Social media has become a standard form of marketing and should be part of most companies marketing mix. But social media is not free, and in most cases should not be the only marketing tool used.
What it is: Social Media is the websites and apps that allow companies and individuals to interact in a conversational manner. Some of the more prominent social media platforms include: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, etc. Interactive websites and mobile apps allow companies and their customers to interact in a personal way, that is very attractive to the customers.
What does it do: Social Media platforms allow people to interact with their friends, companies, other users of products, etc. where they can share and learn together. If companies are wise in their use of social media they can use it to educate, attract customers, build confidence through reviews and testimonials from current users, and provide opportunities for further interaction between the companies and their customers.
Uses:
How is it used: Social media can be used to:
Introduce new products and services to the market
Make people feel a connection to the company and to the other people who are customers (kind of like being part of a club or fraternity).
Educate people to features, uses and why they should want your products or services
Obtain feedback from customers and understand what they are thinking or concerned about.
Create viral content that users can share amongst themselves and increase awareness of your products and services.
Where: There are many social media platforms that you can use to share your messages and interact with your customers:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Snapchat
LinkedIn
YouTube
Pinterest
etc.
Why: Social media is widely used for some of the following reasons below:
While it is not free, as a Public Relations tool, you are not charged to post your information, so there are no fees to submit your information to the public
While Social Media does not charge for you to participate, there are a significant number of costs associated with creating the content, managing the site and postings, and responding to those with whom you interact, etc.
Social Media is widely used. Facebook has more than 2 Billion users and Twitter has more than 250 Million people who check their feeds multiple times a day.
Historically this would be like getting your company talked about on a TV show as a form of free advertising. As a form of Public Relations, social media creates many opportunities to share information.
Because of the interactive nature of social media, companies can create a virtual relationship with each of their customers.
Limitations:
Where it shouldn't be used: There are many opportunities to offend large populations with the content you share. Social Media is a dangerous place to take strong stands on politically sensitive issues. There is also a problem with selecting and using Social Media platforms where your customer base does not interact. If you are looking for 60 to 80-year-old grandmothers you would be better off on Facebook and Pinterest than you would be on Twitter and Snapchat.
Any restrictions: Do not start a social media platform if you do not intend to keep it up to date. An out of date social media site can be more harmful to your company image than no site at all.
Warnings: Try to make your social media content postings consistent with the message of your company. It would not be appropriate to use humor and outlandish shock techniques if your company is a mortuary. That approach is not consistent with the type of message that your customer associates with a company in your field or industry.
Determine your overall marketing plan and what role Social Media will play in that plan.
Identify your target markets and what is common about what those in the market are looking for and how they will respond to the social media interaction
Start with basic demographics like age, gender, locale, and other factors that could influence which media they watch and how they will respond
For each target market determine which social media will be most effective in delivering your message and creating the desired interaction
Create the social media platforms for that target market and populate it with content that supports your key marketing messages
Create a plan for content creation and posting
Knowing the interests, biases, and desires of the target market, create content that will attract, inform, entertain, and increase interaction with your brand
Establish a timing for when you will schedule your posts, responses to customer posts and other interactions
Schedule regular checkups on all social media platforms to make sure that they have remained on topic and are providing a positive interaction with your customer base that you intended.
Utilize social media scheduling apps like HootSuite, to schedule your posts months in advance and coordinate your postings to roll content across different platforms in a synergistic manner.
A prioritization table (see decision analysis page) is a good way to display the factors that were considered in selecting the social media choices for each target market. You can use the factors that were defined in the Comparing Social Media Template on this page. A second approach is to show the financial projections for the social media platforms using the financial template in the Comparing Social Media Template on this page.
