Just when you think you have the current social media scene figured out, a new platform, updated feature and enhanced algorithm makes you feel like you are in the dark again. Instead of searching around the social world with two hands and a flashlight, try using five W’s and an H. Find out the Who, What, Why, When and Where of each of the six significant social channels’ key audiences and How you can create content to make an impact with them. Search no more. Here’s the current social media scene.
Who: Two billion users are active on the platform each month, with Generation X and Millennials leading the way according to the Spredfast Social Media Audience Guide.
What: According to the same research, Facebook is the best platform to grow a small business and is most useful to retail, media, financial services, and healthcare industries.
Why: The audiences on Facebook go there to discover new products. In fact, 30% of retail shoppers who recently made a purchase discovered a new product on Facebook.
When: On average, the Spredfast guide says that users hang out on Facebook 35 minutes per day and Sprout Social shared that by far Wednesday is the best day to post on the platform. Specifically, businesses should make their move at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on hump day.
Where: More Facebook users view content on mobile devices than they do a desktop.
How: Based on Spredfast and Sprout Social research on the 5 W’s covered above, businesses can reach Facebook’s key audience base by launching new products on the site through images, videos, concise descriptions and links to buy within the same post.
Who: Of the 800 million monthly active users on the platform, ladies and teens comprise the majority of the Instagram crowd according to Spredfast’s research. Females between the ages of 18 to 29 make up the largest demographic and 53 percent of teens use the platform to learn about new products.
What: Retail, sports and automotive businesses can find their niche with Instagram.
When: According to Sprout Social, the best times to post on Instagram are Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Friday between 10 and 11 a.m.
Where: Most users view Instagram on mobile devices.
Why: This highly visual platform is the place audiences look to learn about new products, follow brands, and check in with influencers to see what they are saying, learning, doing, wearing and buying.
How: Announce new products, show influential people in your industry and community using and talking about those products. Better yet, become an influencer in your industry by sharing how your products and services make their lives better.
Who: There are 317 million active users tweeting, and the majority of them are men.
What: Best platform for sports, media, financial services and healthcare industries, but not the place for retail.
When: Businesses will have the best results by tweeting on Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 a.m. according to Sprout Social.
Where: Contrasting with its social cousins Facebook and Instagram, Twitter faithful tend to check the site on desktop devices more than they do on mobile screens.
Why: Audiences head to the platform to get scores, news, reviews, deals and ideas.
How: Post coupons and news about your business and link to your website. When they have more time, they may switch to your Instagram and Facebook feeds to buy your products
Who: LinkedIn is the place to reach other businesses, business owners and professionals. The largest demographic on the platform is between the ages of 25 to 34.
What: A key industry served well by this professional platform is financial services. It’s also the place for business to business marketing and not so much for retail traffic.
When: According to Sprout Social, the best times to post are Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to10 a.m. and at 12 p.m.
Where: Given its professional niche, more users check the platform at home or work, which means their use is on desktop rather than a mobile device.
Why: The audience links in to make job searches, research companies and network.
How: Connect with this platform’s users by posting open positions and sharing research on your product or service. While you are at it, link up with like-minded businesses or research your competition.
Who: This is the space to connect with the guys. Males between the ages of 35 to 44 are the largest user group. Another fun fact Spredfast found is that YouTube’s channels reach more 18-49 year olds than any cable network in the United States. YouTube is second only to Facebook in monthly active users boasting a healthy 1 billion each month.
What: Industries related to media, sports and automotive sectors are served well by this platform.
When: YouTube’s myriad channels draw in users an average of 40 minutes a day.
Where: People are tuning into watch on mobile devices more than desktop computers.
Why: Tubers hang out on the site to interact with brands and follow content creators.
How: Businesses can publish video content showing the benefits and uses of products and services to directly engage with audiences and push them to a website to convert into sales.
Who: The ladies love Snapchat.
What: Retail, media, and sports sectors should snap away with this platform’s audiences.
