Social media is becoming your business’s main network and if it isn’t, it is totally worth considering. Your clients, competitors, potential clients, and clients’ customers are all on social media. Do you know that they are looking at social media to make informed decisions about your business? You might think your other marketing channels have been effective without social media. Honestly, you’re missing out on the conversations if you aren’t active on social media. 83% of Americans have a social media account and businesses now are using it as a large part of their marketing strategy, but it’s not just a marketing tool, it’s a community tool.
Your Network
People expect to find your business on social media and want to hear from you about your business on social media. If you constantly receive a text or mailer every day from a company, you’ll probably be annoyed. How about all those e-mails you receive each day, annoying…delete, delete, delete. However, you can not say the same for social media. People check social media daily for updates about what’s new, what’s coming up, and what’s happening at that moment. Some people livestream on Instagram and Facebook every day at set times. What has this done for them you might ask? It has grown their audience due to their consistently structured broadcasts. Their audiences expect to hear from them daily, just as we expect to view our favorite TV shows at their scheduled times.
Tonnes of users are being added to social media platforms daily. They are constantly bombarded with lots of content and contacts which they sift through to find things of interest to them. The engaging and informational users tend to stand out and generate larger followings. Why? It’s the same reason why you would watch an engaging show and not watch a boring one. Popular channels and shows have large fan bases because they are of high interest to a large number of consumers engaged by them.
Knowing this, here are a few changes that we will potentially start to see happen in the near future.
The frequency of posts for social media as a business tool will continue to rise and the competition for customer views within social media space will too. So, what does this mean? Expectations for professional content from businesses will increase. Just like your traditional marketing pieces that look professional. Your mailers, flyers, and company merchandise are professionally made and the same will be expected of content on your social media platforms. They need to represent your business in a professional tone. Companies will start to hire subject matter experts to represent their company through social media primarily.
“People expect to find your business on social media and want to hear from you about your business on social media”
Remember that providing valuable content is the cornerstone of a successful social media strategy. Experts tend to be in a position to provide value-added content in their respective industries. There are medical doctors, lawyers, and business professionals who are journalists who weigh in on issues related to their industries on the cable networks they represent. Sometime in the near future, businesses will have to start hiring subject matter experts to represent them on social media. Hospitals will be looking to hire doctors with journalism or broadcasting backgrounds because a social media manager cannot be taking medical questions on a live video stream.
The next question would be, how would you find a doctor with journalism or broadcasting experience? The majority of the younger generations already have that experience. They are growing up in a self-broadcasting world, where they broadcast more than they communicate in person daily. This will continue and will continue to evolve as they grow up.
So as you’re reflecting on tweaking your goals be sure to have a network plan. Make sure your channel is active and engaging! Constant posts that are valuable and relevant to your business, industry, company culture, etc. are ways to keep your audience engaged and informed. This will make them turn to you when they need a product or service you are offering.
For more social media tips and digital app tips, join our newsletter and follow us on social media and YouTube
Contact us for Digital Marketing or Social Media support and assistance.