Social Media Creates New Challenges and Opportunities for Brand Marketing
Social media has been rapidly evolving more than ever. In Canada and the US, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are networks that are commonly used. But did you know that there are others that you may not have even heard of that also get millions of users a month? Some of these platforms include WeChat, QQ, Qzone, Baidu, Clubhouse, and Viber. Social media has also expanded beyond the traditional networks to places like Youtube, WhatsApp, Discord, Viber, Tumblr, and GoodReads. As social media continues to evolve, it is becoming apparent that the different ways consumers communicate are making it more difficult for brand marketers to keep up with the new opportunities and challenges that are created as a result.
In a nutshell, social media networks are websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. So, as a business owner or manager, you may be wondering, how you can utilize these massive networking platforms to turn your business into a well-known brand?
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are making it easier for consumers to share opinions about brands, products, and services, but brand marketers are finding it more difficult to control their brand message than they did decades ago. The main benefit regarding social networking and social media is that they provide marketers with access to many more consumers than ever before!
5 Challenges with Social Media
Although there is an increased opportunity to reach new customers through social media platforms, there are some challenges that can come about. Here are some of the challenges that brand marketers are facing with the increased use of social media:
1) Controlling brand message
Marketers are no longer fully in control of the brand message (the ability for users' comments and replies can distract and, in some cases, even usurp the conversation from brand messaging).
2) Maintaining brand integrity
It becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the integrity of the brand.
3) Losing focus on branding
Social media has caused marketers to be more willing to stray away from the important strategy of using a brand to define what a company or product is.
4) Failing to present business personality
Attempts at social media success have led brands to create an online presence that does not fit with their brand’s personality.
5) Using inappropriate marketing campaigns
Marketers have used inappropriate marketing campaigns which do not convey the brand’s message in the desperate hope it will go viral.
Ultimately, with access to such a large audience, the benefits of social media and networking for marketers do tend to outweigh the challenges and risks.
Want to learn more about social media? Our team at WEB ROI can help. Give our marketing specialists a call today!
How To Get Started in Social Media Marketing For Your Business?
Social media can sound overwhelming as it can pose some challenges, but when there is a good strategy in place, it can be quite beneficial for your business. These steps can help you get started to promote your brand marketing.
Step 1 - Determine your own business persona
Ensure it matches the branding that is in place for your business. A mismatch between your social media persona and your business persona can cause some dissonance for potential customers.
Step 2 - Determine your target persona
This is the audience you are trying to speak to. Figure out their demographics and other details about them. Once you have your ideal customer or target persona figured out the next four elements will be easier to decide on:
- Networks – decide which social networks you will display your content on. Think first about your target audience. What networks are they using? Meet them there.
- Frequency - Choose how often and which days to post. If you have less than one thousand followers, posting more than 2-3 times per week may not be providing your business with much value. Post during peak times, and remain consistent, even if it is just one post a week!
- Research and Optimization – Determine what you are going to post. Remember, content is king! Create posts that are relevant and useful for your audience. Optimize your captions and hashtags by using keywords.
- Engagement – See who is engaging with you and your posts. Check likes, follows, comments, or shares. These types of engagement are not always easy to come by, so we recommend what we call “Outbound Engagement” which is meeting your audience where they are.
- Paid Social Advertising - Social Media Advertising is a form of online marketing that focuses on promoting your business and services on social networks (e.g. Facebook, Instagram & Twitter to name a few). They are a great way to reach and engage with target audiences online and can be used to meet a variety of business objectives including brand awareness, customer engagement, drive website visits and generate business leads. Although social ads can also use the pay-per-click model often referred to as social PPC, they differ from traditional PPC in several ways including ad formats, targeting, and ad delivery.
Step 3 - Analytics
Reviewing your metrics and analytics can help show how your posts are doing and identify if you are receiving a Return on Investment (ROI) on your social media efforts. Social Media Marketing is a long-term strategy and may take 6-9 months to start seeing an ROI, but in the end, it will be worth it. Focus on metrics like your reach (how many people see your content) and try to improve that.
Benefits of Social Media Marketing
So, what benefits do pouring all of this work and resources into social media have for your business? Lots! Branding, exposure, communication with your audience, engagement with your audience, and having them engage with you (finding out their hopes, dreams, what they want and are looking for from a business like yours), and finally and most importantly some leads and sales!
The crew at WEB ROI specializes in social media optimization and can help your business take advantage of the considerable number of consumers who are tapped into social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even optimized blogging.
Want to win the race online? Visit our website or contact our team today to learn more about social media and the other services we have to offer for businesses just like yours! You can also download your FREE copy of Social Media Tips to Drive Your Business Forward.
