Social media what they are and why use them

Companies use social media to market products, promote brands, and connect with customers.  As a communication platform, social media promotes customer feedback and allows them to easily share their experiences with a company.  Businesses can quickly respond to positive and negative feedback, address customer problems, and maintain or rebuild their trust.

Let’s see some examples of social media application in business:

• Social media analytics. It is the practice of collecting and analyzing data from blogs and websites that support business decisions.
• Social Media Marketing (SMM). This app increases brand exposure and the reach of a company’s customers.  The goal is to create captivating content that social media users will share with their social networks.  A key component is social media optimization. As for search engine optimization (SEO), it is a strategy to attract new visitors to a website.  Social media links and sharing buttons are added to content and activities are promoted through status updates, tweets and blogs.
• Social marketing of customer relations. Social CRM is a powerful business tool.  For example, a Facebook page allows people who like a company’s brand to like the business page.  This, in turn, creates ways to communicate, market, and network.  Social media sites give users the ability to follow conversations about a product or brand to get market data and real-time feedback.
• Recruitment. Social media is a great tool to reach potential candidates.
• Corporate social networks.  Companies also use corporate social networks to connect people who share similar interests or activities.  These applications include internal intranets and collaboration tools that give employees access to information and communication skills.  Public social media platforms allow organizations to stay close to customers and easily conduct market research.

Social media offers several advantages, including:

• User visibility.  Social platforms allow people to easily communicate and exchange ideas or content and to show off through them.
• Business and product marketing.  These platforms allow companies to quickly advertise their products and services to a wide audience.  Companies can also use social media to maintain a following and test new markets.  In some cases, the content created on social media is the product itself.
• Creation of a community.  Social media helps to create a reference audience, faithful to the brand, ready to support it and to exercise a positive word of mouth, fundamental for the success of companies.

It is important that companies have a precise and effective social media strategy that helps them achieve their goals.  A social media marketing strategy allows you to build trust, educate your target audience and create brand awareness. It also allows real people to find and know a company.

Here are some best practices on social media:

• Focus on the right platforms for your business. Not all social media is the same. You have to know them and build a plan based on your needs and choose the most consistent social media or. For example, if your company is strictly B2B marketing oriented, you will need to choose a social network such as LinkedIn or Twitter.
• Implement an engaging, customer-centric strategy in social media campaigns.  It is important to know your target audience to meet customer needs in the most appropriate way.
• Include multimedia content, such as images and videos, to make them more appealing and attractive to users. Introduce your company. Do not forget that 'authenticity' must be the keyword.
• Use social media analytics to measure user engagement with content and keep up with trends. Measure your results and see what you can improve.
• Use a tone of voice appropriate for both the target and the social network you are using.
• Embrace customers who speak positively about the organization and republish the content.

As mentioned, the points of contact with users can be different, even within the same category of social media. The three main categories of social platforms are:

1. Social networks. People use these networks to connect with each other and share information, thoughts and ideas. The focus of these networks is usually on the user. User profiles help participants identify other users with common interests or concerns. Facebook and LinkedIn are some examples.
2. Media sharing networks. These networks focus on content. For example, on YouTube, the interaction involves videos created by users. Other media sharing networks are TikTok and Instagram. 
3. Community networks. The focus of this type of social network is an in-depth discussion, just like a blog forum. Users leave discussion requests that turn into detailed comment threads. Communities often form around selected topics.

Here are some examples of popular social media platforms:

• Facebook is a free social networking site where registered users create profiles, upload photos and videos, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues.
• LinkedIn is a social networking site designed for the business community.  Registered members can create networks of people they know and trust professionally.
• Pinterest is a social curation site for sharing and categorizing images found online.  The main goal of Pinterest is visual.  By clicking on an image, the user will be redirected to the original source.  For example, clicking on the image of a pair of shoes could redirect a user to a purchase site.
• Twitter is a free microblogging service for registered members to broadcast short posts called tweets. Twitter members can tweet and follow those of other active users using different platforms and devices.
• Instagram is the visual social network par excellence, focused on photos and videos, aimed at a visual communication. With Instagram you can increase visibility, show corporate culture and identity, present the company in a more casual and creative way.

Social media is everywhere.  It is used by individuals and companies of all sizes and types.  It is a key resource for interacting with customers, getting feedback from customers, and expanding the company’s visibility.

An effective social strategy can improve an organization’s reputation and create trust and awareness in a growing network of connections. 

At Ekeria, social media marketing agency, we are social media experts and we can help you define an ad hoc strategy for your business that helps you reach the best customers. Contact us for a free consultation!