In the past few years, the digital marketing world has seen social media gain increasing traction as a tool that can give maximum exposure and greater marketing mileage for any brand, product, or service. The platform has evolved from being a mere fad, or just another platform for publishing content – and has become one of the most effective marketing and advertising tools and strategies available.

Online users in the United States are spending more time on social media channels than anywhere else on the Internet, according to Small Biz Trends. As a result, 86% of marketers acknowledge that social media provides maximum exposure for their businesses. It was reported in another report published by HubSpot that companies have at least one dedicated social media person or a social media team.

However, the Small Biz Trends report also indicated that 88% of businesses using social media admitted that they have a lot more to learn about social tactics. Specifically, they are interested in learning more about strategies that would be effective to engage targeted audiences and increase brand awareness. Listed below are 10 amazing social media marketing strategies that deliver more and better-targeted results for your business.

Increase online visibility on more social media networks

Even though it seems like yesterday, social media giant Facebook turns 10 this year. Facebook is still the dominant force in social media with 757 million Daily Active Users (equivalent to 1.23 billion Monthly Active Users according to official Facebook reports). While the platform is the primary arena for social media marketing activities, it should not be your only social media outlet.

Many other social networks are also gaining ground, with many focusing on graphics, pictures, and videos as their main content. Pinterest, Instagram, Vine and Snapchat are examples of social media sites that target specific user categories and demographics. In order to gain maximum exposure for your business, you should develop a strong social media presence not just on Facebook and Twitter, but also on other upcoming and highly dynamic social media networks.

Tailor Your Content to Specific Social Media Platforms

Businesses and digital marketers often make the mistake of posting the same type of content on all of their social networks. By doing so, businesses fail to provide social media users with the unique experience they want from each platform. Every social network caters to a certain demographic and social user category, so broadcasting the same type of content to all will not produce the desired results.

Pinterest and Instagram users are more likely to be interested in content with a visual nature and more likely to click on really high-quality images and graphics telling your story. In this regard, the key to success is tailor-fitting your content to the various social media platforms and checking which format will work best.

Instead of selling stuff, tell stories

While social media is still a digital marketing tool, using it to sell your products directly to consumers will do more harm than good to your brand or business. Social media networks are full of stories and people go to them to read stories, be amazed by interesting features, and learn new things from uploads and shares. In order to use social media effectively, you need to learn how to tell a story before you can sell anything.

Your brand will get more attention if you tell stories. As a result, they would want to know more about you and read, view, or watch more stories, photos, and videos about you. As their level of interest grows, they will be able to show an interest in your business, in what you do, and in what you sell – and this will be the right time for profits to roll in.

Share more pictures, graphics, and videos

As soon as Facebook introduced a new feature that allowed Instagram videos to be uploaded, the social network experienced up to 5 million video uploads within the first 24 hours of the launch. That is the power of video and other visual elements, and learning how to use these tools and elements can give you maximum exposure for your business. Now, micro-video is gaining ground, providing another form of content that will revolutionize social media.

As the Internet becomes more accessible to smartphones and other Internet-enabled mobile devices, Snapchat, Twitter’s Vine, and the new micro-video sharing feature on Instagram will certainly gain in popularity. Pinterest is fast evolving, shedding its “women’s only network” tagline to gain more subscribers from more and more online users regardless of gender or demographics. As well as Mobli, Path, Slideshare, and Tumblr, other networks with a visual content focus are gaining traction.

Organize contests and promotional activities

Getting your targeted audiences directly involved in activities is one of the most effective strategies for social media in general. The best way to drive their interest and solicit their participation is by conducting contests and other promotional activities. You can be as creative as you like when it comes to the type of contests you can run, but using the sharing features and other viral components provided by your social network can bring your brand or business even more exposure, as more and more online users participate.

Provide more educational content

According to Social Media B2B research, businesses that use social media strategies for content marketing, such as maintaining blogs, generate 67% more leads than companies that do not. Using social media marketing, they can gain more of their target audiences’ trust, and to do so they have to create educational content that their readers will find very useful for whatever purposes or needs they have.

Using and sharing educational content is a very effective strategy if you want to gain more exposure for your business and build a bigger and more diverse audience, according to a recent HubSpot study. Through the use of educational content that your targeted customers find relevant and interesting, you can extend the reach and coverage of your brand and business.

Make mobile social media marketing a priority

Facebook announced that there were an average of 556 million Mobile Daily Active Users, a 49% increase over last year. This translates into 945 million Mobile Monthly Active Users, a 39% increase year-over-year. These numbers illustrate the power of mobile social media marketing, which should encourage digital marketers to create more content and location-based advertising targeted at mobile social media users.

Response to ALL Comments, Suggestions, Inquiries, and Complaints

Social media users comment, suggest, inquire, or even complain about business pages and social profiles. In return, they expect a response or acknowledgment from you or your social media manager. Approximately 42 percent of social media users expect to receive a response within 60 minutes according to a study by Convince and Convert.

Users expect some form of interaction from business owners and digital marketers through social media. Businesses and digital marketers who respond to these comments and inquiries will be at an advantage over those who do not. Also, you should know how to handle or address complaints in a way that will satisfy online users. Don’t delete complaints, otherwise, you’ll be removed from their lists.

Also, show your gratitude for the time spent by online users reading, liking, and sharing your content. It will put you in their favor and there will be more opportunities for them to come back, read more of your content, and even tell others about you and your brand.

One of the most dynamic and fastest-growing digital marketing channels is social media marketing. These social networks are maturing to their full potential, and digital marketers need to learn how to utilize them so that they can deliver better brand awareness and maximum exposure for their business. You can start with a tweet, an upload, or a post – and let it grow from there.