It’s no secret that social media and content marketing is the most popular use of the Internet for both professional and personal uses. In fact, according to a study by Forbes, 93% of marketers use social media to reach out to their customers and leads. Clearly, social networking websites have proven to be an effective marketing tool if so many companies have taken advantage of it.
However, if you have become more comfortable with one social media account and have begun neglecting others, I’m going to tell you why that’s a terrible idea and why you should be sharing the love between all of your accounts.
1. You May Not be Reaching a Portion of Your Audience
Unless you know without a doubt that your audience uses one social media website, you can’t depend on reaching your entire target demographic by just joining one networking site. While Twitter and Facebook are the most popular choices, some people prefer Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube or other more niche social media websites.
Becoming part of more than one community will increase your reach and help you connect with more people. However, instead of signing up for every social media account possible, think about what sites your target audience will use the most.
2. Increased Search Engine Rankings
You’ve heard “content is king” and for good reason. The more quality content you have on the Internet, the better your website is going to rank. Social media is part of the content that will help boost your rankings. Having your company’s name out there on multiple websites will help you on the search engines, thanks to the high page rank of websites like Facebook and Twitter.
3. Greater Customer Service Experience
The last thing any company wants is a bad reputation, especially when word can easily spread like a wildfire on the internet. Multiple social media websites will give you the opportunity to keep track of what is being said about you. Customers will also get the opportunity to send you messages directly. Luckily, you can quickly put out these flames by being proactive and responding to the negative comments about your business, products or services right away.
If you do get undesirable comments or questions thrown at you, respond with a solution to the problem your customer may have. This will show your audience that you want to resolve any issue they have, changing your reputation from bad to great.
4. Your Competition is Already There
Even if you aren’t a member of a social networking site, there’s a good chance your competition already is. Instead of letting them reap all of the benefits and potential customers that you could be getting, you should also be a part of that networking community. It’s pretty easy finding what social media accounts the competition is using, since most companies list their accounts on their websites.
Social media has been a growing trend for businesses over the last few years, and for good reason. Before you begin dabbling with multiple social media sites, a strategy needs to be put in place that includes:
Consistency – Instead of posting when you have time, post something at the same times every day so your audience knows when to expect it.
Quality content – Don’t just post content to post it. Have something meaningful to say that your viewers will want to read.
Engagement – Interact with your audience through social media, whether it’s by answering questions they post or by asking questions yourself.
Images – Don’t just post links and text. People love pictures and infographics. Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. Businesses that have used infographics have grown in traffic 12% more than those that don’t.
Source: Business.com
