None of the elements within your identity can make or break your connections with customers but they all contribute to people’s initial emotional response and guides their decision to interact with your brand. 

Social media marketing is a specialist skill that is honed over years with proper training and hands-on experience. There are many parts to a successful social media lead generation campaign that all require different skill sets:

• Technical – identifying the right audiences, setting up and A/B testing campaigns, managing budgets and generating reports
• Creative & design – understanding the kind of content that your target audience wants and expects to see, and crafting visually-arresting, engaging creative that stands out in an endless stream of activity
• Strategic – identifying areas of improvement for campaign creative and targeting, recommending new approaches to try, spotting competitor content activity or ongoing trends and topics that you can piggy back off and shape the conversation around

It depends on the channel, but typically a social media lead generation campaign will include most or all of these elements:

• Personalised ad content by persona – during our initial consultations we will have defined with you what your target audiences have in common and used this information to generate personas. By doing so, we can create highly targeted social ads that improve the effectiveness of your lead generation campaigns
• A lead magnet and lead form – mostly relevant to LinkedIn campaigns, lead magnets and forms are downloadable resources that encourage your prospects to fill in their information in exchange for access to valuable content
• Targeted lists – we segment your campaigns by persona and only target prospects who match those persona demographics, creating customised content for each persona group
• Budget optimisation – LinkedIn and Facebook “learn” as your campaigns run, providing insights into which target groups are generating the best results. We optimise your budgets accordingly, putting the money where the results are.

There are lots of social media companies out there, but not many specialists in social media lead generation. In order to gain the best possible results, you need to work with experts who are highly-trained in the right techniques, tools and technologies to deliver above and beyond your expectations.

Social media marketing is right for all businesses, large and small. Many small businesses focus on individual customers and building a community. Social media platforms are ideal for that as you can connect with and engage customers one-to-one or in groups. You can build brand awareness and retain customer loyalty by engaging with your audience.

Here are 15 social media marketing examples to inspire you, featuring:

1. Airbnb
2. Amazon
3. HBO
4. Houseparty – Fortnite Trivia Challenge
5. BuzzFeed Tasty – Saturday Night Seder
6. Netflix – Wanna Talk About It?
7. Zoom – Virtual Background Competition
8. Harvard Business Review
9. Starbucks #ExtraShotOfPride Campaign
10. Dove #ShowUs Campaign
11. Daniel Wellington #WheresWellington Campaign
12. British Army’s #YourArmyNeedsYou Recruitment Campaign
13. Essie
14. Moonpie and Greggs
15. Gillette – The Best Men Can Be

There are a few reasons why social media is ideal for marketing:

• Accessibility/affordability: There’s a variety of platforms, and you can start with a small budget, unlike TV, for instance.
• Scalability: You can reach 2B+ people on Facebook.
• Interaction: It’s a two-way street where you can directly engage with your audience. Plus, you can learn from them, rather than merely pushing messages out to them.
• Measurability: You can track everything, learn from the results, and improve.

The 7 functional building blocks of social media are:

1. Identity: people share information about themselves with other users.
2. Conversations: people communicate with other users.
3. Sharing: people pass along digital content to other users.
4. Presence: people share their status, location, or availability.
5. Relationships: people relate and connect with other users.
6. Reputation: people see the social standing of others and share their own.
7. Groups: people form communities based on similarities.

Here’s a breakdown of the social media platforms, with the number of monthly active users (MAUs), the make-up of their audience, and their ideal use:

Facebook

• Users: 2.6 billion.
• Audience: Mainstream, global.
• Great for: All brands.

Twitter

• Users: 326 million.
• Audience: Thought leaders.
• Great for: Opinions, conversation, and customer service.

Instagram

• Users: 1 billion.
• Audience: Generations Y & Z.
• Great for: Lifestyle and product visuals.