A long time ago, when social media platforms were non-existent – the Internet was Google.
Since Google was the market leader in search engines, SEO was the only technique famous in the world of internet marketing. Social Media and its benefits were unheard of.
Any company you spoke to, had an SEO team analyzing keywords, building back-links, etc., etc. It was a crazy race to build as many back-links as possible in the minimum time possible.
The target was to reach the top of rankings in the shortest time frame possible. Rankings meant traffic. Traffic meant business. And then, something unexpected happened.
The God of the Internet – “Google” decided to punish the mortals of SEO World for manipulating the ways of business. Google wreaked havoc by punishing everyone who was found to be a spammer in the eyes of google.
And what were the weapons of destruction? Ironically, the arms of the damage came in the form of algorithms with the names of cute birds and animals. The pandas, penguins, hummingbirds, pigeons were unleashed to bring sanity to the world of SEO.
The punishment was given in the form of loss of ranking. The world of SEO has never been the same. And to ensure, the manipulators play by the books – Google promised more cuteness in the form of algorithm updates. The regular updates were introduced to differentiate genuine content creators from manipulators.
While the SEO world was busy fighting Google’s frequent updates, a new trend started on the Internet – Social Media. Everyone started discussing the use of social media in business.
The Zeus of the Internet, Google suddenly had to compete against the likes of Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Quora. The social media platforms bought with them a ray of hope for everyone struggling to keep up with Google’s algorithms.
Due to my reluctance to adopt the technology (I am still old school), I entered the social media world a little late. But when I did. It was an eye-opening experience.
I dug in deep to understand how the brands all across the worlds are selling via viral content. The whole world was talking “social media”. The benefits of social media in business marketing could not be ignored.
Not that Google lost its relevance. Google still holds the market share when it comes to promoting your brand via the internet. Still, social media was the new trend — a medium where you could at least make some predictions. You were not at the mercy of Google.
Soon the SEO Experts rechristened themselves as Social Media Experts. And the world of Social Media Marketing was never the same. Within a short period, every digital marketing agency worth their salt was pitching the benefits of social media marketing to customers.
Companies started hiring online teams for “Social Media Marketing”. And some of them hired a digital marketing agency. Social Media gave startups an affordable platform for promotions at a fraction of the cost of what they spent advertising using Google Ads.
While the penetration of social media proved to be a blessing in disguise for startups, Its sudden entry overwhelmed them. They started using every platform to promote their brand.
The startups forgot you are just inches away from becoming a business no one talks or cares about in the social media world by not following the right techniques of social media marketing. Today, most of the startups I see are confused in formulating a solid SMO strategy for their business.
What they do not realize is, the user target base of each platform is entirely different. For example, Facebook and LinkedIn are like chalk and cheese. What you promote on Facebook cannot always be advertised on LinkedIn.
This blog is a simple guide to the benefits of social media marketing for business.
I will cover four of the most popular social media platforms in this blog:
1. Facebook
Do you have a bakery serving the yummiest cakes in the town? Or are you an event planner looking for customers? Look no further. Facebook is the perfect fit for you.
Facebook is the ideal platform for companies in the B2C space. You can blindly make Facebook a part of your promotion strategy. Let’s understand Facebook a little more. Facebook’s user base consists of users who are there to have fun. Facebook is a parallel life for Facebook users.
It is a place where people who are introverted in real life, transform into extroverts. It is a place where we have fun and let the world know that “we are having fun”.
The strategy to post on Facebook should revolve around mixing content. The content can range from links, blogs, news, banners to videos. The ideal frequency of 1-2 posts daily for new brands works on Facebook. For established brands, the number can go a little higher.
One important point to remember while promoting on Facebook is to avoid spam activity. If Facebook finds too many posts on your page not invoking any fan’s reaction, your page will suffer. One way of avoiding it is by boosting your best posts to enhance their engagement.
Read it to get a fair understanding of how Facebook can help your brand grow.
2. Twitter
A tweet on Twitter is 280 characters of knowledge/opinion. Every business worth promoting on social media should be on Twitter. I call it the wittiest way to promote your brand. As they say “Brevity is the soul of wit”. Twitter tests your smartness by letting you express in the minimum words possible.
Short, simple, and smart. In minimum words, you can share updates/posts and connect to your user base smartly. A quick tip for businesses learning how to promote business on Twitter will be – Post relevant, witty stuff using the right hashtags.
The hashtags on Twitter are to tag your content with relevant topics. If promoted correctly, your brand will automatically pick up. You can use Twitter to interact with your direct user base.
The concept is to give them the power to report issues, give those promotional offers or share your business’s latest news.
3. LinkedIn
The social network of professionals is where all “corporate” discussions happen. You ought to be here if you have a B2B enterprise.
If you are planning to use LinkedIn for Marketing and you are addicted to Facebook – here is a quick to help you save the blushes: Please do not share “How many likes for supporting poor kids of Somalia” or some funny gig you shared on your business FB page.
LinkedIn users hate the FB stuff coming on LinkedIn. One of the reasons they are on LinkedIn is because of the Business community and the hanky-panky stuff from FB is not appreciated on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn can help you in establishing your authority as a leader in your business domain. You can spread your knowledge by using your page updates or writing blogs (pulse). You can also use LinkedIn to post jobs, connect and interact with relevant users.
Use it smartly to leverage the massive database of related professionals on the platform. From what I have read, YouTube is again an excellent platform to promote your brand using videos (know-hows, tips, tricks, etc).
4. Quora
Another smart way of pulling traffic from social media is by using Quora. Quora is a place to answer questions and get recognition in your area of expertise.
You can use Quora to pull traffic to your website by establishing yourself as a prominent name in the topics you write. The vital point to note for startups or any business is that they do not use the wrong content on the wrong platform.
Users on social media are there for a reason. You have to give them the right mix of content to keep them engaged with your brand. Don’t overdo social media marketing by self-promotion and your business will do well on social media.
Let me reiterate; no one is on social media to like some X brand promoting a Y product. They are all there to have fun or find the best of things (news, videos, pics, etc).
Use social media strategy rightly in your business to build a bond with the user base and see your brand grow.
Author byline:
Jasmeet is an Entrepreneur, Avid Reader, Startup Consultant, and a Reluctant Blogger at Lessons At Startup. A regular family guy and a proud father of two adorable kids.
