Social media can be described as websites that connect people and include user-generated content. Social media sites are more user-generated than traditional websites. This model is in contrast to the editor-controlled style of older media. Sometimes, social media is called the Web.
Social media offers a great opportunity to reach your target audience, increase sales online and make a difference.
Let’s take a look at different social media sites and how to use them to reach your target market.
Social Media News Websites
This type of social media site has a distinctive feature: users can submit links to Web content (articles or podcasts, etc.) they find interesting. These sites can be thought of as content curation or social filtering sites. The best and most interesting content rises to the top.
Digg and Reddit are examples of social news websites. StumbleUpon is another example.
The key to marketing your business via social media news sites is to provide valuable content, not just marketing your products and services. This can lead to negative feedback and even bans from these websites. You can link to your website, or another relevant resource on your site if it makes sense. However, the main focus should be on providing valuable information. Content marketing is the key here.
Networking Sites
A social networking site’s distinctive feature is its ability to create a personal profile. These sites are focused on connecting with others and the individual.
Social media news sites are focused on providing quality content. However, the goal of social media networking websites is to build connections and one-to-one relationships. Social media networking sites can be used as a way to make connections and build relationships that could lead to joint venture partnerships, business opportunities, or sales.
Although most people think of social media marketing as free, paid social media advertising is another option. Paid advertising on social media has the advantage of allowing you to target your ideal audience by demographics and psychographics. Because of the volume of personal data these social media sites collect.
Photo and Video on social Sharing
The photo and video sharing sites are one of the most popular social media platforms. Although social media sites like Facebook allow users to upload videos and photos, standalone services remain immensely popular.
Instagram a lot of people used social media platforms to upload photos and videos, while YouTube is widely used in whole world site for sharing videos. Pinterest is becoming a popular website for sharing photos. You’ll want to use Pinterest if you are in a visually-based niche.
Microblogging sites
These services are sometimes called “presence applications” and allow users to post short messages (kinda like blogging) and keep up with their friends’ posts (that’s where social media comes in).
Twitter is the most used microblogging platform. Twitter gives permission to its users to post on it a maximum of 280 characters and allows you to follow multiple users (“friends”) from one dashboard.
Twitter is unique because, like LinkedIn, it allows you to connect with influential people in your area. Also, like Facebook, Twitter can be used to keep your followers updated with the latest content and promotions.
Snapchat is another popular social media platform that you can call a “micro-platform”. Like Twitter, the video-based content is different from the text.
Social Media Review Sites
Local business review website Yelp! illustrates how social reviews can either make or break an organization.
Two other examples of social reviews that can help or hurt a company are the Amazon user-submitted reviews and the eBay feedback system.
The key is to encourage customers to leave reviews and ratings about your products and services on these sites. This will increase your credibility, and ultimately sales.
If you sell books through Amazon.com, you should encourage readers to leave ratings and reviews on Amazon. If you sell products on eBay, you should.
Remember that if your local brick-and-mortar business is located in a city, you need to have a Google business listing. Encourage customers to leave positive reviews about your business. This will increase your ranking and attract new customers.
Social media for everyone
Businesses can use social media to expand their reach online and offline. You don’t need to use every social media site. In fact, you can reach your target audience more effectively if you use as many as you like. These are some guidelines for how to use social media best for your business.
- Facebook: One of the most useable sites is Facebook worldwide. but also useful for niche markets and businesses.
- LinkedIn: Ideal for those who enjoy one-to-one networking. This is a great tool for business to business.
- Pinterest – This is a great fit for visual businesses (physical products, interior design, etc.).
- YouTube: This is where you should be if you are willing to invest time and effort in a video marketing strategy. Note: Right now video marketing on Facebook offers a great opportunity.
- Yelp! Yelp! : Reviews are the best way to find out what customers think about your restaurant or main street store.
- Google Business The same as the above, it is a must-have for local businesses.
- Snapchat: right now great if you’re targeting a younger audience/millennials.