There are so many websites that you can visit on the Internet, 1.5 billion websites, to be exact. As we go further in the digital age, more and more people are beginning to utilize the Internet—whether it be individuals wanting to share their lives with the online world or businesses trying to market their brand.
Although there are billions of websites, there are only a few that generate a lot of traffic daily. Think about it: what are your most-visited sites? Chances are, they’re social media pages like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and the like. Of over 4.57 billion people in the world using the Internet, social media sites garner the most traffic. Facebook, for example, has 2.6 billion monthly active users from around the world.
Those numbers are proof of how popular social media has become. And this has opened doors of opportunities for businesses. Social media is a booming platform where companies can reach their target audiences easily, form relationships with consumers, and access a broader range of people. Think about it. Your physical marketing efforts are only visible to people in your area. But if you market your brand online, you’re making yourself present to consumers on the other side of the globe—and for a lesser cost.
The advent of social media is indeed a phenomenal opportunity that businesses must learn to utilize and take advantage of. Whatever your niche is, whether you’re selling beauty products, offering dozers for rent, or promoting a platform for operational use, there’s sure to be a way you can make use of social media to drive your business forward. But it must be done strategically and properly to generate the best results. Here’s how.
Study your consumers
Simply creating photos and videos and posting them on your brand’s social media page is not enough. And that’s a mistake a lot of companies are making. The power of social media lies not just in posting content, but in knowing what, when, where, and how to post.
The first and foremost thing you should know is how to attract your consumers. Sure, there are billions of people on social media sites daily, but they only interact with brands in a certain manner. The common behavior of Internet users is to rapidly scroll their news feeds and passively liking posts. Rarely do they stop and read content or feast their eyes on visual photos—unless it grabs their attention.
Study your target consumers and learn what types of posts they like, when they are online, what they want to see on their news feeds, etc. Having this valuable information will help you strategize and target your marketing efforts.
Skip the text
When it comes to talking about your business, you know there is so much you want to say. But the reality is that people online don’t want to hear it. More accurately, they’re not interested in stopping to read lengthy and text-heavy posts. To grab your audiences’ attention, use visuals. Capture what you’re trying to say in attractive photos and interesting videos. Online, you only have 5 seconds to make an impression, so make sure you make that time count.
Go with social media trends
Social media is very dynamic. Whatever is trendy can easily change in the blink of an eye. What’s “in” today may not be relevant tomorrow. So you have to make sure you’re always ahead of social media trends. Be aware of memes, viral videos, hot hashtags, etc. that are circling around the Internet. Be the first to leverage on these to keep your target market attracted to your page.
Form relationships with consumers
Social media did not only give your business a platform to market yourself. More than that, it allowed you to form deeper and more meaningful connections with your target market. In social media sites, you can send them direct messages, interact with them in comments, answer their inquiries rapidly, etc. Make use of these features to improve your customer service. The more your consumers feel valued, the more likely they are to stay loyal to your brand.
Social media has greatly changed how businesses should be marketing themselves. It gives you a great platform to access your target market, but you have to put in the work to utilize it effectively.
