Get On Board
If you haven’t established your business throughout social media, you’re missing the boat. In a Q3 2011 report from Nielsen, the following was written:
- Social media accounts for about 25% of a users time on the internet.
- Social media has grown such that 4 out of 5 users visit social networks and blogs.
- Americans spend more time on facebook than any other US site.
- Close to 40% of all users access social media via their mobile phone
- In the USA, social networking apps are the 3rd most used of smartphone apps.
- Internet users over the age of 55 are driving social media growth through the use of mobile technology.
- Although a large number of women actively view videos on social networks, men are the heavier users of video consumption on social networks and tend to watch them longer.
- 70% of active social network users shop online, which is about 12% more likely than the average internet user.
- 53% of active adult social media users follow a brand, while 32% follow a celebrity.
- Across a snapshot of 10 major global markets, social networks and blogs reach over 75% of active internet users.
The Key to Social Media Success
Assessment
Once you’ve identified who your audience is, you will need to do determine what it is you want to achieve and what kind of action you want them to take. For example, do you just want to make them aware of something, do you want them to buy something, or do you just want them to remain loyal?
Implementation
How do you plan to execute your message? It is best to have a plan in mind when engaging your audience. The first step is to decide on the specific content. Will you create it, or will it come from a third party? Where will you share it, when, and how often?
Metrics
Tracking your campaigns are very important in understanding what matters most to your audience. It is through analytics that we can track activity throughout your social media and then fine tune to achieve optimal results. For instance, let’s say that you have posted a special sale that is time sensitive on facebook. The content would be information on the promotion and a link to a landing page on your website that gives more details on the promotion and enables the user to make a purchase.
By tracking the analytics across platforms (social media and website), we can determine how effective the content is, which post time yielded the greatest result (in terms of directing users to your site), and once at your site, did the user take the desired action of making a purchase?
Wash, Rinse, Repeat
It is only when this process is consistently followed, that you will be able to consistently achieve the desired results. Information is power and it will allow you to constantly refine and improve your message, delivery, and what action you want the user to take. It is only through practice, that we become better at doing, and this also holds true for what, how, and when we communicate through social media.