Each social media platform has a unique way of adding value to your business, by getting the word out there and providing your business with the opportunity to grow and target a worldwide audience!
If your business became an active member of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube, do you realise how many people you could be engaging with?
There are currently 3.48 billion social media users today, in 2019. This has grown by 288 million since only last year! Of course there’s a difference between being active and just having a “presence” online.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking site. LinkedIn has currently got over 610 million members, which includes 90 million senior-level influencers and 63 million decision makers. This platform is responsible for 80% of business to business leads from social media worldwide. These facts make the platform extremely attractive for any business owners who are interested in connecting with like-minded individuals and reaching potential investors and/or employees. All the while there is hardly any need for users to share personal information, so this allows them to focus solely on business related matters.
YouTube
YouTube is a fantastic social media video platform to amplify your outreach. Believe it or not, YouTube was only founded in 2005! In 2017, it had an estimated worth of $75 billion dollars at least! Worth noting is that YouTube videos also appear through general Google search results which grants easy access to users. As a marketer you will need to challenge yourself to create a customised channel for your business that will stand out amongst the crowd.
Facebook is an American online social media and social networking service company with 2.41 billion monthly active users as of June, 2019. Facebook has an average of 1.59 billion daily active users for June 2019 alone, all of whom are there to connect with one another and share what matters most to them. If your business wants to increase brand awareness and drive more traffic to their website it is probably time to expand your business reach by connecting through a network such as Facebook. Users are encouraged though to be excessively active and change their habits and content regularly to avoid becoming passive and losing a strong reach, due to the platform’s constant algorithm changes.
Twitter is an American online microblogging and social networking service where users can post and interact with messages called, "tweets". A tweet is restricted to 280 characters (up from it’s original 140 limit), this ensures that all messages are short and precise, getting straight to the point, this rule also allows for more back and forth in conversations, as you may not be able to include everything in one tweet. The golden rule is to add visuals for every tweet, so you can try catch the eye of the scrolling thumb user.
Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking service owned by Facebook. It was launched in 2010 so tends to target a slightly younger age group of around 18-29 year olds. Instagram shows what your business does in a creative way, for example, Instagram stories and highlights can take the viewer behind the scenes of what goes on in the workplace adding a personalised touch to a business. Influencer marketing has become very popular on this platform.
A social media presence for your business is extremely important in today’s world.
How can your business reach its full potential by using social media platform?
Follow these tips to reach the top:
1. Platform: Choose which platforms will work best for your business and your target audience. For example, your business may be aiming at B2B, if so, LinkedIn should be your main focus, or if you are targeting a youthful age group a platform such as Instagram may be the best.
2. Time Management: Put 80% of your time into the main social media channel that works for your business, and then place the 20% of your remaining time into your other two chosen social media channels.
3. Focused Content: Have a call-to-action in 2 out of every 10 posts. 80% of your posts should be focused on branding and generating engagement, while also focusing on sales engagement in line with your current marketing campaigns.