Without a doubt the biggest challenge with social media is getting the right platform. Then comes the other niggly bits - the right content, the right time, the right advertising... So, let's start at the start and point out which platform is right for you!
First things first...
- Feel a bit of a twit about Twitter?
- Is Facebook a blank page?
- Has LinkedIn got you locked out?
Objectives
- An insight into each major social media channel
- Review of why they work and what they’re ideal for
- The level of commitment and resources you might need
- Importance of a social media strategy
Questions to ask yourself
- What is your business?
- Who are you targeting?
- What do you want to achieve?
- What resources do you have?
Typically speaking, Facebook is best suited to B2Cs, namely those who are in the arts, crafts, fashion and food sectors - although there are some great exceptions to that rule.
We believe those companies who have the option to show personality, be personable, build relationships with followers and share their creations (through photos, video and otherwise) do great.
A company page follows the typical social media posting rule of 80% general, engaging messaging and 20% sales messages. You should aim to be informal, blend in with the baby announcements and casual updates from a user's friends and consider your messaging, voice and content in every post.
Setting Up: For those who have a personal profile, it's easy to set up and get started with Facebook Pages and they have a great step-by-step walk through to the process. Additionally, they provide Facebook Adverts and Facebook Insights, which are insightful and excellent tools.
This platform allows for 140 character status updates only - which includes any links, images or videos you include, but it's great for rapid engagement and lead generation.
A lot of companies make Twitter a pivotal part of the social media strategy because it allows users to:
- Update customers about company deals and coupon offers
- Offer an alternative, often quicker, customer support option
- Gets them closer to customers and allows them to communicate in a way that suits them
- Receive feedback and search to discover what customers REALLY think of the company, its ethos and products / services
- Post news, advertise "good news stories" and upcoming products / services / offers / company news
The ease in finding contacts that Twitter provides is fantastic and allows you to communicate with happy and unhappy customers. This means being able to respond to negative comments in a great way (deals with their problem and makes you look good).
It's free to sign up, easy to get started and no losses as long as you follow a solid strategy and manage who is posting content carefully.
With more than 3 million Company LinkedIn pages in existence and statistics such as, "Professionals are signing up to join LinkedIn at a rate of more than two new members per second", it's no surprise this is the go-to platform for MDs, CEOs and jobseekers alike.
The advantage of LinkedIn is that it is clear-cut for professionals, not for sharing updates about your cat, husband or baby. It's for your company to show off specialist knowledge and skills, as well as following "influencers" and connecting with like-minded professionals.
If you're a job seeker in a professional industry or employee / employer you have many advantages, not least with the add-ons and apps that are newly linked to LinkedIn. You can find new employees - or an employer - with LinkedIn, as your profile is essentially an online CV. Endorse and recommend connection to build your online professional reputation and connect with others' to boost your professional appearance.
23% of users use this platform once a day at least. Ideally developed for B2Cs with visual products and services, i.e. in the food, fashion and craft / art sectors. It is a place to showcase your imagery / products / services with others', using "boards" to organise your uploads and use hashtags and keywords to make your content "searchable".
The platform is more popular in the US, in our experience, but it is enjoyable and offers the opportunity to show off personality and products - it also has a wealth of infographics and stats for company blog inspiration!
Over 20 billion photos have been shared on Instagram to date, with the platform enjoying more than 75 million daily users (wow!). This is commonly used by UK users over Pinterest for brand awareness - again, it is a lot like Pinterest - with it's suitability for creative B2Cs and findability with hashtags.
Unlike Pinterest, you can grow your following with many hashtags and your uploads remain all in one place (rather than being organised into boards, like Pinterest).
YouTube
The biggest video search engine on the globe, there are 100 hours of video uploaded to YouTube per minute, with average mobile video views hitting 1 billion per day. These impressive stats mean that if multimedia marketing and video production is a serious consideration for your marketing methods then this is one of the easiest platforms to adopt. With easy walkthroughs for signing up and uploading videos, plus vast FAQ sections, you cannot go too far wrong with YouTube.
Thrive says...
- What is your business?
- Who are you targeting?
- What do you want to achieve?
- What resources do you have?
Don't forget that it's better to be excellent at one or two platforms than average-poor on many. Showcase your talents on platforms that already have your audience engaged, be available and offer insightful information. Never let your social media content get stale. Always be friendly and customer-orientated. Don't forget that sales messages should be at most 20% of your content only.
Don’t be disheartened. Stick with it. Social media takes time and investment over a sustained period for the best results.
Keep It Simple, Silly!
