Social Media – What Do I Need to Know?

Ask most companies in corporate America about social media and you are likely to hear things like, “social media is not really necessary for our company” or “social media really doesn’t do anything for us.” While social media is a relatively new tool for corporate culture in America, it is one that more and more companies are realizing is integral to marketing success. It is really only in recent years that social media has become accepted as a staple in successful marketing programs.

Why is this? Most importantly, an extremely high percentage of your current and potential customers use social media. If your company does not, you risk being invisible to those customers. Many studies show that people who use social media tools are extremely loyal to them. While social media is becoming more integral to successful marketing programs, we are here to tell you that there is no cookie cutter approach to developing a successful social media campaign. The best and most appropriate social media programs and strategies are customized to the needs of each organization.

Nowadays, there are a large number of social media channels from which to choose: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, Snapchat and many, many more. Your goal in any social media campaign should be to get people genuinely conversing about your subject matter and sparking interest in the hearts and minds of those who will come across those posts, articles, comments, etc. It is no longer ‘about you’ the company, the focus has now shifted to ‘about them’ (audience) and their interests in engaging a thought provoking conversation with you/your organization as the all encompassing source; mediating and orchestrating through social interaction.

Social interaction can work wonders, but only if you have a spot-on strategy. Here are a few tips in developing that strategy:

  • Check it out yourself. Go online and check out which social media tools are appropriate for your organization.
  • Choose the social media channels that are appropriate to your company, its culture and the goals you wish to accomplish.
  • Offer quality information and entertainment instead of trying to SELL, SELL, SELL. Develop content that is entertaining and engaging while making it at least somewhat relevant to your organization, its people, the community, etc. You want your audience to look forward to your posts, not ignore them or even worse, block you altogether. This is easier said than done.
  • Be consistent with the use of keywords and phrases across all social media channels and brand touch-points. This will contribute to your organic (unpaid) search engine optimization (SEO). These keywords and phrases should be in line with your branding program as well.
  • Timing is key to a successful social media campaign. Each channel has an ideal time period within the day and week to post for the best response rate. Feedback you may receive and ideal posting times vary by industry and company goals.
  • Whenever possible, you want to link or pull audience members to your website. This can be accomplished by including just enough information on you social media postings to engage the audience but leave them wanting more. By providing a link back to our website’s news section or blog, you can continue the story and contribute to your organic SEO and potentially generate a new sale. Your news section not only drives traffic to your site, but also drastically increases your organic SEO. A recent study of 1,500 small businesses showed companies that blog have 434% more pages indexed than those that did not. These companies also have 55% more website visitors.
  • Last but certainly not least, set realistic expectations for your social media program. Return on Investment (ROI) on social media is very difficult to calculate. Use it to widen the footprint of your company and further contribute to your branding strategy. Keep your posts focused on the needs of your customer and tagging the keywords they are using to search for you and your products and/or services. Social media, much like branding, is not a tool that leads to hard, quantifiable numbers but it does contribute to your sales indirectly and over time.

Silva Devarj
Owner, Brand Strategist