It’s no secret that Social Media has become a giant advertising space in recent years & for the most part, as it is free; businesses make maximum use of it’s global reach.
Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram & Twitter have changed the face of media advertising & as a company, if you do not have representation on as many platforms as is possible; you could be deemed as being behind the times.
However, ensuring that you have done your homework about where your client target audience ‘hangs out’ in social media terms, could save you a great deal of time. Therefore, when you are starting a new business or you are an established business looking to branch out; researching where your target audience is engaging on social media platforms, can help your online advertising reach.
LinkedIn for example is still promoted as a place for professionals to connect & create business links with other like minded people. However, even here, you are often encouraged to seek help from the LinkedIn advisors in how best to advertise your business; meaning that if LinkedIn wasn’t on your radar, it might be an area you are missing a core target audience. One example of this is Salone Events, an exclusive events organiser who gets the predominant number of their recommendations & bookings simply by advertising in LinkedIn.
LinkedIn might not be the place for everyone to seek new connections, customers or clients. Instagram has transformed businesses recently, with some very successful businesses stemming almost entirely from Instagram. UK clothing company ASOS for example, who have 7.6million followers on Instagram, not only access influencers to promote their brand; but they also embrace diversity & have more recently been praised for using un-airbrushed images to advertise their clothing range.
Thus is the range & transparency of social media presence & advertising.
However, all of this time & energy is worthless unless you have people engaging in your content, reacting & engaging & of course ultimately, parting with money for whatever service or product you supply.
So how can we all engage & support start ups & successful brands in an ever changing & vast social media market? & how can we avoid negativity causing damage to people’s livelihoods?
Avoiding online negatives:
Complaining publicly about a company can be extremely damaging. We all have gripes now & again, but there are procedures to be followed to protect you & a business. Using correct complaints procedures & or contacting the company directly if there is an issue with a product or service, can be much more productive. Sadly, each individual experience of a product or service is a personal thing & can sometimes can reacted to in different ways by different people.
Negative feedback is very personal, but can make the difference between someone choosing to use a business or not. However, if you do have a complaint & or an issue with a business owner, be wary of airing your views publicly. Slander is taken very seriously in this country & you could find yourself in very hot water.
Not many people realise that if you take to social media & publicly attack a business or product, even if you feel completely justified in your actions; that Defamation laws are in place to protect business owners. Even if you feel that you are 100% right in your assessment of the situation, you could have a business take you to court & win damages against you; sometimes with thousands of pounds being awarded to the business.
Keeping it Positive!
Share a post: Sharing a post in any social media platform, instantly gives more coverage to the brand or company. Dependant on how many social media platforms you are connected to at any given time; the organic reach could be game changing.
Like a post: A simple ‘Like’ on an advertising post can enable a brand or company to be seen more, as their post gains traction, algorithms built into social media platforms push them up the ratings.
Interact or ask questions: Asking questions about a product, service & or sharing similar experiences alongside a companies social media post; can draw other people to that post, especially if your comment or question is accompanied with a suitable hashtag.
Check in: When you visit a company either in person or online, a quick ‘Check In’ can again help with visibility for other people seeking a similar location, company, product or brand.
Therefore, with this in mind, using social media can be a really effective way of promoting & gaining maximum reach for you’re a business or brand. Simple actions from supporters, family, friends & followers can have an enormous impact on the success of a business or brand & can help businesses to grow & develop.
Written by Katy Jane on behalf of Virtually Smart Ltd.
