5 Important Aspects of Social Media for Businesses

No matter your personal feelings on social media, the fact is that you need an active social media presence for your business if you want it to succeed. It can be a complicated process to figure out what kind of social media platforms work best for your business. You'll also have to figure out what kind of posting content and frequency are most effective. Here are five important aspects of social media as it relates to your company.

1. Broad Audience Platforms

When you are deciding which social media platforms to use for your business, there are two basic categories: broad audience and niche platforms. It's a good idea to have an account on at least one broad audience platform. This means Facebook, Twitter, or possibly Google+. These are the main social media platforms where current and potential clients will interact with your company. There are also several advertising options you can look into, and most are fairly user-friendly.

2. Niche Platforms

Once you have your Facebook and Twitter accounts set, it's time to consider which other platforms would work well with your business. First, you need to make sure you have a good understanding of who your audience is. Once you have comprehensive and accurate knowledge of your audience, you can determine which social media platforms will reach it most accurately and efficiently. For example, if your client base or audience is primarily women, and your business is related to fashion or lifestyle topics, Pinterest could be a perfect fit.

3. Hire an Expert

One mistake small-business owners and entrepreneurs often make is trying to save money by doing everything themselves. This usually does not end well. When you are ready to invest time and money into your business' social media presence, it's wise to consider hiring someone to manage those tasks. One part of making your social media profile attractive to your audience is frequent posting of high-quality content. Hiring an assistant to handle all the social media accounts can have many benefits.

Because social media exists online, it lends itself perfectly to a virtual assistant. Hiring a virtual assistant is generally affordable, and it's a job that can be done remotely, which opens up a larger pool of potential employees. When you have one person whose sole responsibility is creating and maintaining your business' social media presence, you can count on cohesive content across all platforms.

4. Develop Meaningful Content

Social media is saturated with business profiles, so you have to find a way to make your company stand out to attract and engage your audience. The best way to do this is to create meaningful content for your audience. If all your tweets are sale pitches and your Facebook posts read like ads, your audience will quickly learn to ignore your content. However, if you post content that is actually valuable to your audience, you'll not only keep their attention, you'll improve your company's image.

The exact nature of "meaningful content" will look different for each business. You may post how-to articles or fashion tips if those relate to your business. You can also consider making short videos for YouTube. Great examples of meaningful content can be found on the Hampton Creek Foods YouTube channel. There are simple recipe demonstrations and interesting videos with the company's founders. This is content that adds value to the reader and has the power to engage a new audience as well.

5. Be Persistent

Persistence is one of the most important elements of building and maintaining a business social media presence. You have to continually create new content and find additional ways to engage your audience. The social media world is constantly changing and evolving, so you will need to keep up with the changes in posting styles, platform best practices and effective advertising. Social media isn't an area where you can just set it up and put it on autopilot.

Figuring out how to make social media work for your business can be a complex process. You'll have to know your audience and choose the platforms that will work best to engage your client base. Hiring a virtual assistant to handle all the social media tasks can be an efficient use of time and resources. Try to post content that adds value to your readers and encourages them to share with their own social network. With hard work and dedication, you can make social media advantageous for your business.

 

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