If you’re still wondering how social media benefits your business, look no further…
According to a recent survey conducted by LinkedIn, over 81% of small and medium-sized business have turned to social media, with over 94% of those businesses using their profiles for marketing purposes. Why? Having a presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram can substantially increase exposure for your brand, allowing you to showcase your products or services in a unique and engaging way. Social media is also an invaluable tool in listing to what people are saying about your company, including current and potential customers, peers and competitors. Most importantly of all, social media allows you to generate leads and attract more customers.
To get you started, consider the following three bottom-line tactics of effective social media management: listening, engaging and analysing. Seems simple, because it is.
- Listening
Social listening is all about tracking the conversation around you brand online, and is easily one of the most critical stages of social media management. Throughout the listening process, you will almost certainly find invaluable feedback on your company’s product and services, as well as learn more about competing brands. As a result, you will have a far greater chance of improving customer service according to your target audience’s needs/ wants. It’s also the best way of finding new leads, so ensure you make listening a part of your daily routine.
There are a number of online tools out there that make the listening process easy, such as Hootsuite and Social Mention, which deliver real-time information. To make the process even easier, some companies hire agencies that specialise in delivering easy-to-understand, up-to-date listening results, making the next step a whole lot simpler. One Google search for ‘social media management Melbourne’ and you’ll find endless possibilities to suit your budget. Newpath WEB is one of Melbourne’s leading online marketing agencies, offering tailored solutions at an affordable price.
- Engaging
For brands that are active on social media, engagement is vital. Why? Engaging with your customers when they have specific questions, or opinions, can significantly increase brand loyalty, and even spark the chance of a conversion. Engaging is especially important if your customer shares a bad experience on one or more of your social media platforms. Inactivity on your part will appear as though you are ignoring, or dismissing the customer’s concerns, inciting more anger from the unhappy customer. You wouldn’t do it in a brick & mortar retail outlet, and you certainly shouldn’t do it online.
If you’ve taken the time to listen to your audience on a regular basis (daily is optimal), then reaching out to them shouldn’t be too difficult. Once you have filtered through the chatter, or your agency has done it for you, you will be able to effectively engage with customers and influencers, as well as other relevant content. This step should comprise the following: – Liking, commenting and sharing: this is especially relevant for Facebook and Instagram
– Replying to posts: which can be prewritten and reviewed before posting – Reposting UGC (user generated content)
– Following back influential followers: Newpath WEB will help you identify and engage with influencers from within your company’s industry.
- Analysing/ Evaluating
Developing an efficient content plan requires a sound understanding of what kind of content performs best across different social media platforms. In order to do so, you must first evaluate the performance of multiple social networks, which can be done using online analytics tools. Social media managers will use this information to tailor promotional content based on your social media portfolio, in other words, all those media platforms with which your company has a profile.
For social media management Melbourne, get in touch with the team at Newpath WEB, who specialise in delivering interesting and engaging content based on your social media marketing goals. Simply pick up the phone and call 1800 761 806 for a quote.