Facebook got 200 million users in less than a year. Do you need any more facts to recognize the importance of social networks for promotion? However, each and every advertising action must be well-thought out and based on a comprehensive analysis of the market and relevance of a particular social platform to the business.

More than 80% of Internet users have accounts on popular and narrowly-focused social networks like these ones. Since almost every businessman is now aware of the power of social media, the competition is growing as rapidly as ever. It’s not as easy to excel and beat the competition, but still possible if you build the promotion strategy in compliance with the grounds below.

#1 Content is a Primary Promotional Factor
Even the most powerful promotion tools are useless unless based on high-quality content. If a page of your brand is boring, forget about the growth of the audience and loyalty.

There are three basic components of high-quality content:

1. Uniqueness. The content must be relevant and exciting. Do not copy it from somewhere else. The exception is a cross-posting between the company and its blog in a social network.
2. Regular updates. Post fresh content regularly – one, three, four or seven times a week, depending on the specifics of the business and the target audience. The key point is that you have to make the audience accustom to your posts and wait for upcoming updates. Adhere to the chosen content strategy regardless the number of subscribers.
3. Virality. The publications should cause an emotional response and a burning desire to share.

By the way, the best time to post on Facebook is between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., on Instagram is between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., on Twitter is between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and on Google+ is between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

#2 Targeting
Targeting is the creation of advertising messages aimed at a specific part of the audience, depending on its interests, place of residence, etc. Targeting improves the efficiency of advertising although it’s believed it is more suitable for the B2C sector. However, there are a lot of B2B companies that effectively achieve their business goals through targeted advertising.

Types of targeting:

• Geographical – a display of advertising to the residents of a certain region. For example, if you want to promote a beauty salon, located in London, your geo-targeted ad will be displayed only to the residents of London.
• Socio-demographic – a display of advertising to people of a specific age, gender, marital status and other social criteria. For example, the advertising of children’s goods should be placed on the pages of married women over 25 while the advertising of an art store should go on the pages of designers and architects.
• Context – a display of advertising in accordance with the interests of a specific user. For example, a participant of fashion communities will likely be interested in the advertising of new clothes.
• Behavioral – a display of advertising, depending on the user’s actions (routes, favorite places, frequent searches, etc.).

Despite its apparent simplicity, targeting requires serious preparatory work. The better you analyze the target audience of the brand, the more accurately you can customize the ad.

#3 Advertising in Communities
Advertising in communities implies buying posts or reposting in popular communities. In the first case, the goal is to increase traffic to the website; in the last the goal is to engage users to get them to become members of the brand community. The greater the number of subscribers, the higher the advertising price.

To Sum Up

The best way to promote your brand on social networks is to create valuable and unique content.  Plagiarism will not be able to run the viral loop.

To attract potential fans to your brand on social networks, you should:

• Regularly post infographics, illustrations, viral videos, special offers, contests, and other interesting content depending on the features of your business and opportunities of a particular social network.
• Put a promotional link within the visible area of the post announcement.
• Introduce a CTA-factor into the promotional material.
• Create strong associations with your brand.

At present, there are no free methods of promotion on social media. Even if you’re going to promote the brand by yourself, you do need a budget for content creation, targeting, etc. Bio:

Lucy Adams is a Buzzessay writer and blogger. Lucy is a generalist interested in writing for you! Just suggest a few topics to the lady and let her prepare in-depth research just for you. Lucy Adams is always in touch, so you’ll get a response very quickly.