Some Social Media Facts You Need To Know

Go back 2 years and many business owners would say ‘social media isn’t for my business’, it was a little bit like muddy water where you could make a splash but chouldn’t see clearly.  This has changed, every business that deals with people needs a social media presence. People will always buy people, social media really makes your business more human.
Crafting effective social media strategies for business is no easy task. Understanding how people use different social channels is just the first step and that can be tricky enough for even the most experienced social media expert. From there, you need to make sure that you’re consistently creating relevant content and keeping up with changing user behaviours and technological developments. There’s plenty to do!
What is really important to note, however, is that true social media success lies in your understanding of your audience. If you know what they like, what motivates them, and how they prefer to engage with businesses, you’re already well on your way to creating an effective social media presence for your brand.

Excellent Social Customer Service Will Drive Revenue
Increasing numbers of consumers want to be able to contact businesses via social media channels. And they want to receive prompt replies. Demonstrating a genuine desire to engage with your audience is an excellent way to build trust. If consumers know you’re accessible and easy to contact should they have any questions or issues, they’re more likely to exercise their spending power with you.
If you’re on the top of your customer service game, your audience will spend up to 40 percent more with you than if you weren’t responsive on social media. That’s a substantial percentage, which makes the investment of time and resources in maintaining a social presence well worth it.

Keep your Social Media Marketing Brief
Social media users are used to digesting bite sized pieces of content and they aren’t going to change their habits anytime soon. People are busy and if there’s an option to access the information they need without sifting through intimidating blocks of text, they’re going to take it.
The general rule is that if you can say what you need to say in fewer words, do it. Cut the waffle and get straight to the point. You job is to provide value to your audience, not waste their time.

Think Visually
If you don’t have some kind of visual accompaniment to support your social media content, it’s probably not worth posting. I know that sounds a bit brutal, but if a little tough love keeps you from making this common but wholly avoidable error, then I’ve had a good day at the office.
If, when thinking of content, your mind is initially drawn to written forms like articles and blog posts, then you aren’t alone. Many digital marketers and business owners are on exactly the same page but audiences think a bit differently.
Let’s just take a few seconds to think about what it’s like to scroll through a busy social feed. Your customers might follow a few hundred individuals and businesses, which means that every time they refresh the page they will find themselves presented with at least a handful of new posts. If they were to engage with them all they would quite literally be on social media all day.
So they’re going to be selective with what they choose to read.
Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are inherently visual but even less visual platforms like Twitter and Facebook will benefit from a visual-focused social strategy. Posts with a visual element will attract more than twice the engagement, which illustrates that effective social media marketing is so much more than words alone.

Don’t Discount Video
Audiences are consuming video content in record numbers. Why? Well, videos are more memorable, more engaging, and let’s face it, generally more fun.
After Google, YouTube is the second most visited site in the world and its users are collectively watching more than 500 million hours of video every single day. However, it’s not just YouTube that’s booming. Facebook users collectively watch more than 100 million hours of video each day; Snapchat users watch 10 billion videos every day; and 82% of all Twitter users engage with video content regularly.
If you’ve been quietly wondering whether every social media expert extolling the virtues of video was going a bit overboard, they’re not. Video is the real deal.

Young People Frequent a Variety of Platforms
Although younger generations of social media users generally prefer Snapchat and Instagram, they’re still loyal to more established social platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
This means that you should never assume you know where your audience likes to hang out online. Instead, really delve into their online habits. Identify the platforms you should be using to forge meaningful relationships and build your digital community.

The Over-50s are Taking the Social World by Storm
More 55-64 year olds are embracing social media than any other age demographic. This is exciting because it presents so many opportunities to engage with older consumers via social networks.
Facebook is the most popular social platform with this demographic, with YouTube and LinkedIn not far behind. With a bit of additional research and careful strategising, you could soon be well on your way to expanding your core audience base online.
If you’d like to pick my brains give me a call 01606 841372, I love a good brainstorm.