In other words… finding which social media platforms work best for your business!
Social media marketing is now a requirement for any company looking to grow. What was once just a place where people could interact over their interests has evolved into a dynamic tool for businesses around the world. The power of social media can be leveraged by anyone who wants to have success in today’s competitive market environment.
Why Social Media Matters
In order to grow your business, you have to build connections with the existing market. Social media works two-fold when it comes to connecting with consumers and creating the right relationships. Now that the internet is so readily available, it is possible for businesses to reach and service a substantial amount of people without being in close proximity. Social media not only allows you to build new relationships at a distance, but you can also deepen the relationship with your current consumers and clients.
Engaging content that generates responses and discussion can build long-lasting rapport. The ultimate goal behind promoting your business through social media is to create a community that trusts your brand.You are more likely to recommend and positively talk about a business that you trust. Some of the best brand promotion comes by word-of-mouth. Liking, commenting, and sharing is the new language of the technology age; and pages and profiles are the new water cooler.
Where to start
It’s not hard to admit that social media is effective, but it’s also true that social media management can be extremely overwhelming. LinkedIn. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. It seems like every day there’s a new social media platform to learn about and maintain. After you have determined the basic brand and marketing concepts of your business, you can begin promoting that brand via social media. A great starting point is choosing which platform or platforms work best for your business. Before jumping head-first into the ocean of likes, follows, direct messages and filters for numerous social media profiles, try to establish two to three well-managed accounts.
As you venture into the land of social media keep in mind that everyone is doing it because it has proven results. You may be tempted to ask yourself along the way if dedicating energy to social media is worth it. The answer is yes. Keep reading to learn some best practices to get you started.
Facebook and Instagram
Tech.co reported Facebook and Instagram as the most used social media accounts for 2021. To get the most out of your social media management, create accounts on the most popular platforms. Utilizing Facebook and Instagram in your marketing strategy will help you connect with a broad range of ages. Facebook users are traditionally between the ages of 18-45, while the younger market favors Instagram. A major component of social media marketing is targeted advertising. Facebook Ad Center is a feature that allows you to distinguish niche audiences. Depending on your budget, you can bid against competing markets to win advertising space on user’s feeds and profiles.
Facebook and Instagram are also great starting places because of their integration after Facebook bought out the photo-sharing company. You can link your Instagram and Facebook accounts so that you don’t have to re-generate or copy and paste content. Facebook Business Suite allows you to create, directly publish, and schedule upcoming posts and stories to Facebook and Instagram.
Additional Social Media Outlets
After you get the hang of managing a couple of social media accounts, consider expanding. Each social media platform targets audiences in different ways. Certain demographics are more inclined to certain types of social media. LinkedIn is great for pursuing business connections and learning about personal development opportunities as a business owner. TikTok is one of the newest social media platforms and is most popular with Gen Z. YouTube is one of the best platforms to share long-form content through videos. Twitter doubled it’s character threshold for tweets, but it is still best for sharing short-form content that is quickly and easily reviewed.
Social Media Management
It’s not enough just to create multiple social media accounts. You have to spend time managing them. Keep these things in mind as you begin the process of getting comfortable with social media for your business.
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- Keep up with what’s trending. You don’t want to miss the bandwagon when it comes to social media. Trends come and go extremely quickly. If you don’t stay on top of what is trending then you will be in danger of having outdated content which doesn’t reflect well with your followers.
- Create a content calendar and keep track of it. Managing numerous accounts is no small feat. Having pre-planned content in advance will relieve a lot of pressure. Your calendar doesn’t have to be set in stone. Stay open to using spontaneous content as well. A content calendar just ensures that you are consistently generating content.
- Monitor what people are saying about your brand. Pay attention to the positive and negative comments. You will be able to stay ahead of any potential negative media storm. On the opposite end, you’ll be able to promote and use complimentary comments to bolster a positive brand image.
- Populate your profiles with engaging content. If a post or campaign wasn’t as successful as you anticipated, don’t be afraid to remove it from your feed or archive it. Low engagement doesn’t look good to people who follow you.
- Promote other businesses. You don’t have to promote your direct competitors, but reach out to relevant influencers and businesses. Those partnerships will increase your followership.
Pro Tip: If you aren’t able to effectively manage numerous social media accounts, consider downsizing. It is better to have only a couple of well-maintained social media accounts than to try to have a hand in each bucket and produce mediocre, outdated or just plain bad content.
Social media is a powerful tool that allows you to connect with new customers and potential employees. When utilized and managed well, you can experience an incredible return on investment. Legalzing is here to help you grow your business and reach your goals. If you are someone who struggles to operate the front-facing camera on your smartphone, LegalZing has a team of dynamic social media professionals that would love to help you maximize your social media presence while minimizing stress.