Does your business need to be on social media?
The simple answer is yes, you should have a social presence for any business. There are just too many benefits for putting your small business on social media to ignore it.
A social media presence for your business:
• gives you a direct line of communication to talk to potential and current customers
• allows you to promptly review and address customer feedback
• helps you drive traffic back to your website
• introduces your brand to new audiences
• enables you to learn more about your audience
• helps your business show up in search
• positions your business as modern, current, and relevant
But that doesn’t mean you need to go out and create a profile on every social media platform. We can create a customized social media plan that works for your unique business.
A quick look at the social media landscape.
Social media isn’t a fad. It’s an enduring reality of online existence. For marketers, it’s indispensable. Social media marketing includes a myriad of potential social media sites, a vast array of ways to engage, and a medley of styles for each platform. It’s more than just Facebook. You need to figure out which of the legion networks to join. Then, you need to determine optimal messages, posting frequency, cost of social media management, integration with other marketing channels, and how to make the most of the billions of people who are purportedly hanging out on social media.
Do I need to be on every social media platform?
No. You only have to participate where it makes sense. You don’t need to do everything. We will assess where your customers are participating and what makes sense for your audience and your industry. To slice through the confusion, here are four questions that you should answer:
1. Where is my audience?
The primary question to ask about social media is where your audience is actually spending time. What social media platforms are they on?
2. Where is my audience active?
Facebook has reached 15 million users in Australia. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics there are now approximately 24 million Australians. This means 62.5% of the total Australian population has a Facebook account. This is a huge statistic in itself.
Monthly Active Users - Australia – January 2016
• Facebook – 15,000,000 users
• YouTube – 14,000,000 unique Australian view’s
• Instagram – 5,000,000 Monthly Active Australian Users (Facebook/ Instagram data)
• LinkedIn – 3,700,000
• Twitter – 2,800,000 Active Australian Users approx
• Blogspot – 2,450,000
• WhatsApp – 2,400,000 Active Australian Users
• TripAdvisor – 2,200,000
• Snapchat – 2,000,000 approx Monthly Active Australian Users
• Tinder – 1,900,000 Australian users
• Yelp – 1,500,000
• Flickr – 600,000
• Pinterest – 300,000
• Reddit – 120,000
• MySpace – 80,000
• Google Plus – 60,000 monthly active Australian users approx
• StumbleUpon – 40,000
• Foursquare/Swarm – 19,000
• Digg – 15,000
• Delicious – 13,000
• Periscope – 10,000
Source socialmedianews.com.au
3. Where is my audience searching?
People use social media for searching as well as socialising. Every minute, people are conducting millions of queries on Google, Twitter, and Facebook. If you are active on these platforms, you will have a chance at appearing in social media search results.
4. What niche social media sites are right for me? Some businesses are missing out on a deluge of warm leads, because they are absent from niche social media sites. Are there particular platforms which are popular with your target market? Make sure you explore the niche social media landscape. You might discover that it’s an absolute waste of time with little ROI (return on investment). On the other hand, you might find a world of untapped potential and dozens of warm leads. It’s worth doing some exploring. Forget the millions of followers and fans. Here, it’s all about a targeted audience.
What results can I expect?
We can work with you to strategically target other pages, encourage sharing and interaction on your page, and run targeted ad campaigns and contests. We can help you build authority in your field and help you add to your email list by giving away things your audience needs/wants. Results depend on both the level of participation on each platform and your goals. A minimal posting schedule will result in minimal growth and minimal interaction. But when you are engaging and more active you can have a great impact on the buzz you are generating, your sales, and the traffic to your website. It’s not instantaneous and takes time and effort and may need to include some social advertising costs (Facebook Ads and others) but the benefits are manifold.
How do I sell more using social media marketing? By making good connections and by giving away valuable content. We will use social media to get to know your prospects in the same way you would at a networking meeting. We will post a variety of content ….we’ll only post sales messages 10-20% of the time and deliver great information, tips, and other engaging content the rest of the time. This will drive social media users to your email list and then we can use email marketing to engage with customers using more traditional direct marketing.
Conclusion
The social media scene can be bewildering and overwhelming.
But as you engage with each new social media platform, you’ll discover the social nuances of your own niche and experience the benefits of a growing your brand presence.