Currently there are 1.79 billion monthly active Facebook users. The average time spent on Facebook is 20 minutes and 42% of marketers report that Facebook is critical or important to their business. This is according to Zephoria Digital Marketing. What’s the takeaway here? Well, Facebook is far too big to ignore. And, it’s safe to say social media is too big to ignore.
Facebook is only one social media network albeit an extremely popular one. It’s been touted as the biggest social platform but close competitors are the likes of YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
If you look at the statistics of how many people make use of social media, you’re bound to draw the conclusion that via these platforms you can reach just about anybody, anywhere in the world. And, businesses simply have to leverage the power of these platforms or they’re likely to disappear into obscurity.
Businesses which don’t use social media to market themselves are being ignorant
This is not news. The internet abounds with articles, statistics and surveys which all underpin the importance of using social media in your business marketing strategy. However, many businesses simply have a profile and are not making use of all the features these social networks offer. And, the best part is that these features – which platforms have built to assist companies in achieving their marketing goals – are all free or extremely cost effective.
With enough know-how any company could easily end up doing the majority of their marketing across social media platforms, doing away with most mainstream marketing tactics.
Once platforms favoured by your target market have been chosen, every possible feature that’ll improve your chances of being made visible to a larger audience must be found and implemented. Consider online cheat sheets as a quick and easy way to understand how to get the most out of the networks chosen.
And then what?
Once your company is set up on the networks you’ve chosen, and you’ve leveraged all the features that are going to help, the real work begins. You have to keep going and plan your next step while you’re enjoying the hype of your launch.
Have an action plan as to what you’ll be sharing next, start numerous conversations and remain actively participating in them all the time.
Share links, advice, resources, include visuals and keep your audience updated on everything you’re doing. You need to choose your level of activity and then remain consistent at all times.
Everything you mention online must support your company’s vision and mission and underpin your brand. You need to make an effort to stand out from the crowd because the social media landscape is an extremely crowded place.
Branding is everything
Social media is different as there’s no other marketing tactic which engages your audience in such a personal and immediate way. How you present yourself and your company on a social network has more effect on how your target market perceives your brand than anything else.
You cannot leave anyone waiting around and your responses need to hold some weight. If you respond in an overly formal and cold manner they’ll feel like they’re dealing with a bot instead of a human being.
Making sure your company’s social media game is strong requires you to remain in tune with your audience and able to communicate with them at their level. You can make use of automated social media posting software such as Hootsuite, which allows you to schedule your posts. This’ll free up your time but nothing will sound and feel as good to your customers as genuine interaction.
