Make The Most of Your Online Space - Part 2

Today we carry on with part two of our special three part series on making the most of your online space.  If you missed the last post, you can find it right here, where we covered domain names, and how to be found in a Google search.  

This week we are going to dive into the world of social media, and our tips for how best to use it in your business.

I see a lot of screwed up faces when I discuss social media with my clients in a business sense.  The word "social" in social media, tends to downplay the usefulness of having a business presence on any of the social platforms.  However, in doing some research for this section of the series, I have come across some pretty interesting figures that I'd like to share.

As at the end of Quarter 1 (31st March 2019):

• There are 4.43 billion internet users worldwide, which is an 8.6% increase over the past 12 months.
• Of these users, 3.49 billion are active social media users, which has grown by 6.1% in the past year.
• Facebook is the number one used social media service, followed closely behind by You Tube.
• Instagram comes in at third, and surprisingly, Twitter trails behind in seventh place, which is equally shared by Reddit.
• While each gender uses each social media service fairly equally, stats show that more males use Facebook (57%) and Twitter (66%), and more females use Instagram (52%).
• It is clearly indicated that more than 20 million businesses invest in paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram.​

Thanks to Data Reporter for the statistics used in this section.

Keeping all of these statistics in mind, here are the recommended social media platforms you should have a business presence on, including some of the best ways you can use these platforms to your advantage.

Twitter
Founded in 2006, Twitter has often been described as the "SMS of the internet".  The idea behind Twitter is to post short messages (known as "tweets") that are limited to 280 characters.

While social users often use this service for posting regular status updates, Twitter has often been used to live stream information updates on sports games and news events, allowing the reader to stay in the loop wherever they are.

​Posting a tweet is fast and easy, allowing information to get out quickly.  This can be powerful for your business, especially when it comes to keeping your viewers up to date with quick announcements and alerts.  As an added advantage, having your Twitter feed shown on your website allows you to quickly post an update on Twitter, and have your website updated immediately, which is useful for quick on-the-go announcements.

Examples of business Twitter use:
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Service Outages and Updates

Promotions and Announcements
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Limited Time Information

Facebook
You can't think of social media, without thinking of Facebook.  The number one social media platform that everyone loves to hate.  And hates to love.  The bottom line is, you need a business presence on Facebook.

One really important piece of advice, is that even though I highly recommend having a business page on Facebook, this should not be the only place your business can be found online.  Facebook does not replace a fully functional website. Potential clients will search for you on Facebook.  But this is not likely where they will stop when trying to find information about you, your brand, and your products and services.

A simple business page set up with all of your contact details is really crucial in allowing your business to be found.  Frequent updates are a necessity to keep your page current and relevant, but it is important to remember that like most social platforms, Facebook works as a constant scroll, so older posts are unlikely to be seen by new visitors.

Facebook is great for reminding people that you exist, as your posts will show up in your follower's news feeds, and since Facebook has the largest audience, you will continue to reach your followers.  Facebook does have the ability to control what your followers are seeing however, those businesses who pay for promoted posts will always be shown over yours if they are in the same category.   I will potentially write a post about paid Facebook advertising at some point in the future, as that is a whole other ball game.

Selling physical product on Facebook is not recommended.  While it is possible, the user experience is less than satisfactory, and the overall look is unprofessional from a branding point of view.  You will be guaranteed to have better results using a proper online selling service to sell your product, and use Facebook for the marketing of those products.  There are many online services available for selling product, or you can talk to us about building a store into your website!

Elements you should have on your business Facebook page:
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Your contact details; address, phone number, website, owner information and a short description of your business or brand

Links to your other social media handles

An attractive cover image and profile picture that accentuates your brand

Frequent "what we're up to" updates to show your brand in a more personal light
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Advertising for any physical product you are selling​

Tips for your Instagram feed:
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Use creative images to show what you do and what you believe in.

Focus on the solutions you provide, not on what you sell.

​Don't forget the #hashtags (read more about hashtags below).
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Follow and engage with other businesses - even those in competition!​

Instagram
Where Twitter is mostly a constant scroll of text, Instagram is a constant scroll of images, and a great place to advertise yourself artistically to grab the attention of your viewers and potential customers.

Instagram is growing in popularity, especially in the business community.  You have fairly even playing ground when it comes to user reach, with almost as many males using the platform as females, and the age demographics having increased by at least 4% across the board in the past year, meaning you have potential reach no matter the audience.

Instagram is best used for marketing your brand, rather than advertising your offerings.  Your aim should be to attract a following, rather than any hard selling.  You should attempt to engage your followers and have them participate in a conversation, which forms relationships.  This makes your brand more personable, and your potential clients feel like they are dealing with a friend.

#Hashtags
I'm giving this it's own section, since hashtags are used on all three of the social platforms I have covered in this post.

"Hashtag" is now an officially recognised English word.  The term hashtag originally began with Twitter, where topics were easily grouped and tagged using the hash (#) symbol.  This meant that if one person started talking about a subject say, #theendoftheworld,  then anyone else wanting to talk about #theendoftheworld could easily come across the original person's post. 

The use of hashtags has now widely spread to other social media platforms including Instagram, and more recently, Facebook.  They are a highly effective way to boost your posts and have them be seen by a larger audience.

hashtag noun
​a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#), used on social media websites and applications to identify messages on a specific topic.

There is only one rule when using a hashtag, don't use spaces.  Other than that, you can be as creative, or as basic as you like.  Just like a Google search, try to use words you think your poteintial audience will be using in a search.

#ahashtagthathastoomanywordsisprobablynotgoingtobesearchedfor

We've covered a lot in this post, but hopefully you are now confident in the steps you need to take to have a business presence on social media.  As always, feel free to reach out if you want any advice, or want the Wright Way Design team to assist with your social media set up.

Our next blog post is going to be the last in this special three-part series.  I'll be covering tips and tricks for the hub of your business information - your website.  Make sure to check back soon!