Is social media really that important?

Look around! Your potential customers aren't looking at billboards or listening to the radio. They're looking at their phones. Do you really want to ignore 3.48 billion social media users? We don't, and we don't want our clients to either. 

Take a look at these statistics from Hootsuite and Wearesocial:

With a growing rate of 9 percent a year, a total of 3.48 billion social media users have accounts on 9 different social media platforms, making them more accessible than ever to your brand or company.

According to a recent survey from the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans across a wide range of demographic groups now use Facebook. Other platforms like Instagram and Snapchat aren't too far behind.

 

Did you know that the majority of Americans now use Facebook and YouTube? Or that the average global user spends 2 hours and 16 minutes on social media every day? Whether it's through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube – there's no better time to establish your business' social presence and reach potential or existing customers than now. 

Social media isn't going away - learn how to use it to your advantage. Not sure what platform(s) your audience is using? We can help!

Check out some of our blog posts about social media in our Tech Files blog! Learn how to make social media work for you, no matter what your budget size is!

 

How can you measure the results of a social media strategy?

There are two types of clients - branding clients, and conversion clients. Branding clients want to be everywhere - they don't care how much it costs or what the return on investment is - they just want everyone to know their name. However, most clients are conversion clients because every dollar counts in this day and age. Companies need to know how much it costs to acquire a new client and retain existing clients, to determine if social media marketing is right for them. There are a number of ways to track conversions but let's look at a few:

1. Dedicated phone number (such as Google, Twilio, Skype, etc.) - A dedicated phone number should include an online dashboard so customers can login and see how many calls they've received through their marketing campaign.
2. Landing page specifically built for social media traffic - with an offer and a short form with a separate thank you page.
3. Audience/reach on social media platforms (although engagement is a tougher measurement, it generally has more value than just audience/reach.)
4. Use coupon codes specific to each social media platform and track the total sales.
5. Email newsletter sign-ups.
6. Download a document.
7. Complete an online request for quote.
8. Request a demo.

Take note (and screenshots) of monumental instances that may be small in measurement but large in value (let's say Michael Jordan retweets one of your tweets!) We remember how excited we were when Olive Garden asked if they could use one of our photos on their Instagram! Or when the mayor of our city shared one of our Facebook posts! Those examples may only be one share but the influence behind them (and the resulting awareness) is astronomical!

Without measurement, how can you determine success? When you first decide to venture into social media marketing, make sure you also decide how you will determine your success.

How to choose which social media platform to concentrate on?

Did you know there are more than 500+ social media platforms/websites for you to choose from? Most people are familiar with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest. But what about Snapchat, Google+, Yelp, Tumblr, Flickr, Vimeo, FourSquare, MySpace, Etsy, YouTube, Behance, Foodspotting, Trip Advisor, SlideShare, etc. There are so many to choose from! Don't get caught by what's trendy right now, hire a firm like Quadsimia, to tell you where your audience is so you can get in front of them. Choosing a social media platform means researching their audiences, determining what type of content you want to share, how much time you have available (yes, different social media platforms take different amounts of time to implement and maintain), and how you are going to measure the results of your social media strategy.