THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS FOR BUSINESS (AND HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ONES)
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Did you know there are thousands of customers out on the internet waiting for you to talk to them? Your business is ignoring an untapped market if you don’t have a social media presence.?
In today’s internet world, it’s important for businesses of all sizes to have a presence on social media channels. Not only can this help you build a loyal following, but it can also help you reach new customers.?
However, not all businesses are created equal and it can be tough to know which channels are right for your business. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular social media channels and discuss whether or not your business needs them.
Social Media Channels Strategy
As well as thinking about your time and attention, social media planning is about thinking about your business. Knowing what kind of content to post and when to post it on these channels is key. There are also social media marketing techniques and tactics you will learn, as well as ways to handle complaints and make the most out of these strategies.
Social media also works well for firms that need to make a big impression on business prospects or to maintain connections with people or groups that may have limited access to traditional means of communication.?
Once you start to produce, chances are you’ll want to share it with others. And while no business should feel they are in the same boat as a child’s lemonade stand or a small farmer selling their wares at a local farmers’ market, that reality does underline the need for special attention to the online marketing of your product or service.
Take, for example, a small winemaker, maybe you’re a hobbyist who really loves the flatus, who is passionate about winemaking, whose aim is to be as independent as possible from the ‘big guys’—why not consider offering your wares online, and even partnering with the various online marketplaces? It will likely be more profitable than your local business, and you can learn just as much.?
How to Choose the Right Social Media Channels for Your Business
Your social media channels strategy should ideally include social media channels that are niche-centered and have the ability to generate a large following. This will give you an opportunity to build your brand and increase your social media awareness.?
Your customers spend time on social media, so you want to concentrate your social media efforts where your customers are.?
Different channels require specific strategies and marketing techniques, so it is essential you find the best social media channels for your business before diving into a strategy. Once you have located the right social media channels, it is also important to spend time understanding your target audience.
Target Your Audience
An effective strategy on social media depends on your resources and goals.
Armed with this information, you can use social media marketing techniques and tactics to target your true audience members.?
To target your audience, you need to know the demographics of who they are, how they spend their time, their interests, and where and how they spend money.
Without this information, you won’t know which social media channels are appropriate for your business. You can waste time, resources, and money on a channel where your target customers don’t spend time.?
Some businesses spend time on social media without having any understanding of the channel audience. If you do not know your audience, you will not be able to refine your content and relationships. If you do not know your audience, you will not be able to have the proper connections with them.?
You don’t want to waste time offering something that won’t work for the social media audience.?
When you do identify the social media channels that are right for your business, be sure to choose the right message for each group.
Top Social Media Channel Choices
A brief look at some major social media channels will help you decide where you are most likely to find your target audience of prospective customers. And equally important, the medium for your content: text, images, short videos, longer videos.?
SproutSocial compiled a?detailed outlook of social media demographics. We’re using their statistics for this brief overview.?
Facebook is the largest social media platform among consumers.?
Younger consumers are moving from Facebook to TikTok.?
Visual images are the mainstay of this social media channel which makes it a great choice for ecommerce.?
While the younger audience is migrating to TikTok, Instagram maintains a firm hold on Gen Z and Millennials — these groups make up roughly two-thirds of their base.?
TikTok
TikTok uses vibrant, short videos and is the new social media channel for a young market.
Nearly?40% of Gen Z?say they’re directly influenced by products they see on TikTok, and brands should take notice.?
LinkedIn serves professionals and service providers.
LinkedIn considers itself the top social platform for leads. The platform’s demographic of high-earning B2B professionals makes LinkedIn a potential goldmine for ads. While the platform was older, it is now dominated by Millenials.
As of this writing, the future of Twitter is uncertain, but it is still a huge opportunity for reaching professionals. Post are short and disappear quickly.?
One-third of Twitter users are college-educated and make more than $75K annually, highlighting the platform’s highly-educated and high-earning base.
YouTube
Don’t overlook YouTube as a place to build brand awareness and reach your target audience.?
Users still use YouTube as a source of entertainment. And the channel’s younger users highlight the shift toward video content.?
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If you want to be successful on social media with advertising, be sure to understand the concept of targeting. You are able to target people of a specific location or interest. For example, you want to target people in the United States who may have a particular interest in food, live events, technology, etc.
Most social media channels offer the ability to do audience-specific targeting for ads.?
Build Brand Recognition
On social media, brands speak to customers and work to build trust. Building a brand on social media may help you attract more customer engagement and increase customer loyalty. So, how do you brand social media??
The first step to building a successful brand on social media is to select the platform where you want to build your brand. See the list above for examples.?
Selecting your social media brand platform should be a strategic choice based on your industry and your customer base. The platforms offer different types of users, ways of organizing information, and provide varying levels of support and levels of privacy.?
Why Use Social Media for Business
Through social media, it is possible for brands to create a more personal dialog with their customers. It is easier than ever for you to interact with consumers, maintain a strong engagement, and use the social media channels for advertising and marketing.?
