The ever-popular, yet somewhat elusive, social media. Everyone’s on it and if you’re not on it, you have to get on it. On social media are celebrities, influencers, politicians, businesses, your friends and maybe even your mom. With the countless social media platforms, you are more than likely bound to be on one if not all of them. And because of this, you think your business should be as well, right? Right! That was not a trick question. But the trick is getting social media to work for you. And in order for them to work for you, you have to understand the biggest myths in social media.
A lot of people assume getting famous or ‘going viral’ is something that happens quickly and easily. As if posting one photo of a cute puppy or a funny meme will skyrocket you to instant insta-fame. While there is that one-in-a-million person who that will happen to, it’s as likely as hitting the lottery. So, if you are doing everything you are supposed to be doing; following the trends, posting often, using analytics for your benefit and such, then you’re on the right path. And just because it's month three and you only have a hundred followers, it doesn’t mean your business is doomed to fail or that you should fire your social media manager. It simply means you have to have patience.
False! While being on all platforms may help some businesses, it doesn’t necessarily work for all. You have to know your product/service and you have to know your audience. For example, a clothing company would benefit from being on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Tik Tok, but maybe not require Twitter. Whereas a retirement community may do well on just Facebook alone. Then you could have newspapers that thrive on Twitter, Facebook and maybe even Instagram, but could do without Pinterest or Tik Tok. Learn where your audiences are, if they are older, they are on Facebook, if they are younger, they are on Instagram, and if they are even younger, say hello to Tik Tok. Do your research and be sure to brand accordingly!
While getting sales is always a good thing, it isn’t the only thing that equates to success. Social media isn’t always about the dollar sign… though it could be. You can connect your accounts to stores to buy products, to websites and give them the option to call to buy/book, of course, but social media also has other ways to measure success. And that factor is word of mouth. Social media is great for branding, when getting your name out there is key, you want name recognition. You want the consumers to say something along the lines of, “oh, yeah I saw them on Facebook!” or “they have the coolest Instagram!”.
Many people assume social media is for children and if they are on it, then they aren’t really professional. But quite the opposite is starting to occur. Most people these days won’t trust a business unless they have social media accounts. After all, how else can you tell if they are real without seeing their most active accounts? You want to see a hairstylist's work on Instagram before you make an appointment, or check out restaurant reviews on Facebook before you go or even see a photographer on Pinterest before you book them.
Give your parents a call, hey even give your grandparents a call… we can almost guarantee you they have a Facebook. The more social media becomes crucial to our lives the more people, even older people, are going to be on it. If having a Facebook or getting Snapchat is the only way they can see pictures of their grandkids or know what their kids are doing after school, the older generations are going to get on it. And the more they do, the more the younger generations will start finding new platforms and the cycle will keep on going.
Did we prove your point on a certain myth? Or did we shock you? In any case, every platform of social media has its data to help you know how to target your audience the right way, as well as using analytics to see what is working and what’s not. And in all honesty, new myths will spout every day, but it’s up to you, with some help from us, to keep you aware of the facts and fiction going around the interwebs.
Like radio, TV commercials don’t just mean what’s on your local or national television stations anymore. Now it includes, Hulu, Amazon TV, and other network streaming platforms. And just like the radio, without a paid account, you are sitting through the commercials indefinitely until the show resumes. TV commercials are a great, given costly, way to advertise your business whether if it is on the good-old-fashion TV or a streaming service.
Whether an event is in person or virtually, events are a great way to get your business out there to an already established audience. At the event, you can either have a banner, representatives, free gifts, flyers, and whatever else you can think of to get more eyes on your business.
One of the older forms of advertising, direct mail can be anything from postcards and pamphlets to catalogs. While these methods aren’t as popular as they once were, many companies still use this method to get their business out there. However, email advertising has now become the new form of direct mail by using newsletters and promotions digitally, rather than physically.
Doing a deep dive of marketing research into your business can be a good indicator of which method of advertising can be right for you. It could be one it could three, it could be all of them. Just be sure to see all aspects of a method from reach and deliverability to cost and analytics.