We talk with several businesses every week about increasing their business either through search engines or through social media channels. Many of these businesses do not need social media as it is not a good fit for them. Social media used correctly, and for the right type of business, can increase your brand awareness, increase customer loyalty, and build a trust through an active community of loyal followers. When used correctly social media is a powerful tool for those businesses that can benefit from it and a complete waste of time, resources, and money for those that use it incorrectly. We are going to delve into the most common social media myths that we have brought up to us.
Whether you choose Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, or Instagram the creation process is completely free. From this standpoint, social media is completely free. What many don't realize is there is more to this free equation than meets the eye:
We run into many existing businesses that were taught to sign up for three or more social media outlets and now none of them are being updated as it is too overwhelming and a low priority for their staff. For many social media, and their website, is not their primary business or job. Social media is seen as important but not a priority to the overall success of the business. We are not against having two or more social media accounts and several of our clients do. We believe in first researching and learning who your customers are, what platforms they are on, and what they are looking for when it comes to content and engagement with your unique brand.
When you build a great website or a new social media page no one will know it exists until you start marketing your new website and social media page. For your website to be found you need some great local SEO or search engine optimization to be found. You need a TLS or SSL certificate and be mobile friendly to be properly found. You need your marketing materials to make people aware of your new branded channels. For social media you need to invite your friends, asks your friends to invite their friends who would benefit from your products and services, and provide great content (content is king after all).
A solid marketing strategy for any business will mean you need a website. Having a Facebook page though is not a requirement for a business. In fact, many clients will only have a website as social media doesn't fit their business model. Facebook is owned by Mark Zuckerberg and the branding of "your" business on Facebook is his, not yours. Your website is 100% in your control and provides a place to explain all of your products and services, generate leads, and sales for your business.
All too often we see companies stating we just reached 500, then 1,000, then 5,000 followers. As we look at the analytics of the users we find that rarely none of those followers are engaged with your brand, are the wrong demographic for your business to be successful, or never would engage with your brand. Engagement is what is required to truly make social media successful for your business. Having a lot of followers is great for those that want to pat themselves on the back on how many people follow them. We look at the overall engagement to truly see how well a platform is performing for any of our clients.
Many of us have a Facebook account and we are adept at navigating, like other pages, pictures, and videos. We see what our competitors are doing and we copy what they are doing as it looks like it is working for them. This makes logical sense and is not a bad place to start when developing a social media strategy. When you copy someone, you are always going to be one-step behind and you will never be the leader or industry expert for your field your business is in. What you need to do is create a strategy, implement it, stick to it, and be agile enough to change it monthly (sometimes more often) to meet changing needs in how the social media platform works and what your customer is wanting.
Social media for most will fit into the strategy of marketing your business. When using social media, it should work harmoniously with your website and other marketing methods. Your website should work equally well with your social media accounts. There should be a consistent and clear message that is conveyed to your fans on social media. When working on social media you need a strategy with clear definitions of what success, and failure, is to your efforts. Working and aligning with a company, like JM2 Webdesigners & Marketing, will allow you to grow your business while you focus on your strengths. To schedule a free, no obligation consultation contact JM2 Webdesigners & Marketing at @BUSINESSPHONETOLLFREE@, email at @BUSINESSEMAILADDRESS@, or through our contact form here.