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Our Guide to Starting Out on Social Media

The good – or bad - old days of spending millions of dollars in traditional media to gain popularity and increase brand awareness are gone. You don't have to rob a bank to advertise your business on TV, billboards, and newspapers. Social media has revolutionized marketing and offered a low-cost platform for companies to market their goods and services. Out of the 2.4 billion people surfing the net, 74% of them use different social media platforms. Social offers a venue to interact with potential customers. Here's our short beginner's guide to guiding you the different social options out there.

Why social media?

  • It is a low-cost mode of interacting with customers
  • It is the fastest way of creating brand awareness. A post can go viral in minutes on social media.
  • It helps you learn about your audience and identify creative ways to reach them.
  • Gives customers a platform to provide feedback and raise complaints.
  • Assists you to keep an eye on competitors and identify ways to stand out.
  • Helps generate leads and sales

Social Media Platforms to Consider

Numerous social media sites can help you promote your business. An enterprise can join the largest and most engaged platforms that have been around for long enough. They include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest.    

Facebook

This is the number one and largest social media network. It has 2.27 billion users that business can take advantage of to increase brand awareness and engagement. Facebook allows organizations to create pages for their brands and engage with customers. Users can see your business hours, location on a map, write reviews, provide feedback, and view your latest content. Many organizations focus most of their energy on Facebook as the center of their social media marketing strategy. You can use Facebook ad system to reach out to new audiences and increase the visibility of your posts.  

Twitter

Although the popularity of Twitter goes up and down, it's still a useful marketing tool. Many businesses are recording great success using Twitter to engage with customers. Twitter is best used to generate discussion and user engagement. You can use compelling content, polls, posts, and chats to get retweets, responses, and conversations that center on your business.

Instagram

Instagram is Facebook's affiliate. It is primarily a visual platform with many people posting eye-catching pictures and videos. Instagram has a vast number of followers and very high engagement rates. Also, it is growing at an exponentially high rate and hence offering businesses a lucrative opportunity to reach out to many customers. In December 2010, Instagram had one million users while in 2018, it had over one billion users. You can make optimum use of Instagram by creating stories, using hashtags, and crafting newsfeed posts to obtain many followers and generate discussion.      

LinkedIn

It is a valuable resource for marketing your business and recruiting employees. LinkedIn is a platform for professionals to meet and interact. You can get the most out of LinkedIn by sharing valuable, actionable, and stimulating content to generate discussion. Use this article to learn how to create killer content for your LinkedIn Profile.

Pinterest

Although Pinterest is a little different from other social media networks, it has numerous benefits for businesses. Only enterprises from specific industries can benefit from Pinterest. Notably, when you use the right keywords in your profile's description, boards and pins, you increase the likelihood of attracting traffic. The best thing about Pinterest is the remarkably engaging audience.

YouTube

It is the largest video sharing platform. When used correctly, YouTube can benefit your business greatly. You can use YouTube to share value addition videos with users; they can be how-to demonstrations, Q&A, and tutorials. The secret is to position keywords in your video's title and description for easy location.

Identify the Platform that benefits your business most

As a social media beginner, it doesn't make sense to join all social media sites. The best strategy is to start slow; choose one or two platforms that will benefit your business most. You can start with Facebook and another platform of your choice. If your product would gain from some virtual marketing, you can opt for Instagram. Focus on engaging the users and building relationships.

Social media marketing has immense benefits for businesses. It is a low-cost opportunity to generate discussions, establish relationships, and build an online community. This article provides a beginner's guide to social media to help you through the journey. Learn more about social media strategy from the experts at Adventii Media.   

Author

Matthew Boyle
Matthew Boyle

I help small- and medium-size businesses effectively leverage their online presence in order to increase brand awareness, target ideal clients and increase leads and revenue.

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