This seems to be a question that many business owners ask themselves, and for a good reason.
Social media platforms have grown exponentially since their founding in the early 2000s, with recent statistics showing that over half of the world's population now uses social media.
These platforms were initially created to allow social interaction between friends across the internet, but times have changed. The platforms got bigger day by day, and the question then came about, how do they monetise this?
Boom, social media marketing was born.
For businesses, social media is a perfect way to engage their audience beyond the traditional forms of contact, such as phone or email. These platforms, which are free to use, allow businesses to showcase their brand, products and services and vision.
Social media marketing, free or paid, certainly works and should be part of any businesses marketing strategy. From the local clothing shops to a global brand like Ralph Lauren, any business can utilise social media to engage and grow their audience.
According to a recent study in August 2020, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Linkedin and other platforms have their users interacting on an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes per day.
The advantages of advertising through social media platforms goes far beyond screentime, and that is thanks to audience targeting. There is a wide range of targeting options, including demographics, behaviours and interests, which allows you to take your current customer profile and target like-minded individuals.
This means the days of hoping that your future customers are in the right place at the right time to see your billboard advertisement are over.
Many of you reading this will be part of a small to medium business, so we have put together some simple recommendations for you to manage your business social media profiles.
Posting frequently. We recommend daily, but we understand that some of you don't have the time.
Content planning. Find a balance between sales, news and update related posts.
Ask Questions. This will boost engagement from your audience.
Quality visuals. Try using Canva, which is free and simple to use.
Giveaways. Drive traffic to your page for a minimal cost.
Want to go one step further and manage your paid social media adverts?
Make sure you check out this guide, which goes into targeting in greater depth.
Want to learn about social media marketing whilst simultaneously getting your Netflix fix?
The three I would recommend for developing your knowledge on social media marketing are The Social Network, The Social Dilemma and The Great Hack.
The Social Network, released in 2010 based on the founding of Facebook. The film covers the journey of the company from Mark Zuckerberg's bedroom through to becoming a global sensation, while also providing a greater understanding of how the demand for social networking began.
The Social Dilemma is a docudrama released in 2020, highlighting the concerns of human impact created by social media. Former employees such as Tristan Harris, Justin Rosenstein and Aza Raskin discuss the benefits and drawbacks of social media tools while providing suggests for future developments to make social media a safer place.
The Great Hack is a documentary film released in 2019, which covers the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The companies involved in political events like Brexit and the 2016 United States election which are covered in detail, along with the repercussions that followed.
We hope you enjoyed this blog post and we look forward to producing more in the near future.