In case you missed it, WEBPRO has launched a free webinar series. Each of our webinars will focus on a different area of improving your business or website’s online presence and profitability. The latest in our series focused on social media. But don’t worry too much if you missed it as we recap the key takeaways of the webinar below.
To avoid missing out again in the future, why not sign up for our next free webinar on utilising Google Analytics? Register here to avoid disappointment and start identifying areas of website improvement.
#1: Your business shouldn’t ignore social media
Figures from 2020 showed that around three in every four people over 55 years old had at least one social media account, which bucks the idea that social media is only used by young people. It’s extremely likely that any business’s target market is hanging out on at least one social media platform, so why wouldn’t you be visible in these places?
The benefits of using social media as a business are:
- Increase brand awareness
- Humanise your brand
- Establish industry authority
- Increase website traffic (and therefore potential sales!)
- Reach more of your target market
#2: How to do social media as a business
Businesses use social media in ways different to how we might use it to upload holiday snaps or update friends on life events. Businesses can do two things with social media, which are social media management and social media marketing.
Social media management is all about growing an online community. It’s about posting valuable content for users that follow or interact with your social media accounts, which may materialise in new leads, more website visitors and increased sales.
As social media management was the primary focus of our webinar, we’ll be focusing on this aspect of social media over the other – social media marketing. The marketing power of social media shouldn’t be underestimated, however. It allows businesses to develop highly targeted ads. Discuss this option with a WEBPRO marketer today for more information.
#3: How to choose a platform
There are scores of social media platforms that you could use to reach more of your target market. There are the most obvious ones, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. There are emerging ones like TikTok. And there are the ones people sometimes forget, such as YouTube, Reddit and Snapchat.
The breadth of options can be enough to put you off social media as a business. But you don’t have to be everywhere. You should select the most appropriate social media platforms for your industry and business. So, how do you do that? You will want to consider:
- Your target market
- Your industry
- Your business goals
- Your competitors’ social media activity
- Your in-house knowledge and resources - or your budget to outsource social media management
For example, if your target market is teenagers, you’re more likely to use TikTok and Snapchat than LinkedIn.
#4: The biggie – what do you post?
Posting on social media shouldn’t be geared toward marketing all your services on repeat. Remember that the primary goal is to build an online following, which should organically materialise into more website visitors and sales.
The best posts do one of the following. They:
- Provide real value for readers, such as explaining a product, a new industry change or something else they need to know.
- Humanise your brand by showing the people in your business, which might be done through photos and videos. Remember that people buy from people!
- Promote your blogs, which may provide real value but can also establish industry expertise. This also increases website visits!
On top of posting effectively, you can’t forget to plan your posts, consider the frequency of posting and track the results of each post to learn how to get better.
#5: Common social media posting mistakes
Some of the most frequent mistakes that businesses make when managing social media accounts are:
- Not creating valuable posts that engage users
- Launching accounts when other aspects of the business aren’t ready, such as the website
- Not having a clear strategy or goals
- Diverging from your brand identity to try and fit in or play on a current trend
- Sharing content without vetting the source
- Not giving credit to others when you use or reference their material
Results-driven social media services are here
WEBPRO offers both social media management and social media marketing services. Both of these services are provided by experienced and in-house social media experts working closely with esteemed marketers.
When you choose WEBPRO social media services, you get access to a team of professionals who know how to get results. Enquire now for more information or a free quote without obligations.
