Social Media 101

Welcome to the first week of my '5 most important things to learn about marketing' mini-series!

When people hear the word ‘marketing’ they tend to think about social media. It is the relatively new and exciting way to reach a more global market. In 2019, there are 3.2 billion people who have at least one social media account - that is 3.2 billion opportunities to connect with someone who may be interested in your product or service (https://www.oberlo.com/blog/social-media-marketing-statistics).

Here are three things that will help improve your social media presence:

1. Numbers matter

When setting up a social media page for a business, apps have in-built software which can supply you with the ability to see your analytics. These include the breakdown of the different demographics of your followers, the engagement on your posts and the times of the day when your followers are most active. These numbers, once analysed and completely understood, should influence the content that you post and the timings of when you post; as understanding who your followers are and what posts they engage with most can help shape how you interact with them.

2. Hashtags - Not as simple as they look

The importance of hashtags are often underrated. Hashtags are used to help more people, who may not follow you, find your posts. Twitter and Instagram are the main social media platforms for hashtag use, as opposed to the likes of Facebook. I use hashtags to search and find other businesses in the surrounding area or businesses who may need my services and often engage with them, so that we can help promote each other. Recently I attended a networking event ran by ‘Leading Ladies in Business’ that I would never have found unless I had come across them in a hashtag search.

Hashtags are not as simple as they first may appear and often there can be contradictory information given online. The number of hashtags used is often debated - but for most pages approximately 10 - 15 would be accurate, although this differs between industries and the demographics of your followers. Another thing debated regarding hashtags is whether they should be on the caption of the post or posted as a comment underneath. I personally post my hashtags underneath the caption of my posts, as this has seemed to work for my demographic. An experienced Social Media Manager will be able to help you if you are stuck.

3. Who are you?

One thing that might not be so obvious when learning about social media is the importance of a clear brand. Branding and marketing have a lot of crossovers, and hence this is no different with social media marketing. Using an aesthetically pleasing colour scheme, similar fonts, and a clear tone of voice all combine together to help your social media page feel neat and well presented. This shows potential clients and customers that you take all aspects of your business seriously, even if your business is not directly related to social media, marketing or branding of any kind.

Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you analyse your own social media pages and increase your engagement and online reach. If you need any help or advice feel free to drop me a message or email me at enquiries@alnmarketing.co.uk

Next week we shall be breaking down and discussing the importance of captions and how they are more than just a random sentence to fill up the caption box!