Social media is not only a tool to navigate the business world, but it has also become a necessity in this day and age.
Don’t underestimate the powerful reach of social media for business.
The numbers seem to be growing by the years. Presently, there are approximately 3.5 billion social media users around the world. That’s almost 46% of the world’s population.
Furthermore, did you know there was almost a 9% increase in active social media users, between January 2018 and 20? Imagine the target market you have out there.
What We are Covering in this Article
What Is Social Media Marketing for Business?
Regardless of whether you have a business that is big, small, onsite, or even virtual, social media can definitely help you.
But what is social media for business, you may ask?
Essentially, it is making use of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, to market your products or service.
However, it’s not simple.
The concept is easy enough to understand, but you have to do it strategically, and in such a way that it captures the attention of the users.
This of course involves:
- Posting content on your web
- Engaging your followers
- Analyzing the results
Social networks enable businesses to reach their customers where they are while establishing their brand and growing their customer base.
If done the right way, social media marketing can also improve the effectiveness of other marketing techniques - including SEO and SEM - by maintaining build natural links, driving traffic and pushing brand recognition.
Remember, consistency pays off. Social media is here to stay, so the sooner you take advantage of this, the better for you.
why social media presence is important for business
We all know that we are living in a rapidly changing world.
A world where traditional advertisement such as those seen on billboards and newspapers does not work.
Now social media is the way to go.
One of the major reasons why famous small businesses became such a hit is, you guessed it, social media.
In fact, a social media marketing industry report showed great benefits for businesses that use social media.
These include but are not limited to:
Social media also humanizes brands.
Social media has put brands back on the right track by putting consumers back at the center of marketing and communication strategies.
Today, a product must be ultra-personalized and perfectly match everyone's expectations.
Social media is moving in this direction. It is indeed for you the opportunity to develop a human relationship with your target.
By using social media in your communication, you establish proximity with your customers, your prospects and their entourage.
They can interact directly with you, exchange and even create content especialy by the raise of CHATBOT.
Which Social Media Is Best for Business?
I’m sure you agree that we have a number of social media platforms.
These include the popular ones mentioned above.
Then there are the less popular ones that are up and coming like TikTok and Reddit. So which social media app for business should you use?
According to the 2019 report, the following are the most popular platforms if you are looking to target your next customer base.
- 1Facebook ads (72%): Although this is a dip from 81% in 2018
- 2Instagram ads (38 %). This has increased from 32% in 2018
- 3LinkedIn ads (14%)
- 4YouTube ads (12%)
- 5Twitter ads (9%)
Among all the social media platforms accessible now, which ones should you use? In a typical business, you would utilize them all.
However, as a small business owner, you don’t have sufficient time and money to do that.
With your scarce resources, which social media service would you choose?
Before you start, it is ideal to define your strategy on social media (that is to say, generate traffic on your website, increase the number of subscribers, brand awareness, loyalty, sell ...).
Then you can analyze and select the social networks most suited to your business and your marketing objectives.
Whether your business is traditional or entirely online,
whether you sell your products to the general public or
whether you are a B2B service provider, whether your company is an international brand or a start-up in creation, your presence in social networks must be modulated according to:
>>From the audience, you want to target
>>Objectives you want to reach
>>Intrinsic qualities of your company
Which Social Media Platform is Best for Your Business?
When to Use Social Media for Business?
This is a tricky question.
Not only because of the difference between your time zone and your target market’s, but also because there needs to be a proper time when you target the business.
You, as a business owner, need to make sure that your ad is posted at a time when the maximum number of people can view it.
Otherwise, what’s the point?
So, back to our dilemma, when is the best time to use social media for business? Although a majority of Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram users revisit these platforms on a daily basis
There are actually different time periods for different social media platforms.
The best time to post on Instagram is 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. This means during lunch hours and after work hours as people are generally catching a break at this time.
For B2B organizations, the best time is deemed to be lunchtime and after work hours, as mentioned above. However, the time slot between 8:00 p.m. and 9 p.m. also works well.
The best day to post is Friday, while the weekends are the worst time because of the lack of views.
As far as Facebook is concerned, the best time to post is 9-10 a.m., as people generally check Facebook before starting work.
There are other times as well, such as lunch hours, the time after office hours end, and when people are commuting home from work.
Wednesday is the best day to use Facebook.