When: The ladies (and others) open the app 25 times each day.
Where: Snapchat only lives on mobile devices.
Why: Snappers use the platform for its privacy - they control how long and who sees their posts - and of course for the pretty filters and lenses.
How: Use filters for your business and create quick and fun content that is lighthearted and hip. If you want more tips, follow Snoop Dog and Spencer Pratt, they seem to have it all figured out and have the largest following.
Need more help with the current social media scene? Need a strategy or ideas for posts? Give Poole Communications a call. We can help. 800-900-3635.
Sources:
https://assets.khoros.com/content/tipsheets/2018-Social-Media-Demographics-Spredfast.pdf
https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/#times-fb
When you're done go to our Insights and pick up some quick tips for your business. Subscribe to our newsletter to be sent regular tools and tips.
© 2019 Poole Communications
1. Know Your Audience
- What time they check Facebook, what content they’re interested in.
- Target those specific people who ‘liked’ your page.
Knowing your audience will help your business tremendously down the road. It’s not enough to have a great product these days. You need to find those people who are your target audience and know what they want to see, their interests, likes and dislikes.
2. Engage with Your Audience
- Make posts specifically to your target group.
Once you’ve figured out their likes and dislikes, it’s time to put your knowledge to work.
Think about it - a follower is more likely to like or share a post if it is relevant to them or if they find it to be something they can stand behind.
3. Provide Great Customer Service
Once you have figured out your target market and how to get their attention, you need to keep it! Keep up on your social media; it shouldn’t be on autopilot for too long. Notice when someone comments on a post of yours or better yet, shares your post. Respond to your audience; people like to know that who they’re following is responsive and actually cares about them.
In short, nobody likes to be ignored. If people comment on your post or have questions, acknowledge them! It’s easy to become automated with managing your Facebook, but don’t forget that Customer Satisfaction still rules and will go further than any boosted post ever will.
4. Customization
You can schedule when your FB status is posted weeks and months in advance, specifically to better fit your customers' schedules. When you go to make a status update there is a drop down box next to the "Post" button that gives you an option to schedule your posting. Use this free trick to optimize your social media!
5. Boost
You can also use the “Boost” button, which places your posts higher in the News Feed, so there’s a better chance your audience will see them. Although there is a charge to boost, but you can choose your own budget. The more you put towards your budget, the higher your boost.
Stay focused and use Facebook's free platform to your advantage!
The business world is changing. Ten years ago, you would have never understood "sharing your contacts on the cloud." Two years ago Newsweek stopped all printed publications. Take a look around you. It's time to move your company forward.
Last week I spent three days learning about new trends in internet marketing. I'd like to share a few ideas with you that can help grow your business:
Thank YOU for reading my post and stay tuned for more growing your business ideas.
Sally Poole
Check out our Facebook videos to see Sally's Secret Ninja Facebook trick! Find it here.
Social media can be intimidating - especially as a small business owner with limited time. We've put together a series of steps - a recipe - to get you started! Let's get cooking!
PREP
Strategies are the bread and butter of a social media campaign. How do you develop one? Start with your target audience.
ORGANIZE
USE
Start using social media - but start small and build.
RELATE
Listen to your followers. Comment and respond – even to negative, especially to negative, feedback. Be relatable. This helps build relationships – which is the essence of social media. Share others posts. Just like you communicate with people on your personal page – communicate with them via your business page (just keep it tasteful and professional – remember this creates an image for your business!).
EXPERIMENT
Track and analyze your posts. Experiment with different times and days to find the best time to post that will elicit responses from your customers. Find out what types of content get the best results. Social media is constantly evolving, so your content should be too!
BONUS
Comment below with comments or questions! Please, share our posts with anyone you think would find it helpful!
88% of consumers who search for a type of local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours, according to a Google Mobile Movement Study.
70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour.
Businesses are missing 70% of local content on sites like Twitter and Pinterest because they don’t have location-based sentiment monitoring set up, according to a recent study by Venuelabs.
