SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

campaign to advertise billiard items to that person to stay in front of them.

Billiard retailers should think about their target audience and what they want to achieve with their social media strategy. Always remember that the secret to all strategies is always meeting the needs and wants of your customers.

Of course, using social media for retail is more complicated than simply posting offers and discounts. Customers will follow stores searching for a deal, but your long-term strategy should be to sell your brand rather than just your items.

Here are 10 tips to help your social media strategy thrive

1. KEEP THINGS RELEVANT

When creating content for social media, make sure that it is relevant. Research your audience. Who are your target customers? What platforms do they use most often? What type of content do they respond to? Answering these questions will help you determine which platforms and strategies will most likely reach your target audience. For example, since you’re targeting billiard players, your content should focus on topics like tips for improving their game, the latest news in the world of professional billiards, and so on. Post videos of pro players using the equipment you’re trying to sell. Add stories of billiard players who did something noteworthy or interesting interviews billiard pros may have given. Use some funny billiard memes that will make customers stop and take a look at your social media channels. And be personal as well. Post about the store and what’s happening, whether it’s a sale, event or just a new product that’s come in to the store. Add lots of photos, because that’s what’s going to get people to stop scrolling and look to you.Your social media followers will quickly lose interest if all you post is self-promotional content. Make sure you’re sharing a mix of interesting, informative, and entertaining content that will appeal to your target audience.

2. CREATE A BRAND PERSONALITY

Billiard retailers need to use social media to create a brand that is widely known. You should find out what kind of content your audience enjoys and then create it on a regular basis. Your social media followers come for your products and services but will stay for your style, substance, and personality. Social media is an extension of your brand voice, tone, and personality, so let your postings reflect your brand’s distinct personality and dictate how your business is viewed in the community. You might switch between user-generated content, photos of products, or memes while maintaining a strong brand color scheme to help create familiarity and connection with your channel. Always create engaging content. Post regularly and mix up the types of content you share to keep people interested. A good way to reach a wider audience is by using hashtags and @ mentions. And - er than posting multiple times a day, focus on creating high-quality content that will capture the attention who haven’t done much with social media, most experts believe you should start with Facebook. Start by pulling together a list of your customers who made previous purchases or who opted in to your email list. Upload the customer list to Facebook and create a lookalike audience for that customer list. Next start a targeted advertising campaign for that lookalike audience that advertises your current promotional discounts. If you do online sales, you could target a store or product discount. If you only do retail sales, you could promote an in-store coupon code. The key is to tie the promotion to a limited-time offer to encourage people to take immediate action.

4. CREATE VIDEOS

With the increased consumption of videos online, we have seen them become the most useful forms of content. Social videos are exploding with new apps like TikTok and new features like Instagram Reels. Both short-form and longform video creations continue to be a dominant social channel because of their high engagement rate and ability to get high-value information across. Videos should be your priority if you are planning to drive social media growth in 2022.

5. BUY SOCIAL ADS

Another way to laser-focus your social media efforts is to buy social ads that target your ideal retail customer. This is one of the prime benefits of social media for billiard stores and companies. A traditional print or TV advertising campaign puts your advertising in front of many people who have no interest in your products. However, on social media, you can maximize your advertising spend by focusing your ads on the people who are most likely to convert. So, rather than making media buys based on a publication’s overall demographic base, you can zero in on social media users based on demographics, online behavior, existing connections to your brand, location, language, and much more.

You don’t need to create accounts on all social media channels if that doesn’t make sense for your business. For example, if you’re looking to reach a wide audience, Facebook or Twitter may be the best options. If you’re targeting a more niche market, consider Instagram or Pinterest.

For billiard retailers

6. GET TO KNOW YOUR COMPETITORS

While your company must be distinctive, you can still get ideas from other excellent businesses on social media. Chances are, your competitors are already utilizing social media, which means you may learn from their actions. Perform a competitive analysis. A competitive study lets you learn who your competitors are and what they do effectively and not so well. Check out the numbers of followers they have, and the ones with the most are probably doing something right. You’ll gain a precise feel of what’s required in your business, which can help you define your own social media goals.

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7. DON’T JUST POST AND GHOST

You need to stay active and responsive to create a community. Take the time to respond to customers’ comments and messages and even try to spark a conversation in your comment section.You can create a customized hashtag to improve brand recognition and engage your customers. Hashtags are a great way to help potential customers find your content. When creating content for social media, be sure to use relevant hashtags that billiard players are likely to search for. The right type of content coupled with attention-grabbing promotions and offers on social media is going to work wonders for your business. Moreover, conduct social media contests to spur a wave of interest among the customers and stay active. When customers participate, it will increase audience engagement and create organic word of mouth about your billiard business.

8. LIVE STREAMS, STORIES, AND PODCASTS

Stories are here to stay, so capitalize on your followers’ FOMO (fear of missing out) by creating fleeting interactive content. According to published statistics, millions of people listen to podcasts every week, with weekly podcast listeners being more likely to follow companies and brands on social media. It is possible to get new listeners or other podcast producers if you strategically promote your podcast via social media. Many social media apps also allow you to stream live videos, such as Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, and often only require just a few clicks to set up. A word of warning however, your social marketing efforts must align with your company goals and your consumer personas if you are to maximize your social media presence through these channels.

9. BRING IN INFLUENCERS

One of the most valuable ways to attract people to your social media is by bringing in influencers, be it a popular player, notable billiard professional or even someone at a local college or pool hall who is well known among the billiard community. If you could get a celebrity to endorse your store or products, even better. Finding appropriate billiard influencers will require some research, and you’ll want to find someone with a track record of success, a stellar reputation, large social media following, who can authentically live your brand values and who is not overexposed. When you engage the right influencers, research shows that people trust them more than their friends, advertising or press. Instead of just focusing on the most popular individual influencers, include internal experts, nano and micro-influencers, niche experts prospects and customers in your influencer marketing mix. Getting multiple perspectives and insights always enriches the discussion and generates more activity online. Remember, this shouldn’t feel like a paid opportunity. You want to give influencers the freedom to create their own content, but ensure it’s still getting the message across about your business.

10. IDENTIFY SOCIAL BENCHMARKS

Finally, it’s important to have a plan for how you’ll measure the success of your social media strategy. This could include tracking metrics such as engagement, reach, or website traffic. By setting up measurable goals, you’ll be able to track your progress and adjust your strategy as needed. No matter what industry you are in, your social media strategy needs to be data driven. It is important to focus on the social media metrics which matter and leave gut feeling out of the conversation. Instead of focusing solely on vanity metrics and ignoring data that supports your goals, you should look at data that aligns directly with them. Monitor your progress. Keep track of your metrics to see how well your social media strategy performs. Be sure to adjust your content and approach as needed based on what is working (and not working) for you and tailor posts to customers’ demands and interests. From there, you can build on your social media strategy, through avenues like adding Facebook advertising to your strategy.