Making the Most of Social Media

Like it or not, we’re all on it. Social media is a growing part of our lives, and it’s here to stay. Over 2 billion people use Facebook on a monthly basis, and here in Britain, we each spend around an hour and a half every day managing an average of four social media accounts.

But for businesses, the move into social media can be daunting. What do we post? When do we post? How often do we post? These are just a few of the questions you might find yourselves overthinking. As a little helping hand, we’ve drawn up a brief guide on why social media is so important for businesses, and imparted some tips on how to get the best out of it.

So why do it?

First and foremost, it connects you with your audience. They can keep up to date with everything you’re doing, get in touch with you and interact with your online activity. That’s something that businesses of yesteryear would have thought beyond their wildest dreams. But social media does more than link you with your current audience. It gives you the opportunity to attract a wider audience. When your activity is liked, shared and circulated, you and your content reaches an audience you wouldn’t have otherwise been able to engage.

In light of this, your brand awareness is boosted. People are more likely to notice you if you’re popping up on their newsfeed with interesting, compelling content. What’s more, a strong social media presence builds brand loyalty. So once you’ve got your audience, you’ll keep them if you’re visible and active online.

Remember also that social media isn’t its own entity. It’s an integrated part of your wider online presence, and a valuable asset for your website. Through incorporating social links and feeds, you can keep your website fresh, active and up to date. But if you are using social media, make sure you commit to it. A half-hearted social media account is at worst a detriment to the business, and at best a bit of a sorry sight. So be sure to commit. A good start is to map out a strategy for your social activity.

But what to say?

Of course, there’s no catch-all approach here. What to say and how to say it differs from business to business. And whatever approach you do take needs to sit in line with your brand as a whole. But for most businesses, social media is a key way of promoting their products and services. Posting about who you are and what you offer gives people a snapshot of your business, and if you support the post with links and engaging images you’ll drive valuable traffic to your website.

Beyond this, post about the things that interest you. If you find something interesting and relevant to your field of work, it’s likely that others in your network will share this interest. Of course, it isn’t easy to generate consistently insightful content; it involves a conscious effort to think about and consider things in relation to your work and sector. But once you start thinking in this way, the ideas and content will follow naturally.

Following on from this, you’ll soon find that social media is a simple, easy way to share your industry expertise. It’s a thought leadership platform, a space for you to share your insights, opinions and articles concerning the wider industry. This sort of activity will connect you to other industry experts, which will in turn draw more attention to your business, helping to establish you as leaders in your field.

But it doesn’t have to be centred around thought leadership. Social media can simply give you the means to you tell your brand story in a fun, engaging way. Twitter limits the number of characters you can express yourself in, while Instagram is image-led. Variations like these mean you can express your message and thoughts differently from platform to platform, engaging different audiences as you do so.

As branding and digital experts, we know the importance of using social media to build your network and get yourself out there. As part of our digital offer, we can develop and manage your social channels, helping you to promote your product, grow your audience and do it in a way that sits in line with your brand.