2022 Basic Social Media Marketing Guide
Basic Social Media Marketing Guide
So, you’re ready to take it up a notch by investing more time, energy, or both in your social media efforts?
Good news: it’s never too late to start!
Many businesses tend to feel daunted by the prospect of social media, especially for older generations who haven’t grown up with social handles.
Whether you’re thinking of tackling this endeavor or looking to hire a social media manager, it’s crucial to know the basics about the primary social media channels and how they can best suit your industry.
We’ll explore the five primary social media channels you should know about and what they’re best used for when it comes to marketing campaigns.
Let’s run through the list!
Who hasn’t heard of Facebook? Whether through a positive or negative lens, it’s a globally recognized, sometimes controversial, and well-utilized social channel. That’s why it’s one of our top picks. According to Statista, they currently have 2.89 billion active users. Of course, Facebook is at the top.
Facebook started as a primary networking channel and now has leveraged itself to be a household name. You can sell stuff on their market or market your business. The possibilities are endless with this channel.
If you’re using Facebook to market your business, you can use their “Business Page” option and create a page dedicated to your business to acquire followers, post updates, and use it as a digital white page with updated contact information for when people search for you.
Aside from a business page, you can also use Facebook to run ads promoting your products or services. You can track the back analytics and target your exact ideal clients with their paid advertisement dashboard.
If you intend on starting anywhere on social media, Facebook is practically necessary.
Probably second to Facebook is its sister company, Instagram. Instagram began as a photo-sharing app but later evolved into a platform to use all visual content to connect and promote your brand.
Just like Facebook, you can also use paid advertising for Instagram. It uses a similar dashboard with tools and features as found on Facebook.
Additionally, Instagram relies heavily on hashtags to share and promote content. While all platforms can use hashtags, it’s more regularly used as a strategy to market versus all the other social handles listed.
While Instagram is a valuable platform for pictures and video, it’s unnecessary for every industry. Facebook offers a balance of words and pictures but can lean on one. At the same time, Instagram will require an image, a visual, or an infographic. It’s best for businesses that can use imagery for advertising.
LinkedIn is mainly known for its focus on business and networking. While many others can add elements of creativity, LinkedIn has a professional edge with an emphasis on networking.
Just like other platforms, it offers a home page with either personal or business-related info. You can make posts like Facebook, using pictures, writing posts, and incorporating hashtags to promote comments and engagement.
LinkedIn requires building and sustaining your network, regularly posting for engagement, and creating a polished professional portfolio of your business background or about your business itself.
Just like the other platforms, you want to be strategic about how you utilize LinkedIn and the audience you’re trying to connect with. LinkedIn tends to take longer to gain followers and connect with people to benefit from its potential.
People seem to either love Twitter or hate it. Primarily because of controversial content. Regardless, it can still be a valuable marketing tool when used effectively. With a maximum of 280 characters, it might use words but certainly gets to the point.
What’s helpful about Twitter is the concise use of words to promote your brand and apply hashtags. Instagram relies on hashtags more than the other platforms, but it’s a great way to share Tweets, primarily since it’s all words.
Of all the platforms, Twitter is the digital form of “word-of-mouth.” You can directly post, like, comment, and engage in dialogue.
Twitter works fabulously to advertise any writing medium, such as news sources or businesses that could use regular updates.
Keep in mind that Twitter is not ideal for every business model. It’s arguably the most specific of all the other platforms since some companies rely on visuals, need better ad features, or require more wording. However, when used appropriately and strategically, Twitter can have a lot to say in the social media circle.
YouTube
Many people won’t automatically consider this platform part of the social media sector, but it’s one of the best marketing resources.
YouTube is all video content. Nowadays, people rely on YouTube for information, often in “how-tos” or tutorials. According to Statista, the average length for a YouTube video is 11.7 minutes. They tend to be short, sweet, and to the point when used as a marketing tool to hold their audience’s interest.
For YouTube, you can use the descriptions in the caption with SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies so your business can be found through searches.
Additionally, you can acquire subscribers to create a network where your audience is notified whenever you have new videos. You can also use the comments to help boost engagement for your content.
So Many Socials, How Do You Choose?
These are the top contenders in the social media ring. Of course, there are numerous others out there, but if you’re focusing on marketing strategy, we suggest you consider these first before looking at others.
We suggest starting with these, possibly combining two to create and add if needed and if you have the bandwidth. We also recommend starting one at a time if you don’t have the money to invest in a social media manager or don’t have lots of time. These platforms can transform your company but better to feel competent at one before tackling another and adhere better results.
Hopefully, this provides better insight into what each is about and how to use it to your brand’s advantage.
At Core and More Technologies, our specialty is assisting clients with an optimal marketing strategy that guarantees results, including social media platforms.
If you’d like to learn more, book a consultation with us today!
