Is your audience made up of humans?
If you answered yes, then social media isn’t just an option for your business, it’s essential. However, being stretched across every social media channel to market your business isn’t what we recommend either.
Social media is a channel to communicate and educate your audience. It has extremely targeted capabilities to allow you to promote your content to those who are more likely to be interested in your products and services.
From Instagram to Pinterest to Facebook, choosing the right combination of outlets is important. Here’s what to consider:
Your Audience
Always consider your audience when choosing any marketing channel, digital or not. Certain social channels are great for reaching the 12-20 age group while others lean towards women 25-45. No social media channel will hit all of the groups, so always consider the best combination to target your efforts towards.
Bandwidth
If you are tackling your social media marketing alone – bandwidth is important. Being “present” across 15 social media channels, yet lacking consistency, powerful content or responses to comments hurts your brand more than helps it. Don’t stretch yourself thin when it comes to social media, devote the energy and resources needed to each individual channel to be successful.
Budget
The days of growing a social media audience for free are way back in our rear-view mirror. Facebook algorithms, privacy settings and changing audiences have made competing for eyeballs easier said than done.
Facebook, for example, looks at the quality of the content, the engagement after a short period and several other factors to decide if the post is worth showing to more people. Boosting posts and running ad campaigns are not only effective, they generate quality leads when done right.
The short answer to asking if your business should be present on social media is yes, but to impact your bottom line, you’ve got to be more than present on those channels. Social media gives brands a platform to tell their story, humanize their brand and engage with their audience to not only build a stronger brand, but build revenue across these platforms.