Social media is more important than ever for increasing sales, raising company profiles, promoting products and services, and driving traffic to websites. With more people working from home and the huge increase in online sales more businesses are relying on social media to reach out to customers.
There are around 5 billion socail media users around the globe, using an average of 6-7 different platforms, so having a cross-platform strategy gives you the best chance of reaching as many people as possible. The average person spends in the region of 145 minutes on social media a day, and they are bombarded with information, so having a strategy in place will help you to stand out from the crowd.
Short-form videos are the most engaging content, and the majority of users access social media on their mobiles.
84% of 18-29 year olds use at least one platform, with that figure only dropping slightly for the 30-49 age group. For over 50s it’s around 73%, so you can see why being active on social media is so important.
Knowing what strategy to employ when it comes to social media can be the difference between success and failure – our 3 step plan will help you on your way to an effective and lucrative social media presence.
1. Choose your platform
Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest are probably the best-known social media platforms, but very few companies can spare the resources (or justify the time) to have a great presence on all of them. Generally speaking:
- Facebook is a must for every business that sells direct to consumers, and has all sorts of features for boosting and targeting your posts to reach specific audiences (it has 2.9 billion active users monthly)
- X is great for breaking news (with an estimated 556 million users)
- TikTok has over 1.5 billion users, and the the majority are under 25, although this is changing all the time. TikTok has come a long way from kids dancing in their living rooms, it’s widely used by businesses who post short, snappy videos to engage and promote their services and products.
- LinkedIn is a must if you sell products or services to other businesses – it is officially the largest social network site for business people and professionals, and has a more serious, informative atmosphere as a result (LinkedIn has 500 million users)
- YouTube is the second largest search engine after Google, and the fact it is owned by Google has to be a plus point for Google rankings! Reports suggest that videos are 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search results
- Instagram is a video and photo-sharing platform, so if your products or services are very visual this is ideal for your business – bear in mind that more than half of Instagram users are under 35.
2. Decide how often to post
No one wants to be spammed with posts from businesses, especially if they only sell, sell, sell. Here are some broad guidelines about the optimum number of times to post on each platform; but remember that quality over quantity is best so don’t post if you have nothing to say.
- Facebook – 1-2 posts a day
- Twitter – 1-5 Tweets a day
- LinkedIn – 1-5 posts a day
- Pinterest – At least 1 pin a day
- Instagram – Between 3-7 posts a week
3. Credibility, personality, promotion
One of the keys to social media success is to vary the nature of your posts. A mixture of posts that show credibility, demonstrate personality (people buy from people, as they say), and promote your products and services will give a well-rounded image to your business and will engage with your audience.
Take a look at what your competitors are doing, and what sort of interactions they are getting. Inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources so wherever you are, keep an eye out for possible posts.
Final Note
Be consistent. Keep posting relevant content, mixed in with a bit of fun stuff and more serious stuff. Show your followers that you know what you’re talking about, understand their needs and that you care. If someone sends you a message make sure you reply quickly. Nothing turns people off more than a stale social media page.
If you need any help with planning your social media strategy or creating posts we can help. Get in touch on 01964 542916 or email [email protected]