Millions of businesses around the world have successfully gained massive exposure for their products by implementing a successful digital marketing strategy. Businesses are placing their ads on platforms where their customers and desired target audience are active; Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest and other platforms. Brands that have effective social media campaigns are seeing major returns.

A business needs more than a good product to see a spike in revenue from digital advertisements. Many new businesses are losing money creating dull ads or not making any effort to analyse their metrics to reach their target demographic. 

If you are starting a new business or are struggling to create an effective campaign, here are some valuable tips to grow revenue via social media marketing.

Post Relevant Content  

Long gone are the days when businesses needed big marketing dollars to produce an advertising campaign. The majority of social media ads posted by businesses look less like a cinematic television commercial, and more like organic content anyone could create with an iPhone and basic editing software. Large and small businesses are using customer or influencer testimonial videos or shooting videos from their phone, adding subtitles, music and uploading the content as an ad. When done right, this approach translates to customer acquisitions. 

Experiment with different creative assets to discover what your audience responds to the most. Social media algorithms favour video, so that’s a good place to start. Make sure you include subtitles as most users watch on mute. 

Social media has changed the way consumers speak and what they respond to. User-driven trends are here to stay, so make sure you keep up to date on current trends to create content consumers want to respond to. In most cases a trend that goes viral on one platform (for example; the rise of TikTok videos with on-screen text) will likely carry over to other social media platforms. 

Start Small

In terms of marketing, worst decision you could make as a business would be to go all in and spend a significant amount of money on an ad that doesn’t perform. Firstly, you need to identify who your potential customers are through market research, surveys and by testing out audiences through Facebook or Instagram ads. Secondly, you need to optimise your ad spend by ROAS (return on ad spend) instead of CPA (cost per acquisition), CPC (cost per click), and others, as it is often the metric that will make the most sense for your business. If you ensure that your website is user friendly, that your ads are persuasive and visible to your intended target audience, sales will start to come in.

Hiring Right

Two scenarios often occur whenever a new business contacts a digital agency. The business discovers that the majority of digital agencies charge a minimum $5k a month (not including the ad budget) and therefore the business can’t move forward. Or they hire an agency by cutting costs in other departments and see very little or no growth in sales. There are great agencies that do exceptional work and provide flexible pricing, but new businesses must be extra diligent, especially when cash flow is tight.

If you want to outsource your marketing to another person or group of people, make sure you outsource the work to someone who understands your industry. Choosing a marketer experienced in marketing pharmaceutical equipment but not your industry won’t offer you the critical insight on the behaviour and trends that is required to understand your specific audience.

Take the time to interview potential firms or individuals so you end up hiring the right fit for your industry, product and customers. Call or email current or past client references to see how they performed within their specific budget and time frame.

With the job market changing due to the covid-19 pandemic, many marketers have gone independent and are looking for new clients. If working with a freelancer is a better option for you, search for professionals on LinkedIn and Upwork to find the right candidate.

You can learn plenty of valuable information about digital marketing by watching videos and taking online courses but consider if it’s more cost efficient to hire someone for the job. A skilled person or team allows you to focus and grow other areas of your business.

Be Involved In The Marketing Process

Outsourcing your marketing work doesn’t mean handing over the reins completely. You as the founder know your business better than anyone and the vision you have for your brand. When you bring on a new person or company to help with marketing and advertising, be clear about the voice, mood and aesthetic you want, but keep an open mind and be willing to test new concepts and ideas. Remember, that it is completely fine to say “no” to suggestions that don’t align with your vision. Even though you hire someone for their expertise, you always have the final say in what moves forward and what doesn’t.

Have an Optimized Website

New business will often cut corners with their website to save money, without realising their site needs to be fully optimized for desktop and mobile devices. Most consumers decide whether they will stay or leave a site within the first 3 seconds. Your product or service must be clear with captivating images and copy to keep them engaged. Having a general understanding of how SEO works and hiring a specialist in Google optimization is essential.

If you are currently selling or getting ready to launch a product or service, the most valuable tool to scale your online sales is through digital marketing. Look at ads and content posted by your competitors or companies in your industry to see what is resonating with their audience and what isn’t. As you review their content, read the comments section. The most valuable insight into how your product is performing will the data from your consumers feedback. If your ROI is positive when you start running ads, incrementally increase your ad spend on the best performing ad.

In the beginning for most new businesses, the process of testing ads, finding the right agency or freelancer and discovering what is effective is trial and error. When you find the formula that is right for your company, double down on that and you will reap the financial rewards.