Social Media Marketing: How to Get Started
Social media has changed the landscape of marketing, public relations and advertising. In traditional media, there’s been one-way communication, from the company to the consumer. Social media not only allows consumers and companies to collaborate with one another, but it also assists in breaking down each target market by their preferred social network. It takes out the guessing game when it comes to what content a potential clients would want to see and how they would view it.
The two most vital questions to determining what social network your company should be posting content on are: what are you selling and who is your target market? When I say, “who is your target market”; I mean, “what are the demographics?” Your target market determines what mix of social media outlets you will want to use, because you should be on more than just one.
Knowing your product is an easy one: are you B2B or B2C? A B2B company would use a different mix of social networks then a B2C company. For example, if you’re a B2C clothing store for young women, you would place more emphasis on Instagram and Pinterest over LinkedIn or Facebook. Why? Because your products are visual and the key audience (young women) spends a majority of their time on Instagram and Pinterest (author’s note: I’m not saying, “don’t post on Facebook if you’re a clothing store for young women” because that demographic IS on Facebook and LinkedIn as well, but women are more engaged on Pinterest and Instagram than they are on any other social network).
Now that you have an idea of where your audience is, you need a game plan. An editorial calendar is an easy way to map out what your posts on different social media platforms. It isn’t meant to be an end-all-be-all of what you’re going to post, but it will give you a rough outline. Having a corporate voice is important because it establishes credibility. However, you want to have some fun with social media! Post interesting articles, fun pictures from around the office, or memes to convey to your target market that you are a business with a personality. This helps establish a brand image for your company.
To see the Demographics for the major Social Media Outlets, click on the image below, or download the PDF.