance through Facebook users who’ve interacted with your page. Insights to optimize your strategy. HOW THE INSTAGRAM ALGORITHM WORKS FOR BUSINESS ACCOUNTS The Instagram algorithm uses machine learning to analyze and prioritize content in users' feeds, Stories, Explore pages, and Reels. HOW THE INSTAGRAM ALGORITHM WORKS FOR BUSINESS ACCOUNTS The algorithm evaluates content through three primary ranking systems: 1. Ranking Signals 2. Feed, Explore, and Reels Algorithms 3. Organic vs. Paid Reach  1. RANKING SIGNALS These signals determine what content is prioritized in a user's feed: a. Engagement c. Relationship Signals Likes, Comments, Saves, and Shares: Direct Interactions: Posts with higher engagement are more likely to be Accounts with which users frequently shown to a broader audience. engage (likes, comments, DMs) are Dwell Time: prioritized in their feed. How long users spend viewing your content, including Search and Profile Visits: stopping to read captions, impacts ranking. If a user searches for your business or Replies and Interactions on Stories: visits your profile, your content is more Quick replies, polls, and Story interactions are key likely to appear in their feed. engagement metrics. d. Timing and Freshness b. Content-Type Recency: Format Preferences: Newer posts are prioritized over older Users who often engage with videos, Reels, or carousel ones in the feed. posts will see more of those formats. Posting Times: Relevance: The algorithm assesses how relevant your content is Posting when your audience is active to the audience’s interests based on hashtags, can significantly improve visibility. captions, and previous behaviors. 2. FEED, EXPLORE, AND REELS ALGORITHMS Each section of Instagram has its own algorithm:  3. PAID VS. ORGANIC REACH ORGANIC REACH PAID REACH Business accounts may experience Instagram Ads allow businesses to reduced organic reach due to overcome organic limitations and Instagram’s encouragement for paid target specific demographics and promotion. interests. Content that feels too promotional Boosted posts help amplify organic without adding value often performs content by increasing visibility among poorly. a targeted audience. CONTENT OPTIMIZATION FOR THE ALGORITHM To maximize reach and engagement, business accounts should focus on: a. Posting Consistently Regular, high-quality posts improve your chances of staying visible in your followers' feeds. Use tools like Instagram Insights to determine optimal posting times. b. Leveraging Interactive Content Stories: Use features like polls, quizzes, sliders, and countdowns to encourage interactions. Reels: Create engaging, trend-aligned short videos with popular audio tracks. Carousels: Posts with multiple images or videos often receive higher engagement because they encourage swiping and spending more time on the post.  CONTENT OPTIMIZATION FOR THE ALGORITHM c. Using Hashtags and Keywords Incorporate 5–10 relevant hashtags per post to enhance discoverability. Use trending hashtags sparingly to align with ongoing discussions or events. Add keywords in captions to improve searchability. d. Encouraging User-Generated Content (UGC) Reposting content from customers or collaborators increases engagement and builds credibility. e. Collaborations and Influencer Marketing Partnering with influencers or creators extends your reach to new audiences. Collaborative posts (using the