Social media is no longer just a way to connect with your peers – it’s a way to connect with your customers. Regardless of what type of business or services you offer, social media marketing should elevate your company above the competition. But in order to get a decent return on investment, or ROI, you need to do it correctly and use the proper channels.
Social media services from a reputable company can take a simple Facebook post and turn it into profit. But even browsing the lists of social media companies who can help you might be overwhelming to someone who hasn’t dived deeply into the world of social media marketing. That’s why we wrote this guide: to help you determine what social media services you need.
Your first step in choosing what social media services will benefit you is to acknowledge what your goals are.
Social media is all about recognition or awareness of your brand, but certain platforms and services can drive different types of recognition. For example, Wendy’s social media isn’t actually about selling burgers; you’ll never see a post with a link to an online order form. Instead they focus on creating brand engagement and increasing exposure. If you’ve recently seen a funny Wendy’s tweet, you’re more likely to stop in at a Wendy’s over a Burger King. Their efforts are on creating a personality for their business.
If your company is like the retail giant Target, it might make more sense to focus on a direct sales initiative, such as a link that offers a 5% discount. If you want direct sales, choosing a more intensive advertising program instead of recurring customer engagement.
Once you’ve figured out what your goal is, you can focus more on what channels you want to use.
Knowledgeable social media service companies will be able to point you in the best direction but doing some legwork on your own never hurts. Ideally you will want to be set up across multiple platforms, but which ones you choose can affect your chances of seeing a ROI. If you’re unsure even after doing some research, don’t be afraid to put the decision it in the hands of a social media manager who follows all the trends and is experienced in accessing the public’s attention. Their experience gives them the knowledge to guide the focus of a campaign and the ability to target the right audience.
Knowing your audience even a little bit will go a long way when it comes to social media marketing. Twitter, for example, is primarily younger women who spend significant amounts of time on social media. Snapchat, on the other hand, is particularly effective at reaching youths through short video posts but has recently seen a sharp decline in its user base. If you know what age and gender demographic you’re aiming for, choosing services becomes much simpler. You’re able to cherry pick what you need based on who you’re trying to have look at you.
Social media management is complicated and involves a lot of factors that affect your success. A professional company will help you:
- Determine your social media needs
- Analyze who you want to reach
- and choose what platforms will reach them
You can get a lot of the legwork done yourself or engage a professional social media team to do it for you so you can focus on other things.