Social Media Marketing: Are You Using the Biggest Marketing Tool Available?

No marketing plan is complete without the proper use of social media. It plays an important part in how successful a marketing plan really is. Businesses can connect with their customers through the use of social media, building their brand and earning the trust of the general public.

There are many social media channels available for businesses to use. Each of them has certain benefits to offer.

Facebook

Using Facebook for business makes it easy and convenient to connect with customers. With millions of users on Facebook, businesses all over the world have found it to be a valuable marketing tool. It makes information accessible worldwide, something global businesses count on for their successes. When a business’s Facebook page is regularly updated with valuable content, users pay it more attention.

In addition, Facebook is excellent for analytics. Businesses can monitor when their target demographic will be using the site the most. Marketing managers can use this to schedule posts to gain maximum exposure. Done correctly, this makes Facebook a valuable business too.

However, there are some drawbacks to using Facebook. One is that it requires a significant time commitment in order to use it effectively. Simply having a page on the social media site is not enough. Marketing personnel must stay on top of promoting the page and ensuring that people care about what is on it.

At the same time, a business page must only include relevant information. With privacy being an issue on Facebook, businesses must avoid posting anything they don’t want its users to be able to see.

Lastly, the advertising budget needed to run a Facebook page can become expensive over time, especially for smaller businesses. When purchasing ad space on Facebook, businesses must pay-per-click, or pay per thousand impressions. This can quickly drain a business’s social media budget.

Twitter

Just like Facebook, Twitter can be a valuable tool for social media promotion. The platform is easy to use and has become more business-friendly over the years. The simplicity of Twitter is appealing to many business owners because it is a wise investment of their time.

The main focus of Twitter is its content, which is presented in concise but informative messages. This draws in millions of users, making it a gold mine for businesses.

With the ability to reach millions of users, Twitter provides businesses with advertising opportunities they don’t have to pay for. This is something Facebook can’t claim, making Twitter the preferred social media marketing tool of many business owners.

An upgrade of the site’s direct messaging system means businesses can easily contact customers in private. They can also use Twitter to connect with other businesses that may have something to offer them, and vice versa.

Generating social media traffic and leads is easy to do with Twitter. Google indexes every tweet on the site. Using hashtags in tweets increases the likelihood of them appearing higher in Google search results.

On the other hand, Twitter does place some limitations on businesses. While there is an endless number of members online, many Twitter accounts are at best fake, and at worse, scams. Weeding out legitimate accounts from those that aren’t can be a time-consuming task.

The other downside to Twitter is that even after updates, users are still somewhat limited in how much they can post at once. The maximum number of characters allowed in a tweet can be too constricting for many businesses looking to use it for advertising purposes.

Developing A Content Strategy For Social Media

When developing a strategy for posting content on social media the first step is to decide the most important pieces of information that need to be conveyed. The second step is to determine which social media sites to use. Not every social media site is useful for every type of business. The way in which the site is used is also important. Failure to use one correctly most often results in poor marketing.

Developing An Images Strategy For Social Media

While content is important for social media accounts, images are equally important. They must be used strategically in order to supplement their content on each site. The best way to do this is to schedule images to be posted at a certain time.

Creating images can be more difficult than creating content. Software like Photoshop makes the process easier for marketing professionals that know how to use it. Otherwise, this can become incredibly time consuming and expensive.

To save money and still produce image content, businesses can create and edit their own images using certain tools that can be obtained online for free. There are also free tools that can be used to create quotes to go along with images. This helps businesses present well-rounded text and image content that drives customer interest.

Developing A Strategy For Engaging With Customers

Speaking of customers, it is also important to develop a strategy for engaging with them through social media. It starts with a focus on valuable content. Social media posts should include a mixture of information and tips that consumers will benefit from the most.

Just as important is sending out regular posts. Keeping customers engaged requires businesses to release social media posts on a regular schedule. Automated online tools can be used to schedule social media posts.

Every time a business interacts with customers on social media the communication needs to feel personal to them. The more authentic a business looks the more likely consumers are to turn to them.

Another way to connect with customers is to interact with them on social media. Responses from businesses make customers feel valued and appreciated, giving them reasons to remain loyal.

Conclusion

Knowing the proper way to use social media in a business setting is something no one who owns one can afford to overlook. Businesses of all sizes can successfully use social media to build their brand. By using worldwide platforms, advertising opportunities are more abundant than they have ever been. Any size business can use social media to its advantage.