Social media… two words which rule our everyday life. We like our friends’ selfies and see where they checked in last night. We favourite and retweet thought leaders’ messages, and we browse the latest photos posted on Instagram. If we really like a photo we saw on the internet, we pin it on a board on our Pinterest account.
See how deeply involved we are with social media? Things get even more complicated if you are a marketer or business owner trying to find new customers on the social media. What is the best platform you should use to promote your business? How many times a day or a week should you post? And what should your posts be about?
These are among the most frequently asked questions by new business owners who try to master the social media marketing game. There are still unclear differences between being on the social media and using the social media for your business. However, these differences do exist and I’ll talk about the most important ones in this article.
So, let’s discover the key factors which show whether you are actually using the social media to your advantage:
1. Content
What is content and why is it number one on my list? Not to brag, but content is everything in your social media strategy, the alpha and omega… you get the picture. You share content in order to attract people’s attention. You post ads and links trying to attract people on your website where they will hopefully subscribe to receive more content from you in their emails.
So, your social media game is all about constantly creating and sharing original, valuable and interesting content. There is no substitute for it because there is no better way to make people trust you than by proving to them that you are good at what you do in your business.
2. Monitor Your Image on the Social Media
Politicians and Hollywood stars have employees who browse every news channel to find out what people are saying about them. If it’s good they try to capitalise on it, if it’s bad they try to fix it. Their career depends on their public image.
The same thing is true about the image of your business on the social media. How many times is your business name or your product mentioned on the social media? Is it a positive or a negative mention? How much are people commenting on the posts you shared? Can you take advantage of a rising trend in popularity or should you do damage control right now?
3. Don’t Duplicate Posts, Cross Promote
Do you know how people lose a lot of time in their social media marketing? They have one message they want to share on their three or four social media platforms and try to adapt it for the appropriate tone of voice of each platform. Why would you share basically the same thing on four different channels, instead of sharing it on, say, two channels and promote these on your other two channels?
This makes sense not just because you work less but also because, apart for the message, you’re also promoting your social media channels. This is the beauty of cross promotion!
4. Keep Your Eyes on the Metrics
Analytics is the stern but always honest judge telling you how your social media posts and ads are performing. You should consult your analytics page on a daily basis and find out if people are truly engaged by your posts or not. And you should react quickly and optimise all your posts for maximum impact and engagement.
Yes, it is a complex and never-ending game. And once you’ve claimed your medal as a winner you must work even harder if you want to keep it. But it is worthwhile. It is your business, your success, your financial security and the fulfilment of your dreams – this is the true medal of the social media game. Now, are you ready to be a winner?