Social media has transformed the landscape and it’s impact has been nothing short of incredible. Across the spectrum of ways we communicate between family, friends and colleagues, social media delivers a relaxed and more conversational approach. It has become ubiquitous to how we connect.
The impact of social media is more than just how prevalent it is with the major networks. While Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram will continue to dominate the landscape for some time, we’re now seeing more and more social media style characteristics being embedded in everything we do online.
As many business leaders know, it’s always important for organisations to remain involved with these style of evolutions from as early as possible, while still keeping focus on the main game.
To that end, there has been some evolution in the ways business utilise social media and to help you with these, here are 6 cool ways you can have social media work for your business:
Listening
We’re often told that the best thing you can do socially is to stop and listen to what others have to say; that way you might just learn something. This basic principle continues to remain true for social media.
Before you go and do anything in this space, first find out what’s being said and by whom. Do your homework, listen to the audience and your competitors. See what people are doing and learn what works (gets the most likes, retweets or shares) and what doesn’t. This can also be a great way to determine what content might work for you to share with your audience.
Engaging
Knowing what to say, when to say it and how to say it in social media is an art. If you don’t know this, then you will soon find out. Social media audiences are fickle and they follow different schools of thought, fashion, ideas, direction and interest. Just like any social groupings you will find social media audiences can be capricious or embracing.
Taken seriously, you can create great conversations and followings based on the different ways you engage. This has to show diversity and provide a variety of content consistent with the message you’re trying to get across. And be careful. For example, just as you don’t want someone to come and tout in your face when you’re shopping, so too don’t be blatant to sell your wares on social media.
Promoting
Except of course if you’re doing a promotion. Then it’s perfectly acceptable to be selling since that’s what ads are for. Right? Well, once again, choose your style – a promoted post is best to develop an opportunity to direct someone along your customer’s journey. While an ad can be used to gain a more direct response.
Most people are aware how these systems work. Just like television before us, where we gave up our time to watch ads so we could see the tv programs for free, so now we give up personal information so we get to see ads that are more relevant to us and we can use the system for free.
Of course the jury is still out on just how much information we’re happy to give up; but hey, that’s the transaction and most people are okay with it.
Profiling
Which brings us to profiling, where you can take advantage of all that information and detail people make available to develop comprehensive marketing and sales strategies. These can be broad mass campaigns, using techniques such as look-a-like modeling, or highly targeted campaigns focused on individuals or demographic targets.
Undertaking social profiling also provides opportunities associated with influencer marketing – finding individuals who can influence your audience and reach new opportunities.
Analysing
Underpinning all of this is the data that’s available. Because these systems have been designed with options, choices and selections an enormous amount of information is available to design sophisticated campaigns and deliver targeted outcomes. Being able to define Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which actually deliver your Return On Investment (ROI) is one of the many benefits being derived for business.
Detailed reports provide you with the opportunity to know how effective your campaigns are. You can do solid A/B testing based on demographic and geographic criteria. Your strategies evolve in real-time and your social activities become a part of your dynamic marketing and sales regimen.
Integrating
Our sixth area where social media can really help your business is with integration to other important business tools such as your Customer Relationship Management (CRM)system or your Marketing Automation (MarTech) tool.
So, it might be one thing to know all this is possible, but quite another to pull it all together. That’s done with two things: a Social Relationship Management tool and McCorkell. We can help you to introduce these systems into your business and then optimise your programs and campaigns to take full advantage of the opportunities they present.
We think that’s pretty cool. Do you?