So does social media actually help to build your business? Hey there. I'm Dan Keever, President of Advantage Marketing, and welcome to this week on Advantage Brands.
A Common Question for Business Owners
I've talked to a lot of business owners, and they seem to have a common complaint. "Is social media actually working?" Sure, likes and comments are great, but is it actually translating into tangible business? That's what business owners want to know.
Sadly, a lot of these businesses have something in common. There isn't a coordinated social media strategy.
For some businesses, this looks like just posting whenever you get around to it - whenever you remember to take a picture of something interesting. For other businesses, this looks like pretty much nothing at all. Just a blank page with a handful of followers and nothing going on, not a great look for your business.
Need Help with Your Social Media?
So when I meet with business owners, one of my top priorities when it comes to social media is getting their strategy aligned with their core business goals.
You see, every social media platform is designed with specific advantages, unique to each platform. If your social media strategy can play to these strengths, it will impact your business in a real and tangible way.
To keep it simple, I've got three easy steps that you can take to transform your social media strategy.
Sadly, a lot of these businesses have something in common. There isn't a coordinated social media strategy.
For some businesses, this looks like just posting whenever you get around to it - whenever you remember to take a picture of something interesting. For other businesses, this looks like pretty much nothing at all. Just a blank page with a handful of followers and nothing going on, not a great look for your business.
Need Help with Your Social Media?
So when I meet with business owners, one of my top priorities when it comes to social media is getting their strategy aligned with their core business goals.
You see, every social media platform is designed with specific advantages, unique to each platform. If your social media strategy can play to these strengths, it will impact your business in a real and tangible way.
To keep it simple, I've got three easy steps that you can take to transform your social media strategy.
1. Don't Just Think Like a Brand
Number one is don't just think about your brand's social media like a brand. When approaching social media, you have to keep this in mind. "How does a normal person use this platform?"
You're not looking for how other brands use the platform. You want to see what the common person likes, comments on, engages with, and most importantly shares.
What do I mean by that? It means there has to be a human tone to what you're posting has to be relatable, engaging, exciting, funny. All of those things don't usually happen by accident.
At the end of the day, to get your message out, you need to have a clear understanding of what a common user on your social media platform likes to see on their feeds.
You're not looking for how other brands use the platform. You want to see what the common person likes, comments on, engages with, and most importantly shares.
What do I mean by that? It means there has to be a human tone to what you're posting has to be relatable, engaging, exciting, funny. All of those things don't usually happen by accident.
At the end of the day, to get your message out, you need to have a clear understanding of what a common user on your social media platform likes to see on their feeds.
2. Aim For Share-ability
Point number two is one of the biggest strengths of social media. It's not just your ability to communicate with your followers. It's your ability to communicate with their friends and their followers.
Share-ability is key on social media.
Now, you don't have to break your back every time you come up with a post for your social media page, but you do want to have a consistent flow of content that is creative and starts with the question, "What would a person share?"
People share things for a variety of reasons, whether it entertains them and educates them or helps them celebrate something. You want to align your content with things I would want to share for their own reasons.
Thinking this way forces you to get outside of your box of what you just want to post. You want to think from the common user's perspective, "What would I see from you that I would want to tell my friends about?"
So go ahead. Inject some humor. Entertain, surprise, celebrate. Anything that gets them to click that share button and get your message to their friends.
Share-ability is key on social media.
Now, you don't have to break your back every time you come up with a post for your social media page, but you do want to have a consistent flow of content that is creative and starts with the question, "What would a person share?"
People share things for a variety of reasons, whether it entertains them and educates them or helps them celebrate something. You want to align your content with things I would want to share for their own reasons.
Thinking this way forces you to get outside of your box of what you just want to post. You want to think from the common user's perspective, "What would I see from you that I would want to tell my friends about?"
So go ahead. Inject some humor. Entertain, surprise, celebrate. Anything that gets them to click that share button and get your message to their friends.
3. Leverage Social Media Advertising
The third step is a huge one, but not every business is up for it. Social media advertising.
This is probably the one that I've heard the most business owners be frustrated with. They spend a little money, don't see results or don't know how to see results. It just feels like flushing money down the toilet.
If you don't know what you're doing but you're still spending money? Usually not a good recipe for advertising.
So whether it's doing a little bit of research on your own or partnering with an agency like ours, to help get you set up, there's one key tool that social media advertising offers you that you can't find too many other places.
This is probably the one that I've heard the most business owners be frustrated with. They spend a little money, don't see results or don't know how to see results. It just feels like flushing money down the toilet.
If you don't know what you're doing but you're still spending money? Usually not a good recipe for advertising.
So whether it's doing a little bit of research on your own or partnering with an agency like ours, to help get you set up, there's one key tool that social media advertising offers you that you can't find too many other places.
You've Been Handed a Personal Data Gold Mine
We laugh and we joke about how social media is just a data dump for all of our personal information. When it comes to advertising, that's why Facebook and Instagram, these other platforms have been as successful as they are.
That's why, when it comes to your business, social media advertising gives you the incredible ability to target your perfect prospect down to the most specific details. We're not just talking about broad criteria like age, gender, and location.
We're talking about significant, specific details like browsing history, affiliations, interests, associations, all of that at your fingertips with social media advertising. If you're willing and maybe a little bit brave, I highly recommend you check out social media advertising on the platforms that you're set up on.
Take advantage of those targeting options, and watch your business grow, especially when it comes to those core business goals
That's why, when it comes to your business, social media advertising gives you the incredible ability to target your perfect prospect down to the most specific details. We're not just talking about broad criteria like age, gender, and location.
We're talking about significant, specific details like browsing history, affiliations, interests, associations, all of that at your fingertips with social media advertising. If you're willing and maybe a little bit brave, I highly recommend you check out social media advertising on the platforms that you're set up on.
Take advantage of those targeting options, and watch your business grow, especially when it comes to those core business goals
Now Go Impact Your Top Line!
So to impact your business in meaningful ways on social media, start your content strategy by understanding what the common user wants to see on their feed. That's how you connect with users.
Second is to aim for share-ability. Social media is unique in the way that you don't just get to target your followers, but you get to target their followers through share-ability. That kind of referral speaks volumes for you and your brand.
The third way to tangibly grow your business through social media is advertising. Take advantage of the wealth of personal data that social media offers you to target and connect with your ideal prospect, whether it's growing your brand or targeting them with specific offers, take advantage of that social media data.
Second is to aim for share-ability. Social media is unique in the way that you don't just get to target your followers, but you get to target their followers through share-ability. That kind of referral speaks volumes for you and your brand.
The third way to tangibly grow your business through social media is advertising. Take advantage of the wealth of personal data that social media offers you to target and connect with your ideal prospect, whether it's growing your brand or targeting them with specific offers, take advantage of that social media data.