Insight

You are what you share – Our social media thumbs up or down

Charlotte Jewell - 07.12.2020



Social media, in my opinion, is a void whereby everyone is simply clambering for attention and promoting themselves or their business … on a personal level I hate it.

Everyone’s selling to everyone else, showing a polished version of their lives or promoting the latest quick fix to cure whatever problem you can think of. I mean, why would anyone subject themselves to that for fun, or make their lives feel a little worse then it felt already given lockdown hell?

Have you been on LinkedIn recently? I mean between recruitment agencies, people looking for jobs, lead generation experts with the latest silver bullets or instructional videos and white paper downloads, it’s a mass of noise!

The simple fact of the matter is billions of people do it every day and businesses can’t avoid it.

If COVID has taught us anything as we’ve sat in our makeshift home offices, perched on barstools in kitchens or shutting the dog out from a conference call, it’s that businesses don’t really have a choice on whether to use social media or not, the choice is how well they use it. The problem is that a lot of businesses and marketing departments don’t know how to use it effectively and are churning out content that has little chance of working.

This blog gives an overview on different things to consider for your brand when reviewing the use of social media and the main channels people are using. However, if you’d prefer to have a member of the Fireworx team take you through a social media plan for your business just contact cj@fwx.co.uk, call 01202 559 559, or drop us a message here and we’d be very happy to help.

Content Planning

First things first, you need a content plan. This is something you can stick to and implement, we do this for a lot of clients, and using this in a B2B space we break content into 4 defined sections:

1: News
2: Culture
3: Insights
4: Testimonials

But let’s get some things straight, don’t expect an easily identifiable return on investment (ROI).

A common barrier to social adoption is that if you’re looking to justify the investment of time and resource into social media marketing, say perhaps how many conversions the social activity has generated, then you may struggle for short-term wins from day-to-day non-paid-for activity. If this is a problem for you, you’re not alone – 55% of social marketers acknowledge they struggle in providing an ROI for their social activities.

However, a multi-touch approach in which your credentials and authority have been established over an extended period, which culminates in a social message promoting a conversion point, has a higher chance to resonate and deliver your desired outcomes longer term.

Whether you are running a small local operation or heading a global corporate business, the facts are your customers are using social media. Billions of people are watching and interacting; with colleagues, friends and family. Other brands are searching for; their own prospects, knowledge, information, recommendations, or simple entertainment. If your business is not on it to fill that need, then it’s likely a competitor will be.

So, if you’re looking at the Social Media benefits to your businesses then what are they? Well, the facts speak for themselves:

– 93% of buying decisions are influenced by social media
– An average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes per day on social media in 2020
– 51% of the world is on social media
– People buy from people – social media gives brands and individuals a voice
– Reputation Management
– Make your brand an industry leader, stand out for good content
– Direct people to your website
– Find leads – from people interacting and also new followers and engagements
– Customer Service

But where do you start?

Firstly, you need to consider what your aims are for social media – Brand awareness, lead generation, engagement? And then where your ideal customer is likely to be.

Considering these aspects will help you work out which type of social media channel makes the most sense, and clarifying the desired behaviour of your audience will help define how you go about engaging with them. Do you post a ‘dance on TikTok’ or do a ‘white paper download on LinkedIn’?

If for example, you are trying to increase brand awareness, consider sharing testimonials, or thought leadership content that is highly-shareable, and look at what pain points you feel you can help people resolve. If your focus is simply for leads, look for opportunities to engage with relevant, interested customers, target them through using social listening to get involved in their conversations.

In essence, align your efforts with the outcomes you want to see.

Set goals – what do you want to achieve?

– Research and Learn about your audience – pinpoint their challenges and needs
– Craft your content – Look at what channels mesh best with you
– Top Copy advice: Make content short and sharp ideally with incentives and CTA’s
– Switch up content between images, videos and blogs etc
– Park hard sales tactics – remember people buy from those they like and trust
– Make it memorable, make sure you use striking imagery and video
– Get involved in the latest conversations, think where your audience is engaging

Now we’ve got the basics out of the way, as there are so many social channels around how do you know which ones to consider or avoid? We’ve put a thumbs up or thumbs down based on the relevance for a B2B or B2C focus.

Facebook

With more than 1 billion active users, Facebook is the most widely-used social network, people sharing photos, videos, messages, playing games, it goes on. It has shaped online interactions as we know it. From connecting distant friends and family members to bridging the gap between brands and their communities.

Facebook is free and provides access to millions of target audiences that brands can sell to.

Facebook facts:

– Facebook is the world’s third most visited site
– An average Facebook user clicks on 11 ads per month
– Mobile video drives 27% of higher brand lift
– Fewer people are watching without sound so make sure videos are optimised for that i.e including subtitles.

The Fireworx thumbs score:

👎 B2B – Thumbs down – we’re yet to be convinced that this is a place for the majority of B2B offerings

👍 B2C – Thumbs up – if you’re using paid for advertising in particular then lower value items have a really good opportunity.