The worst day is Sunday, as it has the lowest employee engagement.
The best time to tweet about your business is from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. as well as 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. because it correlates with the morning and the evening commute.
To maximize tweets, you need to tweet either at noon or during 5:00 p.m. to 6:00.
Of course, this varies according to the business. For instance, if you are a B2B business, your best days to tweet are the weekdays.
For a B2C business, the weekends are the best, of course.
Coincidence? Not really. It makes sense because on weekdays people are shopping more for business needs.
The weekends?
Not so much. This is the time when people focus on themselves and their personal needs, so if you are a B2C business, your weekends are all about working.
For LinkedIn, the best times to post are 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.
As far as B2C is concerned, it has the narrowest time slots for the post to get the maximum views. The best hours to post on LinkedIn are 12:00 noon, 8:00 a.m., and 10.00 a.m. Outside these timings, it is a big risk.
The best days to post are Wednesdays.
Keep in mind that you should use social media for business from the start.
That is, whatever promotion or update you want to carry out, you should do it using these platforms instead of resorting to face-to-face marketing techniques.
This will help you reach your target audience in a very short period of time.
If you are interested in Adwords, may be this agency is doing a great job in that.
Disadvantages of Social Media for Business
On the face of it, social media for business may seem ideal.
You can target whenever you want, manage cost-effectively, and keep the customers engaged because who isn't engaged in social media these days? But the truth is, it can be debilitating at times.
There are a number of disadvantages to using social media for business. Here are a few disadvantages pointed out.
A Lot of Time Is Required
Yes, you read that right. Although it’s fast and easy, it still requires a lot of time and effort.
For instance, I am sure all of us have come across companies whose last page was updated six months ago, or worse, three years ago.
It generates a feeling of mistrust among customers.
It makes them question if you are even selling the right kind of product since you obviously cannot keep up with the time.
If you don’t want to turn into one of these businesses, you need to keep updating your page 15-20 times a day.
This is hard to do, especially if you are expected to produce eye-catching content every time.
Bad Publicity
We’ve all been there. Don’t like the food you ordered? Give a bad review on their Facebook page.
If it garners enough views, the managers are forced to compensate.
Similarly, if the product is late, there is a rant on social media, and it is fixed for fear of losing potential customers.
In some cases, it is justified as there are situations where the customer is right.
However, there are still people who feel they can benefit from the compensation if they create enough of a scene.
You, as the new business owner, need to navigate around this and not allow yourself to be taken advantage of.
Trolls
This is not the troll under the bridge we have all grown up reading about.
This is about the trolls that are present on social media that wreak havoc. They aren’t interested in your justifications.
They just want to provoke you and expose your weaknesses.
Essentially, these people have nothing better to do.
Ignoring them is the best thing to do. By blocking them, they just create new profiles to haunt you. Yes, they have that much free time.
Competition
Since the online world is transparent, you can easily be exposed to your competitors. Remember, nothing is private.
Once it’s out there, it’s there.
There is no way around it. If you can access the latest design or product of your competitor, the chances are that competitor has an eye out on your product too.
They can hijack your ideas and use them for their benefit.
This can, of course, mean that your product will no longer be unique and that there is no privacy.
You have to learn how to navigate this effectively to be able to play the game.
Investment
Bear in mind that although it is less costly as compared to digital marketing, it still requires a lot of investment.
For instance, you need to hire a manager who knows how and what to post on social media, to channel maximum views and avoid posting repetitive content.
This will require heavy finance.
On the other hand, you also have to keep in mind that only some of the services these platforms offer are free.
The rest are not. They require money to function, just like the rest of us.
Are you aware of the fact that some of these platforms are now starting to restrict viewership, by showing the ads to only a certain number of people?
If you want more people to view, you need to invest more – in monetary terms, of course.
Social Media for Business Tips
Commitment
Make a commitment to social media. Do it today, in fact, right this second as you are reading this.
We all know it’s really hard to market products, and just because you use social media does not make this any easier.
You need to undertake this challenge. It’s really hard to get an audience, harder to connect with them, and even hardest to retain them.
It requires a lot of commitment and sacrifice.
This is something not all brands are willing to do. I’m sure all of us can name only one brand on social media because it is unwilling to commit. You should not leave that legacy.
