Like this, tweet that, share this post. Regardless of whether we are surfing the Internet or going about our real life, we see and use this new lingo everywhere, thus indicating how much social media impacts our day-to-day lives. However, the influx of social media networks makes it difficult to determine which platform is the best one to use, because each has its own advantages and pitfalls.
In order to effectively advertise your business, you must know what your business goals are, which platform your target audience frequents, and their activity on each platform. Here is a breakdown of the three most common social media platforms and how you can use each to advertise your business in order to discover new leads, increase your product sales, and encourage repeat customers.
Facebook
With over one billion total monthly active users and five times or greater return on ad spend for 49 percent of businesses, Facebook is a powerful platform your business can leverage in order to boost your brand engagement and increase your ad revenue. Many people users use Facebook to share news about their personal lives, to post interesting articles on their Timeline, and to interact with their friends via likes, shares, and comments. However, Facebook is not for every business. Think of Facebook as a first date and your fans as the person you are trying to impress. Just like a first date, you can talk a little bit about your business to show that you are an expert in your field, but you also want to be engaging, charming, and funny.
How can you market your business on Facebook?
Facebook is great for building your brand, because you can easily generate conversation with your Facebook fans by sharing high-quality articles and valuable information that are relevant to their lives. By sharing interesting content, your fans are more likely to share your content with their friends. This social referral system is the best way to advertise your business. In fact, studies show that 92 percent of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family more than any other form of advertising and word-of-mouth influences 50 percent of purchase decisions. Therefore, keep your Facebook page active and interact with your followers.
Twitter
Think of Twitter as Facebook’s cousin with a shorter attention span. Because you are limited to 140 characters, everything on Twitter has to be short and quippy. However, despite the word limitation, Twitter is also a great platform to engage your audience. With over 100 million daily active Twitter users and over 500 billion tweets per day, it is socially acceptable (even expected) to tweet multiple times a day, unlike Facebook where your business should only be posting about three times a week.
How can you tweet effectively?
Because of the limited character space and people’s waning attention span, Twitter is a game of cleverness. You don’t necessarily have to be funny, but you need to be smart with your tweet topics and word choice. Like Facebook, you can use Twitter to build your brand by posting your content and using branded hashtags. However, you can also use Twitter as a customer service tool by interacting with your followers. When they tag your company or send you a direct message, reply to them quickly, especially if they are tweeting a complaint. Showing your followers that you care about their good opinion makes them more amenable to considering your business in the future.
LinkedIn
If Facebook is like a first date, LinkedIn is like a first interview. LinkedIn is a social network for professionals and businesses, and the purpose is to showcase their knowledge and expertise in their given field. LinkedIn is excellent for establishing new contacts, because you can connect with people and businesses.
How can you connect with the right contacts on LinkedIn?
Although there isn’t much conversation happening on LinkedIn, you can still share your company updates and blog posts on your company page, thus establishing your brand authority. In addition, utilize the “People also viewed” feature on your company page to research competitors in your industry. This feature lets you see other companies that are not only similar to yours but also interest your potential customers. Use this insight to investigate their services and social media presence in order to improve your own.
Social media marketing is a lucrative way to advertise your business, because it leads potential customers through the entire marketing funnel, from brand awareness to conversion. Therefore, no matter which platform you choose for your business, use social media to advertise your business and increase your sales.