A Simple Guide to Social Media Marketing

 

So we all know just how big social media is right now, and we all know that using social media as part of a marketing strategy can increase brand awareness and improve brand image. But have you just jumped straight in placing your brand on every site you can find? You probably don’t have time to use all of these effectively leaving some gathering dust in the corner, and appearing on every site is not always the best option. It’s important to consider each site carefully and choose only the ones that will truly benefit your brand. That way you can focus on these and really get the most out of them.

This quick guide to social media marketing will give you some facts and figures to think about when considering which platforms to use. We will also give some advice on which types of businesses can benefit most from each and some top tips on using them. Our aim is to guide you through the social media choices and hopefully make it much easier for you to decide on a strategy for your brand.

Facebook
Let’s start with Facebook, probably the biggest and most well-known social media site. Usually not the best platform for generating direct sales but definitely one of the best for raising awareness. With such a large potential audience we’d say Facebook is a must have for any brand.
Some facts and figures:
The biggest and most popular social media platform.
Over 1.19 billion users worldwide.
73% of the adult population in the US uses Facebook.
Over 33 million users from the UK.
Most evenly-distributed demographics of all platforms.
Another selling point for Facebook is its advertising tool which allows you to target an audience quite specifically through using details such as demographics but more importantly facts like where they have been on holiday or their job title! This can be a pretty good advertising tool to use as a small business and it's not too expensive either!

Therefore we would suggest all kinds of businesses should have a Facebook presence. Use your profile to share important information about your business and keep followers up to date with happenings.

Some top tips:
Adding an image to your post can lead to 120% more engagement than having just text.
Quick and snappy posts under 250 characters get 60% more engagement than longer posts.
Posting on a Thursday or Friday can get 18% better engagement than other days of the week.
Posts with questions can get twice as much engagement as those without.

Twitter
Twitter is great for brands as its users tend to follow brand pages much more compared to other sites where they concentrate of friends and family. They use the site to keep up to date with what’s going on, which is why only 60% actively post! The rest simply stalk their loved celebrities and brands! Twitter users are attracted to following brands they like due to the potential to find exclusive offers, discounts and promotions.
Some facts and figures:
Twitter is the second most known platform but only comes fourth in its number of users.
18% of the US adult population use Twitter.
The UK has around 10 million users.
46% Twitter users log in daily.
Twitter is all about the now. It’s the perfect platform for keeping your customers or clients up to date with your brand as well as keeping in touch with news and advancements relevant to your brand. Twitter is another social media platform which can be extremely effective for a range of brands, as long as you’re using it correctly and to its full potential. We would recommend most companies to have a twitter although it is important that you are able to keep up with the community with regular posts and conversations within your sector.

Some top tips:
Twitter users tend to be online during their morning commute to work, the afternoon and the evening, with a drop between 6 and 7pm while they have dinner.
Including an image in your tweet can increase engagement hugely.

Instagram

Instagram is a photo sharing site meaning every post is an image which can only work with some companies, particularly those with products to show off. An important consideration for using Instagram is the age demographics. 43% of mobile users aged 18-29 are on the site meaning the platform is ideal for targeting the young adult generation.
Some facts and figures:
17% of US adults use Instagram.
Instagram is only the fifth most popular platform but its users are the second most devoted.
57% of users use the site daily.
This platform is most useful for brands that are image friendly, such as restaurants, food, clothes, fashion, etc. Basically, if you can post aesthetically pleasing photographs of your brand then this is the platform for you, as well as if your target audience includes the 18-29 age group.

Some top tips:
Put thought and effort into your images. Well-constructed photographs receive a much better engagement as most of the sites users are amateur photographers and appreciate a nice photograph as well as the product.
Consider sharing photographs from around the office showing how fun and exciting your office is. Also think about celebrating holidays and events with relevant images such as celebrating national chocolate day in the office.

LinkedIn
People use this platform to find jobs, network and check up on business partners meaning they only log into the site every now and then rather than daily like many other social media platforms. LinkedIn is gradually losing a battle with google+ for business networking but experts predict it will continue growing due to it being the only of its kind focusing truly on business and professional lives over personal lives.
Some facts and figures:
The site aims to be the professional social network.
79% of users are aged 35 or older.
Only 13% of users sign in daily.
LinkedIn, although a social media platform, is very different to most. It is highly influential in job searching for both employers and applicants, and is great for networking between businesses. So if you’re looking to network or hire, it’s perfect! But if you’re more after brand awareness or increasing revenue, you may as well concentrate on some of the others. It can still be extremely helpful to have a linkedin account simply for when you decide to hire or communicate with other companies and professionals. We would suggest having an account but using it differently to the rest. For example, post content about office achievements or job vanancies rather than advertising.

Pinterest
Pinterest is very much female dominated, so if your target audience is mostly female this site is for you! Therefore products such as beauty, hair and decoration do very well on this site. In fact, 70% of Pinterest users use the platform to get inspiration on what to buy meaning if it suits your brand it’s a must have. You use the site by creating pin boards of images as inspiration, therefore you need to ensure you are posting aesthetic images of your products along with relevant details.
Some facts and figures:
Pinterest is now the third most popular social media platform.
21% of US adults are users.
84% of those are female.
Some top tips:
Product pins can allow you to place more information with a pin such as price.

Ensure the images you are posting are high quality and aesthetically pleasing to engage more with users. This also encourages users to be drawn to your products as it helps them to visualise themselves with the items in a positive way. For example, an item of furniture in a well decorated room will inspire a user to decorate their own home in a similar way and therefore purchase your product.

Google+
Google+ boasts google hangouts and circles as well as a link to youtube proving it to be a very useful site for content sharing. It is particularly useful for brands with a location as a google+ account can be linked to a location on google maps. Despite a very high number of users, the site generally sees less engagement than many others and seems yet to take off. The main attraction of google+ is it's link with google who loves a website with an account. Creating a Google+ account can increase SEO meaning it can help your website rise in search engine listings, which is extremely benficial.
Some facts and figures:
Google+ users are 67% male.
Most of those users are in technical or engineering fields.
The average ago of users is 28.
The platform has 540 million users but only 300 million of them are active. Most of these users are due to a merge with youtube in 2006.
Some top tips:
Google holds having a Google+ page very highly in its search engine, therefore using this platform can help greatly with SEO. So you may as well join!

Here at IT Pie we specialise in digital marketing, including social media marketing strategies. If you can any more questions or would like to find out about getting a helping hands when it comes to your social media then get in touch and we'll see what we can do!