Today, 7 out of 10 people in the US use social media. This statistic alone should encourage you to include, if not prioritize, social media marketing in your marketing plan. If you need a little more convincing, take note of these numbers:

• Facebook has 2.6 billion active users every month
• Instagram has over 500 million active accounts on a daily basis
• Pinterest has 150 million users to date

As with all marketing strategies, social media marketing techniques constantly evolve. For the rest of this year and beyond, if you’re looking to incorporate social media marketing into your business’s marketing plan, here are some top tips I can offer as someone who strives to keep on top of trends, with years of experience in the industry:

1. Focus on Building Relationships with Your Audience

Posting consistently and creating high value, relevant content should always be a priority. If you’re not putting effort behind building a real community, your posts will not make as big of an impact and won’t deliver the engagement that you want from your audience.

Keep in mind, the reason people are on social media is so they can interact with like-minded individuals who share the same interests. On top of making sure your posts are relevant to your audience, be sure to take the time to answer questions and leave comments and reactions that will remind your audience you care about what they think.

2. Pay Attention to Micro-Influencers

You’re probably very familiar with influencers at this point. Influencers are people with thousands, if not millions of followers who create engaging content, both original and sponsored. Brands tapping into influencers do so to boost brand visibility and introduce their product or service to a massive audience.

This year we’ve seen the rise of micro-influencers. While they may not have audiences as wide as traditional influencers, micro-influencers have the capability of reaching a smaller, more niche audience, with more defined values and/or geographic locations. More importantly, micro-influencers also tend to have stronger connections with their followers, which implies that their followers, even if they’re only in the hundreds, tend to trust their recommendations more.

3. Location, Location, Location

Reaching social media users specific to your location significantly amplifies your relevance and messaging. The great thing about this is that most social media platforms allow you to target audiences based on location easily. Just specify your target area and tailor your messaging to maximize audience engagement in the geographic area by referencing locally relevant topics, events, places, and unique local cultural subjects. You can also boost engagement through exclusive promotions for locals.

Bottom Line

Social media marketing is an ever-evolving subject with strategies that will continue to change and be refined through the years. This will shift based on how users interact with social media, how platforms themselves evolve, and new information and discoveries. Staying up to date with the latest ways you can increase engagement is key to maximizing improving brand trust and learning more about your core audience.

Give these tips a try and let me know how they work for you. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at Leadspanda.