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No technology in history has been adopted as fast as social media. For reference, it took fifty years for household telephones to reach 50 million users; it took Facebook (released in 2004), four years to reach 50 million users, and it took Pokémon Go (released in 2016) only 19 days.
There are so many tools for and types of social media that it would be impossible to understand them all fully, keep up with the rate of change, and learn new tools and platforms as they are released.
Luckily, you don’t need to. To be successful on social media, you need to understand communication principles and psychology. Below are five tips to help you get started on using social media effectively.
1. Examine Your Current Efforts
First and foremost, take stock of what you’re already doing. Think about the following questions:
- What social platforms do you use?
- How often do you post?
- What about your strategy is and isn’t working?
Based on your review, determine what to keep, what to add, and what to get rid of (if anything). Remember that you don’t need to be active on every social platform. If your business is one that requires confidentiality, for example, it wouldn’t be a good idea to post pictures of your work and your clients, so it may not make sense to have an Instagram account. But, if you really wanted to do Instagram, you could always develop a creative way to convey your company and get your brand out there without compromising confidentiality. If something isn’t working out or aligning with your communication goals, it’s okay to let it go.
2. Set Realistic Short and Long-Term Goals
Successful social media accounts are made up of small, consistent actions, so develop attainable short and long-term goals that you will be able to stick to.
There’s no point in developing a strategy that’s too time-consuming or complicated to actually implement: It’s better to reach your goals and expand on them rather than give up because your expectations were unrealistic. So maybe to start out, your short-term goal is to post three times a week on your social accounts, and your long-term goal is to gain more followers.
3. Know Your Purpose
Think about your communication goals and the message you ultimately want to convey to your followers and consumers. Then develop a mission statement that you can always come back to. Crafting content for your business is easier when you have a firm grasp of its purpose.
4. Understand Your Audience
To be effective on social media, you need to know your audience and understand human behavior.
Consider the Pareto Principle: 20% of your efforts = 80% of your results. In other words, simply posting content does not necessarily mean you will see results. Technology is changing faster than we can master it, but human nature doesn’t change, so do the work to understand who you’re talking to and how to talk to them; it will help you in the long run.
5. Identify Potential Competitors and Collaborators in Your Industry
Keep tabs on your competition as well as individuals and businesses you’d like to work with in the future. You will be able to see what leaders in your industry are doing that’s effective, and what they’re doing that isn’t. Learn from them and use what you learn to improve your own business.
These tips might seem like they involve a lot of planning and research, and sometimes they do. But in the long run, it is so worth it to do the work. As long as you are consistent with your plan, you will see results.
For more help developing a marketing and communication strategy, reach out to AG Marketing Solutions at 610-337-8484 or info@agmsolutions.com.
