A Surface Dive Into The World Of Social Media

Social media has gone from basic and optional to elaborate and almost a necessity over the last 10 to 20 years. While you could get away with putting limited time and resources into social media 20 years ago, that is no longer the case today. Taking a deep dive into every part of social media would take weeks (by then, things would probably be different anyway). I want to talk about why it’s important and why you should focus a solid amount of your marketing efforts on it.

It is estimated that 3.96 billion people, yes, you heard that right, billion, are on social media. That’s over half of the world’s population. What better way to try and increase the credibility of your brand and company than by harnessing the power of these individuals? Nine times out of 10, most of your target audience will spend some portion of their day scrolling through one of the many social media platforms. Let’s take that and run with it.

OK? So we have determined that social media is important, but now we need to look at how to use it effectively. You’ve probably heard of Instagram and Facebook, the two most popular social media platforms. There is no one blanket rule that says you have to use one or the other or both, as it varies from business to business, but I’d recommend starting there. Whether you are a construction company, public figure, or even a law office, it’s amazing how many people go to social media to scope out the people they want to work with. Go to a page, and a business hasn’t posted in a month? A little suspicious. It might not be for you, but from the outside looking in, it can be.

That leads us to our next point. If you have a business page, don’t leave it blank. One of the biggest social media sins you could make is to start a page and then leave it inactive. Utilize Facebook‘s scheduling tools to plan posts a couple of weeks in advance, or maybe every other day or every few days, so there is a constant stream of content. The best advice I could give you is to keep it fresh and keep in mind what you want to see. Everyone hates a classic stock photo. People want to see the individuals behind the business, so use that to your advantage. Share a variety of content from community events to fun facts to interesting things about the business. Try to keep it fun, and while I recommend avoiding any outright grammar errors, don’t feel like you have to be so rigid on social media. Leave that to print and online news outlets.

I’m not kidding when I say we could talk about social media all day, all week, all month long. Creating a page and starting to post are the basic concepts that are just scratching the surface of a very complex marketing tool that you can use to grow your business. I know it sounds overwhelming, but there are also people out there who want to help. If you have any social media questions, give our team a call to help. And if there is something you want us to cover in our next social media blog, let us know by sending us an email at info@firstflightagency.com.

Happy posting!

Related Links

• If you want another take on social media, look to this overview.
• For a detailed look at some social media strategy advice, check out these tips.
• Our other social media insights are here and here.