According to Google, people will spend over 5 years of their lives using Social Media. That’s 40 minutes on Facebook, 35 minutes on Youtube and 15 minutes on Instagram, every day.
You, as a business owner, just can’t afford not taking full advantage of these platforms.
Social Media is the television and radio of our society. The internet has won and there is no debating it. And this social media thing, it’s bigger than you think. Stop sleeping on it, and start building your brand and to building trust with your customers.
Here are 5 Strategies to get help to streamline your social media marketing.
Strategy #1 - Find the Right Platform.
There are tones of social media platforms out there, and it can be difficult establishing your business on just one let alone 5 different platforms.
A good way to start deciding where to be present is to look where your competitors are. If they’re posting like mad on Instagram, maybe you should pay attention to that platform too.
Here’s a run down of the 4 major players.
Facebook is the single most important platform still, because of scale. Unless, who you want to talk to and what you are about only skews towards 18s and under, you have to be on Facebook.
If you have any commercial ambitions, make sure you create a Facebook business page. A Facebook business page is different to normal facebook page/profile, it has slightly different algorithms, you’ll have different tools, and you get reports and analytics on your page’s performance.
It's the fast growing platform of 2018. It’s clear, the channel skews towards a younger audience: 18-34 year olds make up of 61% of the user base. With 55 percent of them saying they check in on the app more that once a day. The platform also has the fastest growing 45s + user base.
For most businesses, with the continued growth of user base, Instragam should also be a requirement.
Gary Vaynerchuk described Twitter as the watercooler of our society. This platform should be more about listening and reacting, then posting and pushing content.
Brands are growing their awareness with funny, snarky, and clever Twitter engagement. Plus Twitter engagement is completely free. So start following the conversations and get involved.
Just like Facebook, this is a must have if you’re a B2B business. LinkedIn has grown into a content platform, it’s not about private messaging potential clients begging them for work. Focus on pushing good quality content and engaging with other professionals in your industry.
Snapchat.
Honestly, don’t bother.
Okay, the platform is still extremely big platform, especially for the 13 - 28 demographic. But as of October 22nd 2018, Instagram is now more popular among teens.
So unless you’re selling hoodies to 11 - 18 years old and you want to optimize both Snapchat and Instagram. If that’s not the case, don’t bother with Snapchat. Sorry Evan.
If you want to reach more relevant audience, then you need to be in industry specific social media. For example, Behance is for designers & creatives. Or AngelList for Start-ups
Strategy #2 - Optimize Your Content
If you want people to trust your brand, you need to start adding value. This means, your content should be high quality, unique, relevant and appealing for your audience.
Doing this right will position your brand as thought leaders in your industry. It’s time consuming, yes, but well worth it.
Here Are 2 Rules to Get You Started:
40:60 RULE
Meaning, you need to create 40% of your content and curate 60% of all your postings. This rule is great for the entrepreneur who are already juggling a lot. By doing this, it will help you to focus on creating high quality content and still maintain the consistency your users are looking for.
SHAREABILITY RULE
Making shareable content will create a huge boost in your social media marketing. Helping you reach a far wider audience that you may never have connected with otherwise!
Start by going to your competitor’s timeline and write down what kind of content receives the most number of likes, comments and shares. Then start creating and curating content with those same elements!
Strategy #3 - Be Present
Being present on social media is the easiest way to talk directly to your customer without spending any money!
Start by liking, commenting, sharing and answering content relevant to your brand. Answering facebook messages or questions as quickly as possible. And please, always remember, this could be the first time someone is interacting with your brand, so first impressions are important.
Strategy #4. Prepare to Spend Money on Social Media Marketing.
Whether it’s paying an agency to take over your social media so you can put your energy elsewhere. Or your business has reached the stage where you are well established and you are ready to take to the next step.
Putting your message in front of the right people, at the right time could be huge and generate incredible digital results. Whether that is selling online, generating leads, or getting more visitors to your business, paid traffic is something you shouldn’t ignore.
Now is the time. Facebook, and Instagram ads are pretty reasonable, but the prices are only going to increase, especially as the big brands are starting to realise that tv and radio are a waste of time and money.
Here’s Miles Beckler explaining how to create your first facebook
Strategy #5. Deliver Value Offline
Interacting with customers and providing what you promised is the best way to keep your customers for life. There is no denying this.
For instance, I follow tonnes of different restaurants and cafes in London on Instagram. When I'm in the city, I'll go to one of these businesses for the first time. Some live up to their presence online, some do not. There was this one cafe chain in particular who I had followed for ages on Instagram. The first time I went there in person it was rubbish. Service was slow, the barista was a bit rude and that beautiful kale salad tasted boring. The offline experience left a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended) so I stopped following the brand online and never went back there again.
Look, maybe the barista was having a bad day and I caught the wind of it, maybe I'll go in there again (probably to a different location), and it will relive up to their feed. Or maybe I won't. Because in the meantime there are tones more restaurants out there that are killing it online and offline. And now, those businesses have my trust.
Social Media, just like your business's website, is an extension of your brand. So get to work!
Now it’s your turn.
I hope this post has helped you to get a better grip of your social media marketing needs. If you have any questions, get in touch with us as we will always be happy to lend insight and give advice!