Everyone knows how important it is for a business to be active on social media. But what some businesses are missing out on are the benefits of the multi-platform use of social media. Each different social media platform offers another unique benefit to your business. The way consumers are using social media & interacting with brands is continuously changing. As these trends change it is important for businesses to know where the best place to interact with their target market will be.
Recently, multi-platform social media has been on the rise. Facebook and Twitter are no longer business’ only option to speak with their consumers. We now have access to platforms like Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn, all of which can be utilized. For example, Instagram saw its highest follower growth rate in 2014 with nearly 26% more users, resulting in nearly half of all internet users ages 18-26 using the platform. This tells us that social media is an important tool for all marketers to understand and use to communicate directly with consumers.
Here are Some Tips to Capitalize on Your Social Media Presence
- Choose the right platforms: Having more than one form of social media can be beneficial, but it is important to choose the right platform. For certain brands, it may not be helpful to be present across all social media platforms. Instead, you should focus your efforts where most of your consumers are communicating. When deciding on what social media platforms to invest your time and energy in, look at demographics of your target market and what platforms they appear to use most often.
- Engage with your Consumers: Once you know the best platforms to attract your target market, be active and engaging to your consumers. Post often in order to reach as many consumers as possible. But, make sure your posts are engaging and creative and are not simply spamming your followers. Start a conversation and foster interactions that drive engagement. Create two-way conversations and encourage users to engage with you the brand.
- Integrate your social media into all digital marketing campaigns: Make sure you are integrating your multiple social media platforms across all your digital marketing campaigns. Promote your platforms by adding social icons to a website as well as email marketing campaigns. This will encourage consumers to engage with the brand. You can also run cross-channel promotions to increase followers by encouraging likes and interactions with multiple forms of social media.