Which Platforms Should Your Business Use for Social Media Marketing?

social media marketing
Not all platforms may be right for your business. Get the most out of your social media strategy by engaging with the right ones!

Every social media platform has its own culture, audience, and purpose. Because of this, not every platform may be appropriate or worthwhile for your bu犀利士
siness to have a presence on. But how do you know which platforms to include in your social media marketing strategy? Today, we’re going to explore a few of the most popular social media platforms, so you can determine which ones are a good fit for your business’ marketing goals.

 

Facebook:

While there are exceptions, most businesses can benefit from a presence on Facebook, if they use it properly. Facebook is a great place to build relationships and converse with your target audience. Using it strictly as a sales tool won’t garner the results you want. Think about it, how many people do you know that willingly seek out ads? That doesn’t mean you can’t promote your offerings on Facebook, just make sure to balance it out with genuine interactions and audience engagement.

Instagram:

This is a highly visual platform, allowing users to upload pictures, with captions and text being secondary. If you have a lifestyle, fashion, food, art, or luxury related business, Instagram is a great place for you to show off and promote your brand. It’s easy to use and you don’t have to be an expert photographer to produce great looking images. The pre-loaded filters and editing tools can give any image a professional or artistic feel. If your business doesn’t have a lot to show visually, Instagram isn’t a worthwhile platform.

 

Pinterest:

Pinterest is a visual, action driven platform where users can create boards and pin pictures, articles, recipes, crafts or other inspirational content to them. It can be used to share ideas, tell visual stories, promote a lifestyle, or your brand. The key is to have visually engaging content to share. Don’t think your business is very visual? Plenty of businesses have gotten creative, using Pinterest to share educational infographics or even post jobs. Also, the overwhelming majority of users are female, so if you’re business is looking for a way to reach out to women, Pinterest is the place to be.

 

Youtube:

If your business has any videos, you should have a presence on Youtube. It’s the perfect place to feature commercials, instructional videos, explainer videos, or even tips and expertise. Most businesses that have videos can benefit from Youtube.

 

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is a great platform for B2B businesses or businesses actively recruiting top talent. It’s the most professional and business focused platform on the list, making it a great place for businesses and business owners to network, generate leads, and show off your offerings.

 

Depending on your business and your marketing goals, some social media platforms won’t be worthwhile. Not sure where to start with your social media marketing strategy? We can help! The marketing pros at MLT Group can help you develop and execute a social media marketing strategy to promote your business, brand, and generate leads. Contact us at sales@mltgroup.com or 507-281-3490 to learn more today!

Twitter Doubles its Character Count- What it Means for Your Social Media Strategy

Twitter has always been a great marketing tool for businesses to use for communicating brief messages. Now the popular social media platform has announced it’s doubling its character count to 280. Whether you love or hate it, the controversial move has left small businesses wondering how this affects their social media strategies.

Well we have good news. This shouldn’t hurt your current social media strategy in any way, but it’s a great chance to take a step back and reevaluate how you can use the expanded character count to your advantage.

Remember Your Multi-Lingual Audiences:

One of the leading factors behind Twitter’s character expansion was user’s difficulty communicating based on their language. Twitter cited that users tweeting in English, Spanish, or French aren’t able to express as much per character as users tweeting in Japanese, Chinese, or Korean. If you have a multi-lingual customer base, this means tweeting just got easier!

Keep Content Strong:

It can be tempting to max out each tweet, but instead of making your tweets longer, make them more detailed. One of the biggest fears about this change is that it will clog users’ feed with wordy posts. With  strong, relevant content, your audience won’t get sick of your tweets, even if you do max out your character limit.

If It’s Not Broke, Don’t Fix It:

Are you killing it on Twitter? Then don’t worry about redesigning your social media strategy. That being said, if your strategy on Twitter isn’t garnering the results you want, you’ll want to reexamine it, regardless of the character expansion.

Don’t Forget the Basics:

While the new character limit offers more opportunity, don’t forget what has made your social media strategy successful. Continue to include strong visuals, properly utilize hashtags, and maintain your business’ voice. Whenever you make a change to your social media strategy, first ask yourself, ‘how does this help me achieve my business goals?’

Regardless of how you feel about the character expansion, it seems its here to stay. As with any change, it’s those who adapt that survive.

Do you have a social media strategy? Is it garnering the results you need? If not, contact the experts at MLT Group. We’ll help you develop and implement a comprehensive social media strategy that will help you see real world results. We also provide other importance services like search engine optimization and search engine marketing.

Schedule your free consultation today at sales@mltgroup.com or 507.281.3490!

5 Ways to Build a Facebook Following for Your Business

You’ve set up your business on Facebook. Now it’s time to sit back and watch the likes roll in — or not. Building a social media following takes time and effort, but it allows you to better connect with your audience and generate leads. Looking to build your Facebook following? Check out these 5 tips for growing and maintaining your audience!Grow your Facebook following

  1. Leverage Existing Content:

    Creating content doesn’t have to be a full-time job. Do you have a blog? Are you taking pictures of staff around the office or work on job sites? Share these on social media! It will build your image as an expert in your field and make finding unique content easier. Just think carefully about what you share.

 

  1. Engage with Your Audience:

    Social media is, well, social! Don’t be afraid to engage with your audience beyond posting content. Did someone ask a question in the comments? Reply! A client left a review on your Facebook page? Thank them! Don’t leave your audience feeling like they’re talking into the void. Engaging with your audience shows that your business cares about what clients have to say and is accessible.

 

  1. Post Frequently:

    It used to be that if someone liked your Facebook page, your content would always appear in their newsfeed. However, when Facebook updated their algorithm to prioritize content that would be more relevant to individual users, pages saw their viewership drop. Now, only about a third of your content populates on your followers’ newsfeeds. To maximize your reach, posting frequently is essential. We recommend a minimum of 3 times per week, ideally once per day to build your Facebook following.

 

  1. Run a Like Building Campaign:

    While it will take more effort on your part to develop and run a like building campaign, it’s a great way to gain followers quickly. A campaign can take many forms, but is usually a type of contest which encourages users to like your page, the post, and/or comment to enter for a chance to win a prize. The prize should be related to your business, (e.g. 20% off services) and the details of the contest should be clearly stated in the post. It’s important to follow Facebook’s rules regarding contests. Otherwise, your contest may be removed by Facebook.

 

  1. Boost Posts:

    Do you have a stellar piece of content or an offer you want to reach more people? You can pay to boost a post to a targeted audience. The amount you spend depends entirely on how long you want the post to be boosted and how many people you want to reach. This makes it easy to customize your budget and reach a wider audience outside of your existing audience.

Don’t have time to build your business’ Facebook following or not sure where to start? We can help with that. Contact MLT Group at sales@mltgroup.com or (507) 281-3490 and ask about our social media campaign services!

 

 

 

 

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