What is social media marketing, really?

To young marketers starting out (and also to guys like me who’ve been doing social media marketing for over a decade):-

– Posting a visually pleasing reel on Instagram is š‘µš‘¶š‘» social media marketing.
– Trying to come up with posts piggybacking on the day’s trend is š‘µš‘¶š‘» the social media strategy.

There’s a huge difference between cranking out content and deliveringĀ social media marketingĀ that’s strategic, targeted, and engaging. While some brands can get away with posting pretty pictures of their products or services, that only works for a short time.

Social mediaĀ is still relatively young compared to other platforms. And these algorithms are constantly evolving. But one thing will always remain constant: Social media marketing is more than just posting a pretty picture. It’s about crafting compelling content so – you build relationships, engage with your audience, and listen to what they have to say.

When building the social media footprint, focus on whatĀ marketingĀ really is.Ā Marketing is either driving change or helping your audience to do so and delighting them.
Everything else is just bells and whistles.

Both of these require an absolute understanding of two things –
Your Brand – its purpose, role, and voice in the world and
Your Consumers – their aspirations, problems, motivations, and fears.

Driving Change

Driving changeĀ means you need to convey and convince. And what to convey and how to convince will stem from understanding these two key factors.Ā 

Do your consumers require you to post a pretty picture of your product or tell them how your brand will help them live a better life, be more successful at work, and feel confident in their appearance – will stem from there.

Delighting Audience

Delighting your audienceĀ means being empathetic and always sensitive to their needs. You must demonstrate that you are genuinely interested in resolving conflict, helping them achieve their goals, and making them feel heard. All of this is possible if you make that effort to know them and truly understand them.

Your Social Media Marketing Has A Tough Competition

For visibility on any social media platform, your brand is not just competing with another brand offering a similar product or service but also with the content that is being generated by your audience’s connections – their family and friends – that will naturally have higher affinity than most of the branded content.Ā 

So unless you address a fundamental but most likely a silent question – ‘ what’s in it for me?’, you will never get your audience to pay attention and create the impact you desire.

The key to successful social media marketing is to truly focus on standing out and building genuine connections with your audience. And that starts by focusing on quality over quantity – crafting content that’s actually helpful and engaging instead of just paying lip service to the latest trend.

Let the algorithms take care of the rest. Even they care about the engagement.

Amit Tilekar
Amit Tilekar

Customer-obsessed digital marketer and growth marketing consultant

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