6 Surprising Facts That Will Change The Way You Think About Strategizing For Social Media

It’s not surprising that participating in social media is the top activity for people online. People are flocking to social media and businesses should, too. When you add social media to your online presence, you can really open up your interactions with your clients and potential clients. You can build relationships and trust, and that is the core of any business.

Creating a social media marketing strategy is a description of everything you want to do and all you aim to accomplish on social media platforms. It directs your behavior and informs you as to whether you are successful or failing in your endeavors.

The more explicit your plan is, the more likely it will be to be successful. Keep it short and to the point. Make sure it isn’t too lofty and broad that it becomes unattainable or impossible to quantify.

In this post, we’ll lead you through a nine-step process for developing your own successful social media strategy.

If you are working at building up an online business, you are probably well aware that social media can make you or break you. What you may not be aware of is exactly who is using social media these days and how they are using it. In this article, we’ll share some surprising information that may cause you to refocus your social media efforts. Read on to learn more.

1. Choose the right social media platforms.

The best social media platforms to pursue are Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. They are the most popular and attract the most participation from users. LinkedIn is a good choice for creating professional contacts because it is the fastest growing of the social media sites; however, it has the smallest percentage of active participants.

2. Be aware of your demographics.

You may think Twitter is most popular with teens and twenty-somethings, but you’d be wrong. The fact is, today more people between the ages of 55 and 65 are learning to Tweet. This is an age bracket that is growing by leaps and bounds as baby boomers come of age. In fact, it has grown by nearly 80% in only the last two years! If this is your demographic, take note! If you already have a very active presence on Twitter, you may wish to shift your focus to include folks of this age more.

If you want to target people between the ages of 45 and 55, you need to work Facebook and Google. This demographic is expanding rapidly on both of these venues. In fact, it grew by approximately 45% usage on Facebook and 55% on Google in the past year.

3. Use video.

If the 18 to 34 demographic is what you’re after, you should focus your attention on YouTube. Adding video to your web pages and blog posts can really increase meaningful traffic to your site and conversions. Review your website pages and blog posts. When you see areas where a video explanation or demonstration could simplify, enhance or replace text, go for it.

4. Timing is everything.

The time of day and day of the week you choose to participate in social media is important. For example, the click through rate is about 17% greater on Twitter on the weekends, but fewer than 20% of all brands overall send out tweets on the weekend. This means competition is much lower on the weekends and attention is higher.

5. Blogging gives you your own platform.

Blogging is another area in which there is surprisingly little competition. While over two-thirds of marketers say they plan to include blogging in their marketing pursuits, the fact is under ten percent of marketing companies in the United States actually have a full time blogger on the payroll. A blog provides you with a personal platform to introduce your company and your products, share information and news, improve your search engine rankings and so on. High quality blog content posted on a consistent basis can pay for itself many times over.

6. Optimize for mobile.

Nearly two-hundred-million people do not use a computer to log into Facebook. Instead, they are “mobile only”. In fact, about 30% of the ad revenue Facebook earns is earned through mobile devices. The number of mobile users accessing Facebook grows steadily year after year, so there is definitely a lot of potential in mobile advertising via Facebook. When you do, be sure your website is optimized for mobile use.

It’s All About The People

Social media is the new word-of-mouth advertising. This is why over ninety percent of marketers make great use of it for business purposes. When you build a solid social media presence you can answer questions, give advice, share information and, in short, make friends. People are more comfortable and more trusting of people they know, so it’s easy to see that investing time and energy into social media is a valuable pursuit.

The main thing to remember when using social media to improve your online presence and build your business is that you are dealing with people. Social media marketing is a whole different ballgame than search engine optimization (SEO). Naturally, you will want to optimize your content for best results, but that should not be your main focus. Instead, pay close attention to presenting yourself and your business well, getting to know people, sharing information of value and building an honest, trustworthy and reliable image.

Social media moves at breakneck speed. New networks are formed, while others experience demographic alterations. In addition, your company will go through moments of transition..

All of this implies that your social media marketing strategy should be a dynamic document that you regularly examine and alter as needed to reflect current conditions. Refer to it frequently to ensure that you stay on track, but don’t be afraid to make modifications to ensure that it more accurately reflects new goals, tools, or strategies as they emerge.

When you make changes to your social media strategy, make sure to notify everyone on your team. As a result, they will be able to collaborate in order to help your company make the most of its accounts.