The growth of social media marketing has led brands to scale an integration of video production with direct-response marketing strategies. There are many reasons why you should choose to use social media for your marketing efforts.?
Here are two examples:?
B2B (Business to Business)
While B2B is not considered to be a very “cool” industry, there are several B2B industries that use social media for specific reasons. The majority of B2B marketing efforts focus on lead generation for sales reps, so choosing the best platforms is paramount.?
LinkedIn is a good place to start. This is because LinkedIn has many different industry niche groups in which you can create your own group where you can post specific content that may help you to market your products and services to specific clients.?
Engineering
Facebook works for engineers to network with people who may not be on LinkedIn. There are apps for iOS and Android which you can download and access through Facebook. The general measurement being used for apps is number of installations, plays and average time spent in the apps. To help yourself keep track of your Facebook plays and the time you spend on it, you can easily access it in the App Center.?
These are just two examples of how specific social media channels can benefit a business.
Benefits of Using Social Media
Social media helps you keep pace with your competitors. According to a survey, 91% of large companies are using social media. Given the growing number of businesses that are implementing social media and the number of small businesses that are looking to start, it’s no wonder social media has and is continuing to grow.?
The key to success in the world of social media is adapting and responding to your customers and building brand awareness to make a long-lasting impact on your audience.?
Consumer insight has helped a number of company social media strategies change for the better as well as expand their reach.?
When implementing a social media plan, it is important to get as much information as you can from consumers. There are several questions that you can ask in addition to evaluating your online community.?
People buy from people they like. Ask your consumers about their purchasing behavior. For example, if your business caters to Latino consumers, ask them about their favorite brands of Hispanic-oriented items. This information will prove beneficial as a social media marketer for your business.?
Social media helps to create a buzz about your company, product, or service. For example, With a Facebook page, you are able to get your name out to a global audience. You can also use your page as an effective bulk mailing tool.?
Engagement Is Key
You must think about engagement and interaction. If your business is in the arts and entertainment sector, you will be aware that today’s audience are engaging with their art, entertainers and singers through social media. Whether it’s a new live gig in a smaller town, or a major touring artist and his entourage, those lots of people are tweeting, blogging, and uploading videos, photos, and other forms of social media content.?
You may not have heard of those people, and they may not have any connection with your business, but millions of people will be engaged with them on social media. use it as an opportunity to build loyalty and reputation with your business, and have fun doing it.
And speaking of fun, don’t forget that when you’re connecting with others online, it’s just as important to have a bit of fun as it is to take care of your business.?
While it’s still not possible to make money through social media alone, it is a highly effective tool that provides excellent marketing opportunities – as long as you know how to set it up correctly.?
Use social media as a vehicle to sell your products or brands, establish yourself as an authority, increase customer engagement, and more.?
Facebook has been the giant of the cyber-system for a long time and has laid down in a very comfortable position of popularity. This has been a great place for – and has helped – start-ups to grow, and a myriad of businesses to reach wider audiences.?
The millennial generation has been heralded as the future of business. In a recent study done by Pew Research, the millennial generation is the only generation, except for the baby boomer generation, that values professional success, not just through a salary. Professional success is more prevalent when millennials consider social media in relation to business.?
Social media is like a line of communication that boosts the connection between consumers and industry. Since it has become a more familiar platform for millennials, what the older generation probably thought of only the internet, millennials can now take advantage of how it is a “force for good”. These millennials could potentially shape the future of business.?
Millennials also overwhelmingly think that their social media competence is important. They believe it is important because of how it is relevant to their needs, how it is being used, and because it is essential for their job. For example, Millennials are four times more likely to be consultants or executives in the business world. Therefore, it is essential for millennials to be competent with social media because it will open up opportunities for them to build their careers.?
Millennials have had to use social media in multiple ways since they were young. Use sites that are most popular with Millennials, and as a result, you will see many marketing materials for social media being targeted toward them.?
Social Media Success
You might think of social media as just a place to share pictures of your food or to show off pictures of your kids, but in reality, it’s a powerful marketing tool that businesses are using in the digital age to contact customers and provide them with services.?
When your business gets into social media, it’s important to make sure you have a well-defined strategy to know where to start.?
To use Social media channels properly, you need to keep the following in mind: Ensure people genuinely like and trust you. Market your business on its strengths. Share your content regularly. Don’t just post about your company; share relevant topics.?
The main key s to provide value to people. That way, they will come back for more.?
Be Outgoing, Engage With Customers, Stay Consistent
Social media channels are a vital connection with your customers. Choose the right social media channels for your business based on the demographics of your target market.
Be present consistently. Share valuable information. Engage with every consumer who responds to your posts.
At?Erfolk, we can help you find the right social media channels for your product or service. And we can help you with the tasks of creating engaging social media posts consistently.
Schedule your free consultation call.
Christian Pyrros
Managing Director
Erfolk Digital Marketing
The secret power for business growth from Series A to Fortune 500 ? Speaker ? Mentor ? Board NED ? ESG.com
1 年Which platforms are you all most active on this year?