Not all social networks are created equal. Likes, followers and fans are nice, but conversations and conversions matter most. Many small businesses learn the hard way that social media takes time and manpower. In many cases, they learn that social media requires a budget and plenty of patience – especially given the recent algorithm updates, which influence what users see in their streams and newsfeeds (read about the recently announced changes on Facebook and Twitter). To make the most effective and efficient use of your marketing resources, it pays to be strategic and selective. The following tips will help you evaluate or reevaluate your social media presence to grow your business.
A social media strategy and related tactics are part of a bigger picture, so begin with your marketing plan, which should include characteristics of your target audience. Create target audience profiles and find out which social networks they prefer. Kristi Hines, freelance writer, blogger, social media strategist and recent guest on The Marketing Mojo Show, suggests knowing what keywords your audience uses and provides this example.
…Let’s say that you sell gardening supplies online. Your target audience would be gardeners. Here is how you can use that keyword on the top social networks.
- To find out if your audience is on Twitter, try searching for gardener or gardening on Twitter user directories and search engines such as Follower Wonk, Wefollow, and Twellow. Follower Wonk lists at least 15,000+ people with gardener in their profile.
- To find out if your audience is on Facebook, try searching for gardening in the search box at the top. The interest page for gardening has over 3 million fans.
- To find out if your audience is on LinkedIn, try searching for gardener or gardening using the People search box in the top menu bar. The results for gardener shows over 24,000+ people.
- To find out if your audience is on Google+, try searching gardening or gardener using the search box at the top, then change the dropdown from Everything to People and Pages. Google+ doesn’t give a count of the number of people it finds, but there is an extensive list that goes on and on.
Most social networks will have their own search box to use, although when it comes to Twitter, using outside search engines and directories make it easier to find people with specific interests. This will help you gauge which network has more of your targeted audience.
Kristi also provides a few questions to ask to find the right social networks for your business:
- Is my competitor on this social network?
- How popular is this social network?
- Will this social network help my online reputation?
- Is this social network driving traffic to my website?
Read Kristi’s entire article at recruiterbox.com
This infographic will help you determine which network provides a good fit for your business.
What criteria do you use to select social networks for your business? Feel free to share your thoughts in the in the comments section of this post.
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