It is imperative that you understand why you want to be present in social media. Many people \u2014 therefore, many companies as well \u2014 see social media as a place to only share their Content Marketing<\/a> efforts, such as blog posts and ebooks. <\/p>\n That is indeed one of the functionalities of social media \u2014 since more than 35% of traffic<\/a> comes from this source \u2014 but not the only one.<\/p>\n Content created for YouTube is different from content created for Twitter, which is different from content created for TikTok<\/strong>. A blog post shared on Tumblr should be miles away from the same blog post shared on LinkedIn. <\/p>\n So how does one gauge what works and what doesn’t? How does one decide where your company should be?<\/p>\n Keep reading our special article on the subject to find out. Here, you’ll learn:<\/p>\n Today, people look not only for companies whose products are good \u2014 they want to consume from companies they like<\/strong>. And one of the best ways to get your target audience to like you is through social media. <\/p>\n You can generate engagement, which increases the chances of even more people, who might have never heard of your company before, see your posts and interact with you.<\/p>\n Through social media, your company’s followers can be alerted about sales and new products, get to know the people working behind the scenes, get exclusive tutorials and tips about the products and solutions you sell, be shown relevant market data and news, and so on. <\/p>\n It all depends on where you are and who you’re talking to.<\/p>\n But peculiarities of each platform aside, social media, in general, is a way for you to connect with your audience on a deeper level, showing what the organization cares about, and creating a strong brand that goes beyond the products themselves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Take Nike’s Instagram page<\/a>, for example. They don’t talk about or show their products directly, focusing instead on highlighting athletes of the most diverse sporting areas, backgrounds, and levels of experience. <\/p>\n This is the way they chose to sell, not sneakers or sports accessories, but inspiration.<\/p>\n Their social media posts exude strength, determination, and fierceness. Their audience connects to that \u2014 some because they identify with the athletes, others because they want to be like the athletes \u2014 and transfer those qualities to Nike itself. And its products.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Each social media platform has an audience, a series of content formats they allow, a different way of showing said content to users, and a “language” all of its own<\/strong>.<\/p>\n If someone shares a TikTok video on Instagram, you don’t even need TikTok’s logo in the corner to know where it came from: it’s unique and recognizable.<\/p>\n This guides what you can use each social media space for. LinkedIn is a professional network where you get people to be interested in working for your company; but, if you run a B2B business, you can also use it to attract clients. <\/p>\n Thus, your content needs to be more formal, but not in such a way that it would alienate potential employees (and probably don’t have the same profile as your client base). Quite a challenge, isn’t it? But far from impossible.<\/p>\n Below is a list of what you need to consider when planning out your Content Marketing for social media.<\/p>\n There are several social media platforms out there, with new ones arising all the time. <\/p>\n Trying to make your company present in all of them is fruitless and a waste of time, so don’t worry about that<\/strong>. <\/p>\n Instead, focus on learning where your audience is and what kind of content you can bring in each space.<\/p>\n For example, if long-form video<\/a> content is not something that engages your audience, your company doesn’t need to be on YouTube.<\/p>\n Instagram might be better, since you can mix short videos with other types of posts, such as photos, short texts, and interactive content<\/a>. <\/p>\n If your audience is older and more “traditional”, TikTok is probably not the best platform for you to connect with them.<\/p>\n First, understand your audience to learn where they are and their preferred social media channels<\/a> and types of content<\/a>. <\/p>\n It’s worth noting \u2014 even if it sounds obvious \u2014 that each industry may have its quirks when it comes to social spaces. A SaaS company isn’t going to get the same mileage from Pinterest as a wedding florist might. Sure, exceptions exist, but chasing after every trend or shiny new network tends to spread teams thin, and makes it harder to build real, lasting conversations with clients. I’ve seen companies burn themselves out trying to maintain accounts everywhere. It rarely works; better to pick your battles \u2014 and your platforms.