Marketing using Social Media

When it comes to marketing any business there are many things to consider. The business owner and marketing team need to decide who their target audience is (what is the age range), what area do you want to cover (distance). How much of a budget you want to spend?

One of the best ways to get your business name out there is to join the Chamber of Commerce and attend networking events. When it comes to marketing you need to use a variety of marketing channels to truly be successful, with services from companies like https://www.salesforce.com/products/guide/lead-gen/ it’s becoming easier to manage your businesses marketing strategies.

Radio, TV, Print (newspaper), Billboards, Word of Mouth, Social Media

Social media marketing is still one of the most cost effective ways to market. This includes email marketing, as it only costs around a penny to send an email. Not only is it cost effective, but with how huge social media is now, it is also one of the best ways. If you’re interested in social media marketing, or email marketing in particular to promote your business, click for a Guide to Email Marketing. Depending on how you answered the questions about target audience and demographics will depend on what social media channel you use.

Do you research and find out which social media channels are used most within your community and demographic area. For example, Instagram is mostly used by the youngest millennials and the upcoming Gen Z. LinkedIn is used by service professionals, Pinterest targets women. Facebook is the most common social media tool – click here to learn more. There are some specific rules to get the most out of your social media engagement. Businesses also use Instagram to build their brand, reaching potential customers by using social media tools similar to SocialFollow in order to get more instagram followers for free and build up brand awareness.

How many times a day do you post on social media? Studies determined for the best results to do the following:

Social Media Low Suggested posts per day High
Facebook 3 per week 1 2
Instagram 1 1-2 3
LinkedIn 2 per week 1 1
Twitter 3 15 30
Pinterest 3 11 30

If you use the paid boosts which are effective and low cost, you still need to have plan on doing some posts. This will help to keep your business at the top of the feeds.

As indicated in the table above regarding the number of times a day to post, there are also specific times where engagement has been reported the highest.

Social Media

Best days of the week

Best times to post

Facebook

Sunday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday

9 am, 1 pm, 3 pm

Instagram

Mondays & Thursdays

2 am, 8 – 9 am, 5 pm

LinkedIn

Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays

7 – 8 am, 12 pm, 5 – 6 pm

Twitter

Wednesdays

12 PM, 3 pm, 5 pm, 6 pm

Pinterest

Saturdays & Sundays

2 pm, 9pm, 2 am

I know right about now you are thinking how in the world can you remember to have posts going out on specific days and times. If you are new to the social media arena they have a built-in tool to make this easy for you. For example, in Facebook you can click on Publishing tools and then click Scheduled posts. This will allow you to create your posts and schedule your post for the day and time that you want. I love this feature, it allows me to block of a time in which I can create all my posts and then I can set the schedule.

Ultimately good marketing makes the company look smart, great marketing makes the customer feel smart.

By: Cheryl Viola, Executive Director