Social Media Basics: How Businesses Can Get Started on Using Social Media Platforms

In recent years, the importance of social media to businesses has become increasingly evident. A report released by Nielsen earlier this year showed that 89% of advertisers that participated in its survey take advantage of free tools offered by major social networking sites, and 64% plan to invest more in social media advertising in the future.

Given the huge impact that social media has had on the growth of businesses, many companies have decided to take advantage of this tool to broaden their reach while establishing their credibility with consumers. This is particularly true for small businesses looking to expand their clientele and companies aiming to focus on online reputation management. However, going in this direction requires a lot of forethought to ensure that a business’ online campaign generates positive results.

Identifying Goals

Before taking action, businesses should first determine the purpose of their online campaign, whether it’s to attract more customers or to deal with negative feedback. By identifying the purpose of the campaign, businesses can create content that aligns perfectly with their goals.

Determining the Target Audience

Identifying the target audience requires knowing more than the usual information about the audience (i.e., their age, gender, and income, among others). Since the focus is on social media, businesses must also identify their target audience’s online behavior and the kind of web content that the audience finds engaging; this will let them know which social media platform to use and what kind of content to post.

Developing an Action Plan

This step is crucial as it is about how businesses will execute their strategy to achieve their goals. An action plan must involve determining how much time to devote to social media activities, which online platforms to use, the frequency of updates, and the type of content that will be posted on a particular site, among many others.

In using social media to expand one’s visibility and deal with negative feedback, businesses must always keep in mind that posting high-quality content is key to earning the trust of consumers. And in a rapidly changing online environment, reviewing your strategies periodically will be a necessity.

References:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217578
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224547
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/newswire/2013/getting-socially-minded-marketers-to-up-their-social-media-ads-in-2013.html