With over one billion daily active users, Facebook has become the most popular social network for our generation. Its ability to bring family, friends and professionals together through photos, experiences and events has provided our generation with new and exciting ways to interact with each other. Social media has presented an incredible opportunity for companies to diversify their products while of broadening their online reach and appearance.
Yet… several businesses and brands still see limitations in the services that social media provides and refuse to use it for their marketing benefit. Thinking to themselves, “We have more important things to do,” or “It’s not going to increase the amount of business we receive,” while in reality, they are missing out on a user base of over one billion people they could potentially be engaging with… DAILY!
Let’s depict some of these misconceptions and get straight to the point…. They aren’t true!
1. It Only Works if You Sell Visual Products
This is probably the most common misconception about using social media for your business. “We don’t need to use social media because we provide services, not products.” This is all the more reason to get creative! Companies who do not necessarily share aesthetically pleasing products should focus on finding valuable images to share with their audience instead. If you are a more service-based business, here a few examples of what you can showcase on your social media: Culture – Show off your employees and their personalities. This is an exciting and personable way to instill trust in your client base while creating a relationship with potential customers. Office renovation? Take a pic and share it with your audience! Hire a new employee? Congratulate them by introducing them on your social media channels! Goodwill – Showcase how your employees are involved in the community. Pet adoption event or charity race in your city? Take a few snaps of your team’s enthusiastic involvement to get people talking on your social media profiles! Celebrations – Every company has its traditions… These are great opportunities to share photos of your team getting together and enjoying non-work related context. If you do not have any at the moment, consider starting some! Birthday celebrations, office work trips and anniversary parties are all events that give a real and relatable touch to your company’s social media.
2. It’s only for big, well-known brands
You might think only brands with significant marketing budgets or a worldwide presence can leverage an appearance on social media. This is not true! It may seem impossible for a smaller brand to gain the kind of exposure that some larger companies have, but with the right social media management, gaining a credible and interactive audience on social media is far from impossible. Stay focused on the main goals and objectives of your company and make sure to portray them in a friendly and enthusiastic manner. You will quickly learn that social media marketing for your small business is going to be a game-changer!3. It’s only for posting photos and videos
Posting photos and videos to your social media accounts is inevitably all it comes down to, but with this narrowed mindset of social media marketing you are missing the key ingredient… Interaction! You could post as many photos to your accounts as you want, but without the intent of growing your business as whole and widening your social media reach, you will never get anywhere. Not only can you use photos and videos to increase your potential client base through social media marketing, you can use those same photos to create engagement through tactics such as shout outs, questions, contests and several more. For more information on how to determine your business objectives and utilize them through these social media tactics, email Kristina@LNEonline.com.4. It takes up too much time
For large businesses trying to boost their online presence, social media can take up a bulky portion of your day-to-day routine. For smaller businesses simply trying to reach new clientele and interact with a more relevant audience, social media marketing can be extremely beneficial in a practical 60-90 minutes of your daily routine. In this short amount of time, here are some quick and easy bullet points you can hit to instantly step up your social media game:
-Check all notifications and reply to any messages received.
-Schedule posts for the day to be sent out during optimal times.
-Glance through hashtags relevant in your industry and interact with those who may be potential clients.
Simple and effective, these quick tips alone are enough to spark new life into your online presence!
