By Mary Klett, ASA Communications Team
A vast majority of companies (91 percent, and growing) have a social media presence. But how active are you? By having a presence on social media – consciously feeding it and growing your audience – you remain top of mind. And isn’t that what you want? How about companies that might want to partner with you – an expert? If you’re putting yourself out there, it helps to move you higher in search rankings (SEO), and shows that you’re interested in letting people know what you’re up to. And it can be a low cost way of marketing.
To do it right, you need to keep at it. Diligently. And that means knowing your customers – and potential customers – and knowing which social media platforms they use. In an annual survey of marketers about their social media activities, the more experience with social media, the more sales improved. And as you’ve probably heard, video reigns supreme – both on Facebook and YouTube, with more than half of the 5,200 respondents in a recent survey naming those two as their “go to” video platform.
So how’s the best way to engage with your followers? Keep them updated on news, respond to questions, make it a community. As with any relationship, it takes nurturing before you see major benefits.
We’ll start with the big daddy. While still the most important platform for businesses to market themselves (59% say it’s their #1), it’s dropped in ranking the past two years as a company’s most important platform. Companies are diversifying – heading over to Instagram, as it broadens its capabilities with direct sales and “stories.” And want to keep a post current? Have clients, friends, colleagues comment and “react” to the post.
TO DO: In September 2020 Facebook launched Facebook Business Suite, an interface designed for small businesses to help manage Facebook and Instagram pages and profiles in one place. Right now it’s just available for small businesses, but should expand to everyone later this year. Take a look. Can it help you?
Linked In
The other business social media behemoth. For companies looking to market to other companies, this is the one to focus on. Make sure you have a company page to establish your expertise, with logo and cover photo to capture the look and feel of your business. Look at the first 150 characters in your Company Description (that’s what will show up in your Google preview, which might come up in SEO BEFORE your own website). Make sure the keywords, specialty areas are first.
Again – post regularly, share interesting articles and invite discussion. Attract a following.
TO DO: Look at the first 150 characters in your Company Description (that’s what will show up in your Google preview, which might come up in SEO BEFORE your own website). Make sure the keywords, specialty areas are first.
YouTube
As the second largest search engine, it pays to have a presence. 69 percent of marketers plan to increase their YouTube video usage in the coming year and is currently used by 55% of marketers. The videos with the most views are between two and three minutes. Unlike other social media platforms, whatever you post will last and be viewed until you take it down. Make sure you review old videos and take out time stamps and dates, if they’re not relevant. YouTube will “reward you” (i.e., push and promote your videos), if viewers stay and watch them. Link to similar topics (whether your videos or not), make sure you tell people within the first few seconds what the video is about – so they’ll stick around, if it’s content they’re interested in.
TO DO: Review videos. Are they interesting? Would YOU watch them if you were interested in the topic? Can they be trimmed of any “fluff?”
This is a tough one. 76 percent of marketers use Instagram, but also the most mis-understood. Usage of Instagram was up for B2B (Business to Business) marketing in 2020, from 66 to 71 percent. In addition 40 percent of the workforce in most average companies is made up of millennials! Find topics of interest to everyone. What’s the best way to install a window? How are companies using your technology? Your products? Videos, stories – and photos/graphics are key. Inspire. And note – while you can post to both Facebook and Instagram simultaneously, it pays to check and see how the post looks on both platforms. Just remember to use hashtags. You can use up to 30 hashtags for Instagram, although 12-15 work best.
TO DO: Check out two other companies using Instagram. What do you like? What would you do better?
60 percent of companies use Twitter for their B2B marketing. Other than for short news bits or to communicate directly with customers, I still think Facebook beats Twitter for sending out important information that needs clarification and exposition. Twitter internal data shows B2B audiences are much more likely to engage on Twitter after repeat exposure to messaging. Someone who has seen a business’s message four times is 335% more likely to click on a link in a Tweet by that business than someone who has only been exposed to the message once.
TO DO: Got news? Retweet that information a few times, as tweets get buried rapidly. And again – think hashtags.
Clubhouse – the new kid on the block – moving in soon?
Clubhouse is a live audio platform, now in Beta (and invitation-only), although it already has 600,000 users as of December 2020. It’s a live audio app that allows people to listen to or participate in live discussions. Nothing is recorded. No private messaging, no written comments. You can raise your hand to ask a question. It’s basically a great big discussion group. When someone you follow starts speaking, you’ll get a notification on your smartphone. You can listen in, join in the conversation…or ignore. By simply asking questions and getting invited up “on stage” to speak, people will check your profile and some will follow you. Big perk – you can be in your pajamas, sweats or tux. No one cares. And of course, there’s already controversy. Twitter launched Spaces in November– where you’re able to have live conversations with followers and small groups. There is no corporate branding (yet.) It’s just people talking to people.
Someone compared this to the hallway conversations that take place at conferences.
TO DO: Download the app and set up your account. Reserve your username before someone else does. And wait – either for an invitation (don’t hold your breath) or for the app to go mainstream.
Sure there are other incredibly popular social media apps – TikTok, SnapChat, Pinterest, to name a few. But I’ve focused on the ones that have the most impact on businesses, not consumers.
General guidelines for all social media:
Know your customers – Who are you trying to reach? Are you following and sharing/commenting on/retweeting their posts?
What are your competitors doing? What kind of advertising are they doing? How active are they?
Post regularly – there are plenty of schedulers out there, including free templates. And don’t forget to review those schedules.
Embrace video – there are plenty of quick software tools out there. If nothing else, take out your smartphone when you’re on site, take a 1-minute panorama, trim and edit on your phone, and post to Facebook with a little caption. Next step, engage a myriad of simple editing software tools, and in minutes you can add music, titles, and tidbits.
Tap into subject matter experts at your company – What knowledge can they share to your company followers?
Want to assess where you’re at? Or even how to start? Check out these great audit tools – how tos and whys, to get a good handle on where you’re at – or even how to get started.
For businesses looking into connecting locally, check out Alignable, a network for small businesses to support each other in the local community, and NextDoor, if you’re looking to reach out to local consumers.
Note: My statistics come from the 2020 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, an annual survey conducted annually by the Social Media Examiner. Published in December 2020, more than 5,200 respondents answered questions on plans and insights for their businesses. It’s free – for the price of your email address.
About the Author
Mary Klett is part of the ASA communications team, and has been following the social media evolution since 2005.
