Social media as the ideal brand awareness tool
As a fellow small business owner, I’ve realised the need to get my brand out there and gain awareness and ultimately leads while trying to keep expenses as low as possible. There’s no denying that social media is the easiest and most cost-effective platform to do this.
Social media helps to increase your business’s brand awareness and is an easy and low-commitment way for potential customers to express interest in your business. It’s not all about the ego metrics and how many Facebook followers you have but about gaining customers, building a community, encouraging engagement and getting positive reviews.
Bear in mind that social media isn’t limited to marketing. Social media can be used for customer support, promotions, networking, sales, lead generation and much more. Finding the right fit for your business is the key to success. There’s no clear cut approach to this as it depends on the products and services offered, audience you want to target and platform versatility. Each platform is specialised for different functions, content and groups of people.
Let’s jump into our top 3 social media platforms and why we believe you should be using them to promote your business.
There’s no denying that this is the (overall) best social media platform for business currently available. With over 1.66 billion active users every day you’re guaranteed to find new customers and build lasting relationships with them.
In creating a Facebook page for your business you are helping people connect with your business and find out more about you. You can share everything from photos to important company updates.
Almost any business can find their target audience on Facebook. If you have the budget and time, look into exploring Facebook ads. With ads you will be able to target by age, gender, employment, interests, purchasing behaviours, relationship status and much more.
Interesting Stats:
- 1.66 billion people use Facebook every day.
- 2.5 billion people use Facebook every month.
- 7M+ advertisers are active across all services.
This is a platform that has over 1 billion users each and every day, making it one of the top social media platforms for business. A great B2C platform and excellent for brands wanting to show (rather than tell) their products, values and brand voice with engaging photos and videos relevant to the brand. This platform is almost entirely mobile.
Instagram is owned by Facebook and because of this has access to the same advertising platform and paid benefits, although has its own set of organic benefits. If you have limited budgets you’re able to grow your audience organically which means you can grow the reach of your profile and posts organically without having to spend money.
Instagram is great for a younger audience that typically does a lot of online shopping from their mobile. Ensure you use high-quality imagery that tells a story. If you’re interested in using Instagram for business, be prepared for an aggressive and consistent posting schedule.
Interesting Stats:
- 1 billion monthly active users.
- The average post on Instagram contains 10.7 hashtags.
- 64% of 18 to 29 year olds use Instagram.
This platform has become a networking tool exclusively for professionals and has revolutionised the way we seek, find and get hired for jobs. With over 675 million monthly users It’s also a pretty good resource for sharing thought leadership type content, promoting your business and building your personal brand.
LinkedIn is mainly used for B2B marketing strategies as people visit this platform in order to learn more about their industry, see what their professional contacts are up to, and look for new career opportunities. Due to its professional nature it’s a great tool to target consumers based on job titles and industries as people often include more accurate information about their employers and job positions.
The platform is best suited for home businesses or freelancers but if you are B2B it’s recommended to show off your brand with a LinkedIn business page and regular content. Pages are free for everyone so there is no reason not to.
Interesting Stats:
- 49% of college graduates use LinkedIn.
- 660+ million active professionals across the globe.
- LinkedIn is the most-used social media platform amongst Fortune 500 companies.
There’s no denying that social media is the easiest and more affordable way to gain brand awareness for your business. Other benefits include a way to communicate with customers and build relationships with them. If you haven’t created a business page yet, there’s no time like the present. And if you need help integrating your Social Media into your digital strategy then talk to us!