If you’ve been shying away from Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms because you think it won’t work for your business, or because you’re used to the old school way of meetings, calls and traditional tactics -you’re missing out on a huge opportunity! We have listed some points below to help you rethink social media, as well included a few questions to ask yourself before executing your social media plan.
Ok, so does posting on social media platforms translate to business? Does it really work?
In 2021 there are over 4.2 billion active social media users who are spending an average of 2 hours and 25 minutes on social channels every single day and, based on this trend your business can indeed benefit from social media exposure. According to studies 57% of inbound marketers have obtained leads from LinkedIn, 52% from Facebook and 44% from Twitter. This tells us that social media can certainly work– if you are using the right platform.
Social media is like “free marketing” it can be one of your company’s most profitable marketing channels. It’s an excellent way to build brand awareness, connect with existing customers, and generate new leads. This is also a great way to boost your SEO. By promoting your content on social media, you can get more likes, views, shares, and engagement with your content. This translates into driving more traffic to your site which boosts pageviews. These are all positive signs to search engines like Google, it tells the algorithms that customers validate your product or services, and this helps to improve your SEO.
So how do you get started? and with over 50 social media platforms in existence, which platform will get your product or services featured to the right audience?
These are the first questions to ask before you put together a social media strategy:
What are your goals? What is the reason for having a Social Media profile?
• Do you want to find customers and clients?
• Do you need free- form of marketing?
• Are you using it to research new products or ideas?
• Do you want it to build trust in your brand?
• Are you using it for customer service?
• Do you need it to positively impact your SEO for your website?
Who do you want to reach?
Demographics
• What age group will buy your product/service?
• What is their gender?
• What is their income like/Education?
• Do you need to consider their geography and/or their
• Marital Status
What are your client’s psychographics?
• Opinions
• Beliefs
• Hobbies
• Lifestyle
• Passions
• Values
• Needs
Understand your customer Priorities & Pains
• What are their top priorities in their day/role?
• What are the worst part of their day/job?
• What are their main issues at home/work?
• What are their main concerns?
• What are they looking for?
Dig Deeper into the lifestyle of your audience
• What’s their scene?
• What are they into?
• What do they read and watch?
• Who do they follow?
• What are their favourite brands?
• What are their spending habits?
• What do they have in common?
Going over these points will help you execute a successful social media plan. Once you figure out your goals and fully understand who your target audience is (and what social media platforms they are engaged in) go ahead and set up your social media company account there. You do not need to open social media accounts on all platforms. If your potential customer is hanging out on Instagram or Facebook, set up your socials there. You can also research businesses that are selling similar products to yours, to get an idea about what platforms are working for them and always remember:
Be realistic about how much time you have to manage all your social media platforms
• If you decide to manage your socials, think about what platforms you like, and what may feel like a chore to you.
• If someone else (like an assistant) is managing your socials, do you have a good monthly budget in place? because depending on how many platforms you have and how often you post- it will cost you a bit of money to keep up with all your platform updates.
Social media management takes time and most social media managers charge between $25 -$30 per hour. Managing your socials is not just about posting an image, it goes beyond that. You want to make sure your feed has the right feel and is giving your audience the right message; you also want to make sure that you’re following the right people who can potentially become your customer, etc. Management will also include researching hashtags, writing copy, posting, liking other’s content or giving a shout outs to audience, responding to comments, messages, DM’s or likes, adding stories and much more.
The goal is to use your social media platform for growth, so choose the platform that works best for your company.
Feel free to email us if you need assistance with any of your administrative or social media tasks!