Wasn’t it that there were times when you believed your ideas, And they don’t generate the desired results? More than likely digital traps. those messed up your plans a bit.
Although many people associate Social Media only with the social networks they use, we must keep in mind that this term has a much more complex meaning.
Social Media = any digital tool through which users quickly create content that they then share with the public. In short, we are talking about various digitally mediated interactive technologies that facilitate the creation or exchange of information, ideas and other forms of expression.
That is, we can associate Social Media with all the existing applications and websites that we use to create various networks or social relationships. Regardless of which one we are talking about, the basic mechanism is somewhat similar and any user can access them easily. For example, we create a free account, generate content, follow other users or become friends with them, give likes or appreciations, etc.
Do we still need these definitions in 2021? We need to know exactly what Social Media means to take into account the fact that there are many more forms of expression in the online environment, compared to the ones we use, and any of them, at any time, can become a trend in Romania as well. TikTok is a good example, even LinkedIn. Has Twitter been successful in our country? No, but it is still used.
PS: Facebook still remains in first place in the top of the most used platforms.
Why use Social Media?
Certainly, Social Media must be part of a brand’s marketing strategy, and 2020 reconfirmed to us that the presence of a business in the online environment is even mandatory because: it communicates easily, quickly – you are in permanent and direct contact with your audience. You have created your account, customers can contact you much more easily. For example, think you want to get in touch with a brand, you send an email, but you get a notification that their inbox is full. What other options do you have? Social media platforms are always a quick fix. Also, don’t forget that Social Media is one of the marketing strategies that allows you to connect directly with your audience. That is, the users who follow your account are interested in your business, and you know who does this, and you can see their reactions to your activity.
you reach a wide audience. Keep in mind that the average age of Internet users is 16-64 years, but those who have accounts on Social Media, according to some statistics, are aged between 13 and 65+. What does this mean? That we can address a very wide audience.
you create organic content. Digital media can be used anytime to post content in real time, for free. Benefits? It helps us strengthen the relationship we have with the audience, we increase brand awareness.
you create viral content. Through Social Media, your content can become viral much easier, that is, it makes you popular. Does Jerusalema dance mean something to you?
you can schedule your posts. You prepare the post and then, according to the communication plan, you schedule the moment of publication (date+time).
you have access to paid advertising services. You can create digital campaigns and in Social Media, investing much less money, compared to other types of advertising. These can be adapted to any budget, so we are not talking about standard amounts.
you build your brand. Social Media has an important role in increasing brand awareness. We outline the values.
you drive traffic to your own site, you can evaluate your performance and discover your prospects. In general, digital platforms allow you to post content that also contains links, so through a creative/convincing content you can encourage the audience to click. Don’t forget that regardless of the type of content you publish, the results are measurable (eg number of likes, shares, views, followers, comments, etc.). By doing an analysis, you can observe the developments, and even the perspectives (where applicable).
Does Social Media have disadvantages?
The online environment also has disadvantages. Even if the digital tools are accessible and can be used easily, you still invest a lot of time in creating a campaign, and the results are seen over time. So you also have to be patient. In addition to the above, keep in mind that there are a number of digital pitfalls that can lead you to poor performance or even failure. For example, negative feedback can be one of them. Why? Because his presence must be managed very carefully.
Digital pitfalls and how to avoid them.
If Social Media contributes to the growth of a brand’s image, don’t forget that the opposite side can also be crossed easily. Learn to avoid digital pitfalls to work on brand awareness through Social Media, where people spend most of their time.
Activity on Social Media.
The presence of a business on several social networks is recommended. What does this mean? That we must be present only where we know we have what to post and for whom. Don’t create an account on a platform if you know you won’t manage it so that you’re constantly interacting with your audience. For example, you have a Facebook and Instagram account, and later you decide to appear on TikTok as well. There is nothing wrong with this, but make sure that you have constant activity there as well, and the account will not be represented by an almost “empty” page.
Personal account vs. business account.
Many people consider that posting on Social Media is something trivial. Totally wrong. Why? Because on the personal account we can post daily, whenever we want and at any time. Business account posts should have a strategy and follow a plan. Did someone say plan? We got to planning. Continuing the above idea, think that for example from your personal account you can post at 7AM about what is happening with the traffic at that time. Do you think you can also post such content for your business account?
Appropriate use of platforms.
First of all, are you present on social networks? I think you have at least one account on one of the most used platforms. The advice is to take into account the fact that each tool has an operating algorithm. For example, Twitter specializes more in sharing links and writing short messages, while Instagram is designed to optimize the sharing of photo and video content. And using hashtags works differently from platform to platform.
Planning.
Don’t post randomly. Make sure you have a communication plan for each type of platform used. We certainly do not know the exact number of daily posts (ideal) for each Social Media channel, but we must make sure that we have quality content that represents us. We also take into account the idea that we don’t want to stress users, but also help them forget about us.
Quantity vs. quality.
We should not be at the point of posting because we have to publish “something”. We are primarily interested in the quality of our posts. When we talk about quantity vs. quality, we also mean our audience, that is, how we got it. Did you know that there are figures that we can “buy”? We want people who follow us to interact with us. There is also the option of paying to increase the number of users or views, but this trick does not reflect anything relevant for us as a business.
Current trend and trends.
And in Social Media we talk about trend and trends. It’s a very dynamic environment, and we, as specialists, have to be aware of everything that’s happening. In 2016, for example, a brand posted a famous meme, which at that time represented the image of racism. What do you think? The main idea is to do some research before creating the content of a post. Did you know that now, for Facebook posts, the link we want to attach to the content is written in a comment, on the post?
Communication with the audience.
Be active on social media platforms. In addition to published content, don’t ignore your audience. Respond whenever possible (eg private messages, reviews, etc.).
Negative feedback.
Inevitably we may also receive negative feedback. Regardless of what the text of the received message contains, we must react very calmly. Don’t answer at first. Make sure that your answer is calculated, and the final version is the same as when you send. Whether we are talking about reviews, comments or messages received privately. Do not delete negative feedback. Hide or delete only messages where the language goes far beyond the bounds of decency.
Editing a post.
Many times it can happen that when you have posted something, spelling or even grammatical mistakes creep in. Don’t post until you’re sure the text is clean. It is not about the seriousness of the mistake, but about the fact that we can be associated with a lack of professionalism. In a fraction of a second, we don’t know how many people have viewed our content. Obviously, there is also the option of not noticing the errors and modifying either too late or not at all.
Competition.
Don’t copy the competition, but follow it. In general, it’s also good to look at what those around us are doing to inspire us.
Do not forget.
Social Media is a trend that is constantly growing, and we have to keep up with it.