Social media is a necessary marketing tool for every business that wants to remain relevant and visible in today’s online world. But, getting started can be overwhelming, and even something as simple as choosing a social platform can be more complicated than you'd think. There are many social media networks out there to choose from, but, the good news is that you can start by narrowing it down to the most popular and most widely used platforms. From there, it’s all about determining which platform will give you the exposure you're looking for with the right audience and figuring out which one will help you meet your marketing objectives and overall goals.
Narrowing your choices.
There are social media platforms for everything and everyone, including ones to connect people with shared interests, similar hobbies, comparable demographics, and much more. The options are endless. The point is that there are many social networking sites out that your time, money, and resources would be better spent focusing on the sites that get the most traffic and the ones that will actually meet your business goals.
STEP #1 - Define Your Goals
There are many benefits to using social media, but it’s important to have specific goals before you move forward. For one, your goals will help determine not only the social platform you choose, but also the content you create, the audience you will be targeting, and more. Here are some of the benefits of using social media that you might want to focus on:
Improving your customer service offerings by providing another platform on which customers can reach out with complaints, questions, and concerns Identifying new leads and prospects who are similar to your best customers.
Reaching out to new audiences and new demographics who might be receptive to your products or services Increasing brand awareness and exposing your business to new people.
Learning about the needs, wants, and habits of your audience and customers. Increasing traffic to your site and boosting sales.
Build an online community that later on you will convert into sales.
These are just a few ideas that I want to share with you. But, your homework is to set goals before you engage on a social media platform. Remember, engage, and act with a purpose with goals in mind. If you don't, you simply will be wasting your time, money, and resources.
Step #2 – Research The Channels Your Customers Is Already Using
The main point of social media is to put you in contact with existing and potential customers, so it’s not advisable to choose a platform that your potential and existing customers will not be active on. Unfortunately, your prospects will not start to use the social platform of your choice just because you’ve created a profile. Instead, it’s a much better idea to analyze which platforms your audience, your potential, and or existing customers prefer and to seek them out on the networks they're already using.
There are a few different ways you can go about finding what platforms your audience are using, and one of the most straightforward is a simple customer survey. Ask questions like what social sites they use, where they get their information online, and which influencers they listen to. Another way to get information about your audience is through the social media sites themselves. With platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you can actually tell the platforms about your ideal customers, and they'll estimate the audience size for you. You can also research the demographics of different social media users thanks to determine where your audience is most likely spending their online time.
STEP #3 – Examine, Explore, and Create Content that Caters to the Platform and the Audience
Different types of content work better with certain social media platforms, so it’s important that you consider the type of content you like to create and that works best with your Business. Instagram, for instance, is all about the pictures and inspiration, so it may not be the right choice if most of what you create is long-form textual content like whitepapers. The type of content you create will depend on a number of things, including your industry, your brand, and your target audience, but content types you may focus on can include:
Blog posts
Podcasts
User-generated content
Webinars and live streams
E-books
Whitepapers
Videos
Photographs
These are just a few options or alternatives for creating content. The content will be adaptable to your goals and objectives. When creating the content think of the sales process, the remarketing and retargeting process, touchpoints, and audience.
STEP #4 - Pair Your Goals, Audience, and Content with the Right Platform
Once you’ve settled on the goals you want to achieve on social media, determined what platform your audience is already using, and decide what type of content works best for you, you can then go through and compare the different social media platforms to determine which one will best meet your goals.
Final Thoughts
In today's technological era, social media is an indispensable tool for any business that wants to remain pertinent and gain exposure online, because not only can it connect you with prospects who are right next door, but it can also help you reach out to people all across the world. In addition, social media is also an excellent tool for building brand awareness, finding new leads, generating more website traffic, getting to know your customer base better, gaining insight into the shopping habits of your best customers, and even improving your customer service. The trick to choosing the right social media platform for your business is all about confirming the goals you want to achieve, figuring out what platforms your target audience is active on, and choosing a platform that matches the type of content you create.
If you would like guidance reach out to me…
Mister Brands®
info@immisterbrands.com
(956) 369-9783
immisterbrands.com/contact-mister-brands