If you are a company that does not utilise social media, you may be wondering if it is beneficial to go digital. This is the wrong question to be asking – the right question is not should I use social media, but how do I use it?
So, how do you use social media effectively and efficiently to benefit your company?
In this article you will learn 5 key reasons social media will benefit your company, and 3 easy steps to begin your social media journey with ‘Your Web Presence’.
Why use social media?
Social media is an essential tool for any business or organisation. It can increase awareness and profits while assisting you to engage with key stakeholders.
On top of this, advertising on social media is remarkably cheap in comparison to print, radio and television advertising.
However, effectively using social media takes time, knowledge and skill. It is crucial to plan ahead and research before setting up your social media account, a process which can be daunting and confusing.
Simply using social media more often will not equate to success – it is targeted use that is essential. If this process is successfully navigated, the rewards for your company will be significant.
Social Media in action
One example of a business successfully utilising social media is ‘Anglicare’.
While Non-for-profit organisation ‘Anglicare’ is relatively new to social media, its transition to the digital world has provided striking results.
Using Anglicare as an example, below are five ways social media can be used beneficially:
Advertising
In October 2015, Anglicare used paid Facebook advertising to promote an upcoming Disaster Recovery training session. Anglicare paid $14.98 to advertise the post enabling them to reach an additional 779 people!
The outcome of this was that an additional two people attended the training because of seeing it on Facebook.
While this may not sound like a lot, it is important to note that the trainings are always small (usually no more than 12 people) so an additional two people is a significant outcome. Once people complete the training they can become Anglicare Disaster Recovery volunteers.
Targeted Audience
Social Media can also be used to reach a very specific target market.
For example, Anglicare were collecting money at a Brumbies game in Canberra. They could target people who were aged 18 – 40, live in Canberra, ‘like’ Brumbies on Facebook and ‘like’ Rugby on Facebook.
As a result they were more likely to engage the people they were actually trying to connect with prior to collecting at the game.
Using humour to engage with your followers (creating ‘reach’)
‘Reach’ is simply engaging with your online followers and describes the amount of people or followers who saw your post.
It is important not to use social media to plug the same message as people will get bored. You do not always have to promote services or ask for donations, you can simply use a post to engage with followers and create a ‘reach’.
While ‘likes’ are not a good measure of success, ‘reach’ is very important.
To track ‘reach’ you can use the analytics provided by each social network.
Two way dialogue
Social media is a creative way for you to create a two-way dialogue with your stakeholders.
While radio, print and television advertising gets your message out there, social media enables people to actively engage with your posts and advertising.
In one instance, Anglicare used Twitter to thank all of those who had donated food to the Anglicare Pantry Appeal.
Another Twitter follower saw the post and was then reminded that they wanted to buy some food to donate.
They were then able to share that with Anglicare (as people often like to share the good that they are doing).
Anglicare then replied again, showing a successful two-way conversation between the organisation and the stakeholder.
Promote your expertise
Social Media is a great way to promote your expertise in a certain area.
Every year, Anglicare contributes to a report on ‘Rental Affordability’. It shows just how difficult it can be for people to afford rent here in Australia (and more specifically for us, the ACT).
Anglicare has used Social Media to promote itself as an expert in rental affordability and homelessness and also as a leading advocate in this area.
This has led to more media coverage with the media turning to Anglicare as a leading expert in this area, and allowing the promotion of their research.
Choosing the correct Social Media platform can be tricky
While the benefits of using social media are unquestionable, doing it correctly can be a challenge.
Before setting up your social media accounts, it is essential to plan ahead. Here are a few things to consider before setting out:
The first is this – what are you hoping to achieve from using social media?
- Increased profits?
- Increased awareness?
- Engagement with key stakeholders?
- Advertising?
- Other?
Social media should always be used to help achieve your organisation’s strategic goals. However, each social media platform contains individual and unique attributes.
Once your goals are established, it is crucial to use the right social media platform that will enable you to best achieve your goals.
As this can be a confusing process, and ineffective if done incorrectly, choosing the best social platform for your business’s goals is essential. For instance:
Twitter is a most effective tool for advocacy, such as providing awareness and updates for the promotion of live events.
Twitter enables you to engage with relevant and reputable organisations and public figures, while additionally builds and connects your company to a broader network.
While Facebook is equally effective in advocacy, it is additionally useful for advertising your services and engaging with your clients.
Additionally, Facebook can be a very useful tool for sharing stories with the general public, such as sharing important case studies or achievements.
LinkedIn 
LinkedIn provides a unique opportunity to advocate in areas such as Tender Success Updates, advertise employment opportunities and volunteer engagements. These importantly build a strong corporate network.
Instagram & Pinterest 
Other networks are also available and serve different purposes.
For instance, a clothing business with a young target market would be better suited to Instagram or Pinterest. These two platforms are heavily picture-based. This enables constant updates of new arrivals and provide visuals of all available items.
This process is crucial to your Social Media success, and you must ensure you do no more than you can manage.
Social Media takes time to do well, and it is more beneficial to do fewer accounts effectively than to have numerous accounts that you cannot manage efficiently and consistently.
3 steps to effectively use social media with Your Web Presence
It has been established that it is crucial for the progression of your company, to use social media.
However, the importance of using social media effectively and efficiently is just as critical to your company’s web presence, and can be a complicated and confusing process.
By following ‘Your Web Presence’s’ 3 easy steps outlined below you will be well on your way to establishing a successful Social Media presence.
What do I do?
- Log onto https://yourwebpresence.com.au for more information regarding the transition to social media.
- Sign up to our brief free course.
- Choose a package that best suits your needs.
One final tip
It can be useful to simply have a look at the various social media platforms. This is to get a feel and understanding of their uses.
Try a hashtag search on Twitter of anything you feel like (such as your company or favourite sports team) and see what comes up!