Today, it’s a given that social media is a powerful online marketing tool. You’re probably using at least one for your business. The Social Times emphasizes the capability of social media by citing incredible statistics from various sources. 87 percent of small business owners have stated in a survey that social media helps their business, while 74 percent of marketers in another study say that investing in 6 hours of social networking per week has helped increase their web traffic. Still another survey shows that about 52% of marketers have gained a customer through Facebook. Plus, social media sites and blogs account for 23 percent of total time spent online, and reach eight out of every 10 internet users in the U.S.
The impact of social media is strong indeed, but some businesses who use this online avenue fail to gain the benefits. Well, that’s because merely using social media is different from social media optimization (SMO). Social media is not a magical thing that will give you good results just by using it. It’s only a tool – whether it works or not depends on how you use it. You need an optimized strategy.
Choosing Social Platforms
Marketing Tech Blog states that one of the biggest mistakes some businesses make is creating account after account on too many platforms. The problem with this is that they’re making it hard for themselves to manage these accounts. They tend to just keep on posting, and forgetting to engage with their audience. When the audience loses interest as a result, the social media platforms are abandoned altogether. “Creating accounts and hoping for the best” is not a strategy that would foster SMO success.
SMO experts implement a focused strategy – using only certain social networks to create a presence for businesses. Each account is managed closely to maintain an optimal schedule of posting content and level of audience engagement.
Target Audience
Some businesses also lack audience focus. Facebook has billions of active users. Twitter and Google+ has millions. However, you don’t need to reach all those users. Yes, these numbers are a part of the strength of social media. For SMBs though, what’s more important is specific targeting. Good SMO utilizes demographics (e.g. sex, age, location) and specific online behavior to help the business reach the audience who really needs the products and services it offers.
Not in Isolation
SMO is just one step in enhancing digital presence. SMO experts, such as 5 Star Brand, take it one step further with social media integration. With this practice, SMO strategies are coordinated with SEO, content marketing, local presence, web design, and the like to get the best overall results.
Sources:
(12 Incredible Social Media Marketing Statistics [INFOGRAPHIC], Social Times)
(Social Media Marketing Mistakes You Should Avoid, Marketing Tech Blog)
