Social media networks are used by millions of people around the world. Everyone is posting, tweeting, hashtagging and the like. So it makes sense that businesses would want to grab a bit of the action as well. As social networking becomes more and more popular right around the world, countless businesses have benefited by promoting their services and products on the many social platforms.
One reputable social media statistics bureau found that in February 2015, there was approximately 13.8 million Facebook users in Australia alone (SocialMediaNews.com.au). Facebook is the most popular social media website in Australia. However, other platforms such as YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and many more also have millions of users throughout Australia. Businesses have ample opportunities to connect with their target audience where they are spending most of their time – Social Media!
Through social media, businesses can engage with other companies, staff and and potential clients. Whether posting a link to their website, news about the industry or specific information about their own company, it gives businesses the chance to build on their brand awareness and business image in the online community. It also allows them to interact with people on a personal basis, which is a major stepping stone to making a conversion later on down the track.
How Can You Ensure That Your Social Media Marketing Will Be Successful?
The success of social media marketing is very much determined by the engagement and response of users. The more people who visit your social pages and interact with your business, the more successful the advertising. With this in mind, there are two important aspects to consider when using social media for the purpose of advertising:
1. Content– The information you will be presenting to users
2. Community– The users themselves
Both of these aspects are crucial to keep in mind when a business is considering using social media platforms to advertise and market their products or services. How can you ensure that you are covering both of these bases?
1. Content
It’s not only important what you post, but how you post it. You could have a message that you feel is important to your followers, but if it is delivered as a big block of plain text, no one will want to read it. Interaction and visual appeal are highly valued in the social world, and they are super easy to use! Social Media platforms allow users to post images, videos, links to blog articles, surveys, questions for your users and so much more. These forms of content can portray the exact same information as a big block of text but in a much more appealing way.
Regular posting is also particularly important. Humans are creatures of habit, so if you are posting at a regular time, they will get into a rhythm of viewing your social content! Whether it is once a day or once a fortnight, it is important that content is posted continuously. People are using social media more and more each day, so the more you post interesting and appealing content, the more likely users will interact and respond. Think about what content would most likely be interesting to your target market. Keeping this is mind will mean that your content remains fresh and enjoyable to read.
2. Community
Another important aspect is the community that you will be engaging with. Of course, a larger, receptive audience is not something you will be able to obtain overnight. May businesses put a lot of hard work into building large, online communities that will respond to their message. So, how do you get to the point of having a large audience engaging with your social pages? Posting quality content is the primary way of increasing your following. This is a process that may start out slow, but if your regularly post quality content that is engaging to your audience, your number of followers will increase exponentially.
You might be thinking, “Surely, there is more to it than posting content”- and you’re right! Time is also a big consideration. For example, say your business would like to tweet about its latest clothing range. Would you post this information at 2:oo in the morning? Doubtful you would get many responses! Rather, you would research the way that your target uses social media. Experiment posting at different times to see which periods get the best response. Perhaps generally, your audience is most active on social media in the afternoons. You would adapt your posting strategy so that you would reach the bulk of your audience at their most active social times. Expect your target audience to change- you must adapt to them if you want to find success in your social media marketing!
Use Social Buttons on Your Website
So your social networking pages are doing well. What next? Now, you need to think about how you can adapt your website to follow along with your social marketing strategy. You can do this by placing social media buttons in prominent positions on your website. This can encourage website visitors to share your creative content. For example, if a visitor likes something they see on your website, the social buttons will allow them to easily ‘Share’ it with their friends and family, who will then share it with their friends and family and so on. This is what is commonly known as ‘going viral’ and can do wonders for your social reputation! So placing social buttons in effective positions, such as the top of the page, could bring about great benefits to the business later on.
Our Services for Social Media Advertising
Ok, so some of this might seem a bit daunting, especially if you have never had any experience before in social media marketing. That’s where we come in- Fireworks has a great team of experienced experts that will be more than happy to help you. We can:
- – Integrate social media pages and buttons with websites
- – Design and develop social media apps (e.g. Facebook apps) for future events or promotional offers
Social media marketing is definitely a very valuable tool that has benefited many businesses. If you would like to learn more about social media marketing, feel free to contact Fireworks on 1300 660 160.