Social media… It’s just pretty images and catchy captions. You should only spend time on it after all your other marketing tasks are complete, right?
You can see where we’re going with this, of course. Your social media presence absolutely should not be an afterthought. It’s true that attitudes about social media (both personal and business use) continue to evolve. However, the fact remains that companies that don’t maintain a vibrant social media presence are at a distinct disadvantage to competitors who do.
For all the negative press that social media gets at times, it still has billions (with a “b”) of users worldwide. That’s not a market that any business can afford to ignore or even reach out to ineffectively! So, when you venture into the area of the marketing wilderness that we call Social Media Meadows, it’s vital to make the trek with an experienced guide.
Social Stats
One of the great things about using social media to connect with your audience is that everything about the various platforms can be measured and reported on with tremendous accuracy. For example, 75.5% of U.S. residents aged 13+ are social media users. In that group, 45.7% are female and 54.3% are male.
And the average user spends almost 2.5 hours online daily—plenty of time for them to learn about your offerings!
Of course, the characteristics of social media’s use and users change over time. But if you want to know who is “out there” now as you prepare to launch a marketing campaign, your social media platforms of choice can tell you with incredible specificity!
(Note: If the numbers above piqued your interest, we’ve got additional fascinating social media figures in our Marketing Survival Guide. See the link below.)
Social on a Mission
We’ve all heard stories about social media efforts failing. That might leave you wondering, “How does that happen when the potential audience is massive?”
The biggest reason is that companies don’t use social media strategically. Ask them about their digital ad buys, email outreach, SEO tactics, or any other facet of their overall marketing plan, and they can provide all the details you want. But if you inquire about their social media strategy, often the answer is, “Yes, we’re on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.” Full stop.
Not surprisingly, simply “being on” any platform isn’t going to move the needle—at least not in a positive direction. A poor social media presence can actually drag a brand down!
To get the kind of lift you’re looking for, you must be thoughtful in how you leverage social media. Our Marketing Survival Guide provides four critical “rules of thumb” for social media. Follow them, and you’ve already established a positive trajectory for your social efforts.
Publish, Evaluate, Repeat
Success on social media also requires a high degree of agility. Most importantly, you must continually calculate the engagement rate on your posts and take steps to keep that number moving upward. A good benchmark for comparison is the industry average on each platform.
Again, the stats fluctuate, but in one recent assessment, the average engagement on the top platforms looked like this:
Facebook - 0.02%, Instagram - 0.32%, LinkedIn - 1.10%, X (Twitter) - 0.033%, TikTok - 5.96%
Get Valuable Info and a Helpful Social Media Checklist
Social media is a competitive environment. Every insight or best practice you pick up can be a difference-maker.
Our experts are continually immersed in this field and are happy to discuss your challenges and opportunities. They’ve also distilled their knowledge of specific areas into bite-sized chunks in our Marketing Survival Guide’s Social Media Meadows section
Get a free copy today! And if you have questions about what you read or our social media marketing services, reach out anytime!
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