4 Ways to Effectively Utilize Your Social Media in 2018

Social media is still one of the most effective ways to grow a business and brand on the internet today, but there’s still a large question mark with most B2B companies not seeing value in it. The truth is though, social media can provide a huge value in acquiring new customers when used strategically.

With over two BILLION social media users worldwide, it’s certainly not a marketing source to dismiss. Social media is one of the most important industries for nearly every business and brand in the world today. When it comes to impressing advertisers and summing up your image, looking at your follower count is a no-brainer. So how do you attract the masses?

Here’s four ways to help you better manage, grow and scale your social media.

1. High-Quality Vs High-Quantity Content

Some people assume that in order to drive traffic you need to publish lots and often. But have you considered what your organization is posting? By asking these questions you’ll be able to get a better understanding of the quality v quantity social media battle:

– Is it helpful information your target audience wants?

– Is the topic relevant to what your audience is looking for or talking about?

– What are the analytics telling you? Not just the likes and shares, but the clicks and conversions too.

Different audiences respond in different ways and what works for one industry may not work for another, but ultimately you want to show that the time and effort you spend on social media marketing is contributing towards your business growth and company goals. And this is done through quality of what you’re saying on social media, not necessarily quantity of how often you’re posting.

2. Visuals, Visuals, Visuals

Trying to increase follower counts on social media is all about using the best visuals, social updates and content possible. Think as if you are a user. Why might you want to actually follow another account or brand?

We all know tweets with images get more engagement. We’ve known for a while that photos on Facebook get more engagement. Even images on LinkedIn get more engagement. Three of the “newest” social networks—Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat, are entirely image-based. So why aren’t you leveraging the visual when promoting your content?

Don’t just create a branded “featured image” to share with your post. Create separate images for each of the main points in your content. Use these when you repeatedly post to social media.

3. Social Media Is All About Listening and Engagement

Social media is talking … but is your business listening? Social media has transformed the way companies market their businesses, but regardless of what you have to say about your products and services, people are going to have their own take on them, and they may be turning to social media to express that.

Social media monitoring is a great way to get ahead of your competitors and keep your customers coming back for more. A recent study showed that 35% of the participants had asked a brand a question on a social network before. Not responding to these mentions can show a weakness in your customer service armor. When you respond promptly to mentions of your company on social media, you are showing potential customers that you have great customer service skills. (Negative feedback is especially important to listen to because it often provides clear direction on how you can improve. As you begin to get to know your online communities better, you’ll be ready to delve deeper into this element while becoming more approachable to the customer.)

4. Analyze Your Competitors

Social media monitoring isn’t strictly limited to your brand. It also pays to understand what your competitors are doing and how they engage with their own fans. Monitoring conversations that contain the names of your top competitors on social makes good business sense. By knowing what your competitors are doing and saying on their social media platforms, you’ll learn a lot about what is and isn’t working and ultimately get ahead of the game.

What networks are they active on? What kind of content are they sharing? How often are they sharing? Understanding your competitor’s social media engagement will help you establish a roadmap of what you should be doing as well.

Final Thoughts

While many things are likely to change or fade out in 2018, social media isn’t going to be one of them. Does your business practice social media monitoring? Not sure how and where to start? If you’re looking for ways to shed a light on your social media presence, why not give Social Media Monitoring from BARE International a try? Benefits include:

– Insightful, data-driven reports can fuel your strategy and guide your decision-making process.

– BARE’s Social Network Assessment Platform (SNAP) offers real-time data visualizations across multiple social media platforms to monitor your online reputation.

– At-a-glance visualizations are designed to provide actionable insights as quickly as possible to key decision makers.

Let BARE International empower your business in creating a relevant and powerful social media presence. Contact us today for more information, we look forward to speaking with you.