Is Social Media Marketing Helping or Hurting My Business?

Social media outlets are great mechanisms for businesses, allowing them to reach out and engage audiences with relevant content. Of course, it’s always important to consider how one is using social media, to ensure a business is receiving the maximum return available for their efforts. In this article, we will outline several points to consider to make sure social media interactions are helping, not hurting a business.

Consider Your Target Audience(s)

There are a plethora (100+) of social media outlets, so it’s important to select those platforms where a business is likely to find an interested audience. It is better for a company to do a few social media platforms very well, rather than spreading their marketing efforts so thin they end up impressing almost no one.

Use Automation Tools

Savvy companies take advantage of automated marketing tools such as Hootsuite that allow them to automate social media scheduling processes. This is helpful for companies who have a global audience whose schedules don’t always sync with the time schedule of a company’s main office. Automated scheduling tools can also take care of weekend and holiday scheduling tasks, as well as cover marketing personnel on vacation.

Brevity is Key

There is no need to craft lengthy scripts for social media. In fact, some platforms limit posts to a very small number of characters. Make every word count in a post and take advantage of visuals such as videos, images, and gifs to communicate as well. For those times when it is necessary to present more information such as a blog post, use URL shortening tools such as Tiny or Bitly, which keep the number of characters down to a minimum.

Use Platform Analytical Tools

Most platforms offer analytical tools for business customers so a company can determine if their social media efforts are working, or if there are some key aspects that need tweaking. These tools help companies gain valuable marketing information about their audience(s). In turn, this can help companies fine tune their products and/or services to gain even more market share.

One caveat however. Social media outlets are just that. Social. These platforms allow companies to interact with and provide useful information to their customers. If a company only uses social media to “sell, sell, sell”, it’s likely a strategy that will eventually turn customers away. So be informative — but have a little fun now and then with social media too. After all, that’s what social media is for — connecting with and forming relationships with others.