These are some pretty staggering statistics. You spend lots of time and money building a website and optimizing it for search engines (SEO). But are you optimizing your business for local searches on mobile devices?
Half of mobile users use a local search/map to find businesses.
Let’s start with defining a local search.
Example:
An iPhone user asks Siri to find them a nice local restaurant, while visiting St. Louis. Local searches will include a specific location, city, ZIP code, etc.
Local SEO has one goal: to get to the top of the search results. In this case businesses want to rank on top for local geographic terms related to products and/or services that their businesses provide. The typical consumer performing a mobile search probably won’t scroll through pages and pages of results. They want fast, easy answers; they will likely make their decision based on no more than the first page of results.
So, what do you do?
Here’s a few tips to get you started:
Yelp
Yelp is a community driven review site that enables users to create locations, give details about the businesses, review them, and even post multimedia content.
It’s a major asset; you can thank Apple for that, and here’s why:
When an iPhone or iPad user uses Siri to search for a local business, the results are powered by Yelp. So, if you’re not on Yelp, iPhone users aren’t going to find you in local searches (unless they use their mobile browser and navigate to Google).
But there’s more. Yelp results returned to Siri are based on Yelp reviews. So, the top results returned are going to be the business with the most positive reviews.
But use caution, Yelp reviews can be tricky. If someone creates an account just to write a review for you, it’ll likely never be activated. Yelp likes reviews from active users. Ask your clients if they use Yelp, if they say yes, then ask for a review. Also, you can, and should, thank reviewers and invite them back for another visit, even offer a discount! That person, who’s already a fan, will often post a follow-up review, or answer others’ questions about your business. On the flip side, if someone posts a legitimate complaint, don’t be afraid to publicly apologize – but be sincere. Remember, a scorned customer doesn’t want freebies; they want to be heard.
Google Plus Local Pages
Google Plus Local pages are indexed in more than Android mobile searches. They’re also indexed in three additional types of searches:
Google Plus Local Pages are similar to Facebook business pages, but they have better SEO. You don’t have to post to your Google Plus Local Page as you would on a Facebook business page, although it doesn’t hurt. The essential elements include a complete bio, contact information and some photos.
You’ll also want to ask for reviews. Just like Yelp, the more positive reviews you have, the higher you will rank in searches. And responses to reviews are important here, too.
Other Searches of Note
Not all users search using Siri or Android Google searches. Many people have a favorite app. You should try to have listings on these sites as well. Other sites to consider:
Mobile Websites
To make the most of these local searches, your website needs to be optimized for mobile viewing. Here’s why:
There are plenty of apps, widgets and resources that can help you optimize your website for mobile viewing.
Now’s the time! Go mobile!
If you have more questions, or want to know more, give us a call!
http://www.inman.com/next/3-key-strategies-to-optimize-business-for-local-search-on-mobile-devices/
http://visual.ly/solomo-stats-no-business-can-afford-ignore-infographic
We've talked a little about social networking in the past. Today I'd like to be more specific and suggest that you start a business Facebook page. It's fun and it's free. Go to facebook.com and follow the directions. It's simple and plenty of businesses are there getting good results. Surprisingly, I've had two jobs come to my business from Facebook. More people are communicating that way because there's no junk email. On your business page you can add video, photos and keep your Facebook friends updated on what fun projects you're working on. You can also add neat little applications that bring more function to your page like client reviews, detailed information about your company, web and audio links. Check out Facebook this week.
Unless you've recently returned from a long stay on a deserted island, you've heard about 'Facebook' and 'Twitter'. These are just two of the many websites specializing in social networking. Social networking isn't just for staying in touch with family and friends. It's a powerful tool helping you connect people to your business. It's really simple to set up a personal account or an account for your company. And just like your personal account, your business account is a totally free tool. After you've signed up for Facebook and Twitter, visit Linked In. Linked In is a great business to business networking site. With a little bit of effort, you can help build greater credibility and stronger business relationships.