<\/p>\n Sometimes, there’s also value in simply lurking and listening to what your competitors (or even your customers) say and do. You’ll get a more honest read on what grabs people’s attention or doesn’t, versus just staring at dashboards and metrics. This isn’t to say you shouldn’t check the numbers \u2014 you absolutely should \u2014 but the back-and-forth, the stuff that makes social feel \u201calive,\u201d can offer real editorial clues if you actually watch it unfold in the wild.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s be honest, finding your audience isn\u2019t something you just check off once. Social media habits shift constantly, and people are surprisingly fickle. One year everyone\u2019s gung-ho about Facebook groups, the next they\u2019ve migrated to Discord or Telegram and left nothing but tumbleweeds in your comment section. I\u2019ve seen brand managers waste months developing content for a channel that\u2019s already halfway to irrelevance. Don\u2019t be afraid to re-evaluate\u2014every quarter or so, pause and ask: where did everybody go? Are we following them, or talking to an empty room?<\/p>\n Also, don\u2019t underestimate the power of asking your own customers where they like to hang out online. You\u2019d be surprised how many marketing teams never do this\u2014they just go with what seems trendy or what their competitors are doing. Quick polls, a question in your newsletter, even one-on-one chats can reveal way more than hours spent deciphering analytics dashboards. People like feeling heard, and you might discover a niche platform your competitors are ignoring. That little intel can sometimes give you an edge that data alone won\u2019t surface.<\/p>\n Afterward, regularly check the main metrics of Content Marketing for social media (which we’ll show you later on) to know what’s working and what’s not.<\/p>\n Always taking into consideration who you’re talking to, it’s important to write like a human being on social media<\/strong>. <\/p>\n The content you create for your website, product pages, or even blog won’t quite fit into social media; people want to get a sense of what your company really cares about<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This is where you explore your brand and try to engage with people on a deeper level. For 70% of social marketers<\/a>, increasing brand awareness<\/a> is the main goal \u2014 and there is no other place like it for that.<\/p>\n Consider, for example, showing the office’s daily life, work rituals, employees telling about what they do, and so on. An actual person using your product might attract your follower’s attention more than just a still image. <\/p>\n With great care, humor, and social issues also can be a part of your social media strategy<\/a>. <\/p>\n Don’t be afraid to try new things and see how your audience responds!<\/strong><\/p>\n On social media, things are lightning-fast<\/strong>. If you want your company page to have content related to current events, the latest memes, pop culture, news, etc., content creation needs to happen quickly. <\/p>\n In order for that to be possible, the team needs to know exactly how the company is supposed to “talk” on each social media platform. For that, you need a brand persona<\/a>. <\/p>\n Try coming up with possible scenarios and what type of content could be created from it. Besides, decisions on what to say about a certain matter need to be very fast, so you don’t miss the moment.<\/p>\n And this speed applies not only to content creation but to social media management as well. <\/p>\n Comments, direct messages, and complaints from followers need to be answered as soon as possible<\/strong>. Your audience is not willing to wait days for a reply \u2014 poor customer service is, for 56% of consumers<\/a>, the main reason why they unfollow a company’s social media page.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Now that you already know how to start creating content for social media let’s move on to the next step: metrifying all this. <\/p>\n How can you know what works and what doesn’t to optimize your strategy constantly? <\/p>\n These are the main metrics you should keep a constant eye out for!<\/p>\n\n
Why social media is relevant for your business<\/h2>\n
![\"nike's](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/scribblelive-com-prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/nike-instagram.png\")
How to produce content for the main social media channels of today<\/h2>\n
1. Understand the different segments of your audience \u2014 and what you want to say to them<\/h3>\n
2. Humanize your content<\/h3>\n
3. Be quick<\/h3>\n
What metrics to keep track of in your social media strategies<\/h2>\n
1. User engagement<\/h3>\n
![\"instagram](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/scribblelive-com-prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/instagram-users.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n![\"instagram](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/scribblelive-com-prod\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/instagram-metrics.png\")
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