Personality
All brands have a personality. If yours doesn’t have, make one for it. Don’t know how?
Simply look at your favorite brand and study it. Think of why you choose to follow it.
What is it about this brand that makes it so special? You’ll have your answer.
Chances are you’ll most probably like the content that the brand is posting, which means there is some level of personality.
You are not just following a robot that has no emotions.
Essentially, Building a personal brand is the key that will allow you to connect with your audience.
It will encourage your audience to experience your brand and share a common viewpoint with them.
Narrow down Your Focus
This may seem a bit weird because the whole point of coming to social media is to cast out a wide fishnet and see what you can find.
However, contrary to popular belief, that is not the way to go about it. You should strap your resources, so to speak.
If you end up focusing on multiple platforms at one time, it will be a long road for you and you may not be able to appease everyone at once.
As mentioned above, it takes a lot of time and efforts to maintain a following, so by being on the popular platforms, you will be able to get more following.
Sharing Compelling Visuals
This is the essence of social media. Instead of posting paragraphs that seem to go on and on, you should post attractive content.
In this day and age, where most people have a TL: DR approach, visuals are the go-to technique to get the job done.
Did you know that 57% of the millennials have made travel plans based on an image or video they saw on social media, even if it is on a friend’s profile?
On that note, 50% of the millennials have also eaten at a restaurant based on the post they saw on their friend's profile.
Get on board with the selfie generation; you will see a boost in your sales.
Keep a Record of Your Performance
Track your performance.
Keep notes of how you are doing, what you are doing, and whether the strategy is paying off or not.
Change strategies. Mix them with new tools just to see what works for you and your business.
be patient !
This is probably the most important point, but it is often neglected: patience. You certainly know this sentence:
everything comes in time to him who knows how to wait . . . there is nothing stronger than these two: patience and time, they will do it all. Leo Tolstoy
It can be applied as a model to social media marketing as well.
The truth is that you will not have results overnight or even after the first month. But if you have a good strategy in place, you will come to success.
social media plannig
In order to expand your audience, gain brand visibility, and build meaningful relationships with your customers. It is a very profitable way to market your business in the digital age.
However, just create your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin ... Does not succeed in your social media marketing.
To succeed in your marketing you must Social Media Plannig and define one or more strategies to be able to get results!
Here are some surefire ways to achieve your marketing plan on social media:
Set your goal
Before you begin, you must determine your goal for using social media.
Like all other marketing tools, you need to formulate a clear and consistent strategy to achieve your goals.
What is your main goal?
- Sell or promote a product or service.
- Attract users to subscribe to your newsletter or download your software?
- Increase brand awareness?
A very important thing to respect on social media is to stay focused on your goal and not to disperse to other network strategies ...
Related : Creating a 30-Day Social Media Plan
Know your market target
Before creating an account on social media, it is crucial to know your market target. There is no marketing interest if you talk to in-interested prospects. You must ask yourself :
- What exactly are your targets and to whom will your information be distributed to?
- What are their habits and behaviors?
- How active they are in these networks?
- Know the number of users on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.....
- Do you have the right tools ?
After defining your target, you can build your content strategy and connect it to your audience.
Do not focus on selling!
Do you know the 80/20 rule? It means that 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers.
Take advantage of this concept to work on your customer relationships.
Do not focus on the sale, it will come later.
A loyal customer who has gained your trust will solicit you for other products and services and he will speak to his friends and recommend your services.
At this point, you are succeeding to social media marketing because you have focused on social and human aspects!
Be sociable!
It's a social media game! Make sure you have fun.
If you approach social media marketing with an optimistic attitude, engage with your customers and participate in active discussions, marketing your products, online services will be much easier.
You have to think like your customers and know their needs?
Key Takeaways:
Build a community and inspire action
Experiment with Facebook Ads
Post quality content
Track, Analyze, Optimize
Sum up
You must get on board with the social media frenzy that has gripped the world today.
It is daunting to navigate in the ocean of countless posts shared by other businesses who may seem to be doing better than you.
But it’s a path you have to venture on to do well in the business world.
Otherwise, you can be left behind.
Play to your strengths, grow a thick skin to counter the trolls, and you can do very well in this field.
Above all, make sure you invest in the right channels and provide the people with quality over quantity, as they will forget the content if you bombard them with multiple posts a day.
related resources
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