From its inception up to a few years ago, Facebook was primarily a social platform for keeping up with your friends. You know the story — discovering your middle school boyfriend is now married with three kids and has moved to a town in Wisconsin with a funny name. But Facebook became much more.
Nowadays, your down time isn’t only filled with scrolling through pictures of your middle school, now-Sheboygan-resident, boyfriend’s babies. It’s also filled with Google ads about the pair of shoes you Googled the other day. You know the ones. You’ll watch a bunch of puppy videos, and that same day, “I love puppies” T-shirts mysteriously appear in the banner ads of browser. This behavioral targeting isn’t just Facebook either. It’s all throughout the web and multiple social media platforms.
Advertisers and marketers are smart — they always seem to be one step ahead. What do you do when people spend more time reading old lovers’ posts on Facebook than magazines? You sneakily insert an ad based on their interests and search history, luring them into clicking. It’s no longer just personal profiles — it’s company pages, as well — an efficient way to reach your target audience, communicate with them, promote your services, engage customers, and make your brand approachable. Even a social media network to connect professionally was born: LinkedIn. There are a million ways to handle social media, and while you can leverage your personal pages however you like, when it comes to your business’s online presence, you want to be professional and efficient. Here are some tips on how to do social media like a boss.
Take advantage of online ad campaigns.
Social media is the best advertising platform out there — you can inexpensively set up online campaigns to run for weeks. While purchasing 1/8 of a page for a print ad can cost thousands of dollars, a social media ad can cost as low as $5 daily, with room for experimentation. Anytime, anywhere — whether you’re at the office or wearing your favorite pajama pants while riding a bicycle (which is really dangerous… you shouldn’t use your phone while biking).
Sound human.
You’re not a machine, and neither is your business. You don’t want to sound like a textbook; drop the PhD verbiage. Regardless of your industry or work culture, it’s important to create content to convey the message in a conversational tone while keeping it professional. People like to relate to your brand as a friend. Do not complicate the relationship.
Add a pinch of fun. Or maybe two.
Speaking of culture — don’t keep it hidden behind your business’s doors. Sell it to the world. Make working for you look appealing; share employees’ stories with the public. Your followers want to see that your brand isn’t only what they need — they want a peek behind the curtains. The nice guy who always brings donuts for everyone in the morning? Instagram a picture of him with the delicious treats. The lady who’s been with the company since day one? Throwback a Polaroid of her at her desk 20 years ago. People love that, and you will too. A healthy mix of industry-related posts, work culture and its derivatives is a clever strategy to promote engagement and keep people interested.
Become an expert on reach.
Reach is the number of people who will see your post on your social media channels. Research which times are ideal to reach your audience in through your chosen networks to make sure there’s traffic flowing through your posts and pages.
The aesthetics.
Your copy should be attention-grabbing, your posts shouldn’t drag for too long, and your visuals should be on point. Visuals speak louder than words, and videos may speak even louder. Make sure you have a good voice and aesthetic that’ll make you stand out, be heard and seen among so many other advertisers out there.
Tie in every platform.
Nowadays, every post you decide to share with the world can be shared in multiple channels. Post an Instagram picture and in just one second you can have it pop up on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Flickr. Social media publishing tools like HootSuite and Sprout can help you more effectively post throughout multiple channels using a single, convenient platform. The more channels you share your story, the more people will hear it, and the more reach you’ll have. Bingo.
Social media is the pinnacle of advertising, and will only continue to become more so in the future. Take into consideration the above tricks, and elevate your brand. It’s as simple as that. Or hire an expert to do it — specifically an agency based out of Wichita and St. Louis, with an orange logo, experienced advertisers and old lovers who may or may not live in Wisconsin. Because the goal of social media advertising is the same as America’s Dairyland’s — you want people to “Stay Just a Little Bit Longer.”
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