Business Buzz: Maximize social media impact

PHUKET: When using social media, it is very important to establish exactly what it is that you want to achieve. It is also important to understand that each social media platform works differently and can achieve different things.

Overall, there are a many purposes for which social media can be used, but the most common are branding, lead generation, information sharing and product awareness.

Often the common goal for all social media is to get the potential customer or target audience to move from the social media platform to a website or into a database.

Each platform is different and requires a slightly different approach. For example, a blog can be largely written content, with only one image, and so a lot of information can be included.

Google + and Facebook tend to feature posts with little, or just a moderate amount, of written content and few images, or video, which then often send the viewer to a blog or website, or to ‘Like’ a fan page.

At the other extreme are Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, which feature very little written content and few images. And YouTube which is all video, but longer in presentation.

There are a few common strategies that remain important, no matter what the platform:

1) Consistency – remain consistent to your product and your company branding and image. Don’t swap and change your image between platforms as this will just confuse your audience.

2) Relevance – always make sure that what you are posting is relevant to your theme and branding. Don’t go off point, as this will just confuse and potentially attract the wrong target market.

3) Match your content with the correct platform – don’t try to put long and detailed content where you know the viewer’s attention span and customary use is short. It does not matter how good the content is; it will lose its power. Better you use a teaser, and direct your audience to your website.

Make sure you match your goals with your content and platform – you are much better off keeping your social media light and sales free, and save the sales pitch for your website or email marketing.

4) Make your call to action very clear – if you want people to do something, spell it out for them. For example; ‘click here to get a free sample’, ‘go here to join our mailing list’, or ‘to read more about this, go to our website’ – and make the path to the next step as simple and automated as possible.

Make sure you measure and analyze each stage, so you know what is happening, what is working, where any bottlenecks or breakdowns occur, and then fix them. The great advantage of social media is its speed, so make sure you utilize this.

5) Keep up to date – it is always good to know not only about social media, but how your industry and competitors are using it. Monitor what they do, how it is working for them and how you relate. If you need to change, you can – be creative and don’t be a copycat.

So think about your social media goals and plan before you post.

Simon Wetherell is a social media expert and lawyer. He trains businesses and individuals on how to profit from the social media industry. For more information: Visit PhuketOnlineMarketingSchool.com or call 095-085 3355.