5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Skimp on Social

When people ask me what I do and I tell them I work in social media I always seem to get the same reaction: “Oh okay … so you just get paid so sit on Facebook all day!? That’s easy.” Or “Well enjoy that job while you can.” More and more frequently though, people are beginning to understand the importance of what I do on a daily basis after some heavy explaining of what that actually is. Kidding and complaining aside, I love my job and being on Facebook all day is pretty great, but, it’s all with a purpose. Here are some reasons why your brand or your business shouldn’t skimp on social media marketing.

Reasons Social Media is Important

1. Content is key Social media is driven by content. If you don’t have good content, the engagement and reach of your brand on social media won’t be effective or worth the time or money you put into it. Some people often think that they don’t have enough to say to be posting something online every day or every other day. You have to think about your audience and most importantly, become the authority where people come to seek out information about the industry and issues surrounding it. For example, working with dealerships I can’t post “SALE” messages every day, because that’s not what people want to see. Eventually they won’t listen to that type of message at all if that is what is splashed across their newsfeed every time they log in to their Facebook page. Instead, it’s important to space those posts out in order for them to be more effective and sprinkle in posts such as driving tips, fun facts about cars or the brand or just alluring photos. When creating a social strategy, keep information relevant, but also make sure there is a variety as well. Authority and social media success has to be earned over time with relevant, consistent and engaging content. 2. Social content is relevant to search More and more search engines are using your social presence to help determine search engine rankings. Just like using keywords in website content as part of SEO efforts, social media content is a driving factor. Plus, everyday more and more people are searching for businesses on social media first to find the information they need such as hours of operation, current offers or customer service. 3. People will talk about you whether you have a social media presence or not. When working with clients new to social media, there is often a fair amount of hesitation when thinking about diving into having a social presence. The fear of negative comments at the hands of those hiding behind the computer is real, but what we can’t stress enough is that those people are going to complain or speak positivity about your brand whether it is on your Facebook page or not. It’s always better to be aware of what social media users are saying about you, both good and bad, and have the ability to respond. All too often the people that take to social media to vent about a particular experience get far less confident and cocky when the business responds to their comments. It is important to respect each customer’s preferred communication. If that is through Facebook, Twitter or Google+, then it is key to be actively posting and monitoring in order to respond quickly. 4. Social media advertising is cost effective When compared to traditional methods of advertising, social media marketing is very cost effective. Using targeting methods such as Custom Audience ads on Facebook and promoting your business’s campaigns through social posts linking to your website, the reach to potential customers dramatically grows at a much lower cost. Statistics show that a vast majority of people are now multiple screen viewers too, using tablets, smartphones or laptops to access social media and other online presences while watching TV. Expanding your marketing strategy and message to social media and online marketing can ensure that the message online is consistent with the one that a viewer just saw on a commercial while watching TV. 5. Solid social needs dedication Social media is an afterthought for many companies when it comes to marketing. There may not be time or money to use for it, but often it gets added on as another responsibility for an employee to manage whether they have the skills to do so or not. It’s becoming even more important to have a solid social media presence. In order to do that, it is vital to have someone dedicated to monitoring, posting and gauging the success of the page. Social media is more than just posting things on Facebook and Twitter at random; it requires strategy and message driven content. In order to create a successful social media campaign someone should be dedicated to finding out what works and what doesn’t in order to grow the social media presence and increase engagement. Social media marketing is a rapidly growing online marketing field that needs careful time and consideration put into its execution just like any other marketing effort.