LinkedIn

Jobs, career info, company news, company insights and professional content: The world’s largest professional social network connects colleagues with each other and businesses with current and potential employees, all while enabling community development and content sharing.

LinkedIn’s potential lies in its power to build authority, establish thought leadership, and cultivate a robust network. Join us for a peek behind the curtain to see if LinkedIn is a match for your business. LinkedIn for business allows you to build credibility, create a meaningful network, and glean insider expertise from established experts in your industry.

LinkedIn Facts:

– 30 million companies are on Linkedin
– Sponsored InMail has an open rate of around 52%
– 62% of B2B marketers say Linkedin successfully generates leads

You can read more details on how to use LinkedIn effectively in our guide here: www.fwx.co.uk/linkedin-social-media-guide

The Fireworx thumbs score:

👍 B2B – Thumbs up – With the right plan, engaging content and value add it can drive leads

👍 B2C – Thumbs up – We’ve seen more high-value brands dabbling in this space and it’s one to consider if you’re in this space.

Twitter

Short snappy information to the point, news, blog posts, video, curated content and gifs. Founded in 2006, Twitter’s 140-character bite-size updates have transformed the world’s access to real-time information. Its simple interface allows for sharing anything from breaking news to sports, to great content, to worldwide politics. In a time when we’re oversaturated with media, Twitter also allows us to access what we need to know. Much of the reporting from the Arab Spring uprisings was done directly through Twitter. Through all of this, brands are joining the network not only to promote their messages, but also to quickly and succinctly address the needs of their customers.

Twitter Facts:

– Tweets featuring images receive 18% more clicks than those without
– 330m monthly active users and 145 million daily users
– Tweets with images get 150% more retweets
– The average Twitter user follows five businesses

The Fireworx thumbs score:

👍 B2B – Thumbs up – By sharing content it will educate clients, or through the provision of customer service, Twitter is a great tool the channel facilitates for.

👎 B2C – Thumbs down – This is a tough one, by publishing content in form of contest or conversations which is specific to the audience this can drive engagement and potentially create sales leads.

Instagram

High Res photos, quotes, stories, team culture, events – think of Instagram like your own online portfolio. Owned by Facebook, Instagram is for creating and sharing photos and short videos.

With over 150 million monthly active users, the network boasts an incredibly active and vibrant user base that posts over 55 million images per day. Users can subscribe to pages curated by their friends and brands they like. Through the “Explore” function, users can also view the most popular videos and pictures across the network and search using keywords and hashtags. With the introduction of reels and the new shopping button, Instagram is slowly merging into Tik Tok and Facebook Shopping combined.

Instagram facts:

– 200 Million users visit at least one business profile per day
– ⅓ of the most viewed stories are from businesses.
– 60% of users discover new products on Instagram
– 70% of users follow businesses
– 75% of users take action after seeing a business-post (visit a website, buy a product etc)

The Fireworx thumbs score:

👍 B2B – Thumbs half up if you’re in a more visual-based business but consider your audience. Think of it as showing your online portfolio.

👍 B2C – Thumbs up – Absolutely!! Take advantage of reels. Thanks to the new algorithm your Instagram is more likely to get seen if you’re using reels, so showcase your business and products by getting creative.

TikTok

There’s no denying the explosive growth of TikTok, it’s shaking up the social media landscape. In a short space of time, these short addictive clips are influencing culture and digital content. We scroll through our feeds on other platforms and see reposts from TikTok spreading like wildfire. Tik Tok is proving his popularity with the amount of users and the fact that it’s built on short video clips that bring fun, creativity, and authenticity rather than staged content.

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms, with 800 million active users. This earns it a spot below Instagram, which has around 1 billion active users. It’s the seventh most-used social app in the world, putting it above Snapchat and Twitter at 12th and 13th place respectively.

Looking at the list of the most popular social apps, we see Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and such. All of which are full of brands trying to connect with their customers. Do you know which one is still unsaturated? TikTok.

Video is still the top-performing content format on social media. 60% of audiences watch videos on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat or Instagram in the last month. There are multiple places for brands to be experimenting with fun, authentic video content.

Facts:

– TikTok has 800 million active users
– There have been 1.9 billion installations of the app
– 9/10 users use the app multiple times daily

The Fireworx thumbs score:

👎 B2B – Thumbs down – TikTok has a long way to go for B2B marketing, but brands can’t completely ignore it anymore if you’re going to use it. Show your culture, the light-heartedness.

👍 B2C – Thumbs up – TikTok is a surprisingly friendly place for B2C marketers, do your research before you launch – is there a new trend you can get in? Show your products in a creative way.

Conclusion

In conclusion, define your audience, choose your channels, get a plan, if you are going to do it, make it useful, memorable, entertaining, or fun. Make it consistent and don’t get frustrated by a lack of short term wins.

If you’d like to learn more about Fireworx’s social media marketing services, please contact cj@fwx.co.uk, call 01202 559 559, or drop us a message here.