6 Tips for Businesses to Utilize Social Media
There are so many social media platforms that one can use today, whether it be for personal or professional purposes. Below is a list of the top 6 tips to follow in order for businesses to best utilize social media platforms and social media marketing. These tips will help businesses learn how to use social media to the benefit of their company, and will help guide companies on how to use social media for marketing purposes.
1. Pick the Right platform for your company.
With the growing popularity of social media, there are tons of platforms that you can utilize to advertise and market your brand/company. It is important that you figure out which social media platform works best for you, and which one will best promote your company. For instance, if your company is very visually oriented and you want to constantly show off your products, Instagram or Snapchat might work best for you since they are very photo-oriented. If your brand is more about information and you want to give real-time updates, Twitter might be the platform for you. It is important that you research the social media platforms to decide which one best fits your company.
2. Quality over quantity!
Although it may be difficult, you should not get caught up with the number of followers your company has. It is very difficult to get your name out there and get thousands of followers, which you may immediately want. However, it is better to have a smaller number of engaged followers, than to have a larger number of followers who never engage with you or your brand. If you have a small amount of engaged followers, they will probably help promote your brand by reaching out to their friends and letting them know about your brand. It is hard to gain a following online, but you have to start small if you want to get anywhere.
3. Keep your page updated.
In having a social media page, it is crucial that you always keep the information current and up-to-date. With today’s society, people have a constant need to be updated all of the time, every second of the day. Millennials are constantly on their phone, checking up on various social media sites and friends at all times throughout the day. Therefore, it is crucial that you have the most current and up-to-date information about your brand on your platform. People want to see that you are always current so they can receive the most updated information. Your audience wants to be kept in the loop, so make sure you do this!
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4. Engage with your target audience.
With social media, it is easy to just update your information about your brand and not engage with your followers. However, it is important that you make your audience feel as though they are important. It is a good idea for you to engage with your followers in anyway you can. For instance, you could create surveys to ask your audience what they think of a new product you have. Or you could ask for comments or suggestions from your audience about your product or even about how to make your social media site better. Either way, it is important to engage in conversation with your followers so they feel like you know they exist.
5.“Ensure activity alignment”
As Kaplan and Haenlein discuss, if you decide to utilize multiple social media platforms, it is important that you keep the information of each site consistent with each other. For instance, you may utilize various sites such as Facebook, Youtube, and Snapchat to market your brand, but you must make sure each site contains the same, updated information. If your follower on Snapchat sees a new product on your Facebook but cannot find it on Snapchat or Youtube, that may be very confusing for them. Therefore, it is important to keep your information consistent throughout all social media platforms if you plan to utilize multiple platforms. Kaplan and Haenlein state “Using different contact channels can be a worthwhile and profitable strategy. But remember: one goal of communication is the resolution of ambiguity and reduction of uncertainty, and nothing is more confusing than contradicting messages across different channels” (Kaplan and Haenlein 65).
6. Be interesting and creative
As most people and businesses are now engaging with social media, it is easy for a company to get lost by simply following what other users are doing. Do not fall into the trap of creating a social media platform that is exactly like other businesses. There is not one specific way to use each social media platform. In other words, there is no right or wrong way to utilize a platform, such as Instagram or Pinterest. It is important for your brand to add their own spin on the social media platform in order to get your audience interested and engaged in your company. Adding creative and interesting content on your page could be very beneficial for your brand.
Source:
Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein. “Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media.” Business Horizons 53.1 (2010): 59-68. Web.
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