Client Case Study: Advertiser Partner Training

Googled yourself lately?

You may laugh at that, but you know that as a business owner or key executive – it’s imperative to understand how you’re showing up to the world. Your virtual appearance is just as important as the impression you make when walking into the office or meeting with a client.

Whether you want to think of yourself as one or not, you are a brand. Your digital image is your personal brand. This is a composite of your basic public information, social media posts (including posts and images you’re tagged in by others), news media exposure, and associations you affiliate with.  Every bit of data about you throughout the internet creates your digital portrait. You don’t have to have your name on the company signage for your online persona to affect your professional image or that of your company. If you represent your company in any fashion, from sales to CEO, your online appearance matters.  In fact, 62% of buyers say they make a business decision based on online content alone.[i] Is your digital image a true reflection of the dedicated professional and industry expert that you are?  If a potential client searches for information about you, what will they find?

Your Reputation Matters

Recently, TopResume released their findings of a nationwide research project around personal branding. They found that nearly 80% of professionals are neglecting their online brand and, in effect sabotaging their business opportunities.[ii] Your virtual persona has the power to:

1. Add to or diminish your creditability.
2. Show bias, stereotype you, or your beliefs.
3. Help clients decide if they trust you enough to hire you or your company.
4. Determine if potential employees will decide if they want to work for you. Do your values align?

People buy brands and invest in people rather than purchase products. Consider that 82% of buyers are more willing to place trust in a company when the C-suite (highest-ranking company executives) are active on social media, according to Lee Odden of TopRank Online Marketing in “War of Words: Myth-Busting Social Media, SEO & Content Marketing.” Odden also says that if a CEO uses social media, a whopping 77% of buyers are more likely to make a purchase. A buyer considering purchasing a Tesla, for example, might solely buy it—or not—based on their impression of Elon Musk. That’s the power behind a personal brand. A well-executed image that fosters credibility can directly boost the believability of the entire company. Skeptics and investors invest in brands they trust.[iii]

Your Personal Brand Should be Working for You

The age we are living in is becoming increasingly digital. A solid online persona is no longer something nice to have but is a need to have. According to Personal Branding Expert Carlii Lyon, “We live in this dimension, but we also exist online. We need to do what we can to ensure our online self resonates and is working for us. Because when we sleep, he or she is working for us.”[iv]

If the thought of Googling yourself now is creating an increasing level of anxiety – take a deep breath and relax! However, I do hope that I have convinced you to take an in-depth look at what your online image says about you. To make managing your personal brand painless and straightforward, I have compiled a list of tips and resources to help you get started:

1. Set up a Google Alert using your name and your business name. Each time it appears in an article, blog, or website, you will be emailed.
2. Claim your name in all of the social media networks – even if you do not want or intend to have a public profile. You want to own the page before someone else claims your name. Search for it beyond Facebook and Twitter – Snapchat, TikTok, Caffeine. Even if your profile is private and you never post a single thing, this is a preemptive strike.
3. Make sure your active profiles are complete; add interesting and noteworthy information such as volunteer activity, links to your work, and connect with individuals and organizations that represent you.
4. Buy your domain and any variation of your name. I own korenakeys.com (and similar variants). I do it and have the URL redirect to my company website. You can leave it as is or redirect it to a LinkedIn page – you get the idea.
5. Publish content – blogs, articles, research papers – that represent you and the image you want to project. This can be published on your website, but also shared on partner websites or newsfeeds such as Medium.
6. Through social media branding, you have the power to influence what comes to mind when a potential client thinks of you. Be engaging and conversational. Connect with your audience authentically. Try not to put a sales spin on all of your content.

Your online self should be an extension of who you truly are and what you represent. Even while you sleep, your online self is networking and connecting with others 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Your personal brand is something you will be building upon for the rest of your life. Be intentional about how you shape it.

[i] (Blue Corona, 2019)

[ii] (Augustine, n.d.)

[iii] (Chan, 2020)

[iv] (Armstrong, 2021)

How many times did you open a web browser and use a search engine this week? If you are like most, quite a few times! We all use search engines countless times a day!  Whether you are looking for a phone number, a location, online shopping, or to see if your favorite celebrity is still alive and how old they indeed are!  In fact, 93% of all internet activity begins on a search engine.[1] Search engines filter the infinite amount of data throughout the world wide web and deliver relevant and valuable results.  These search engine results are then delivered to the exact individual searching based on the question, or phrase asked, past search history, location, and a host of other factors. This is great for finding what you’re looking for quickly, but what does this mean for your business?

We’ve all heard the terms – PPC, SEO, SEM, SERP – but what do all those letters stand for? And why, as a business owner, should you care? This may seem as complicated as learning a new language, but it is as simple to understand as it is crucial to your business, so let’s begin with some basic terminology.

SERP – Search Engine Results Page.  These are the online pages of results when you enter a word or phrase into search engines like Google or Bing. These platforms deliver information in an order that best fits the query.

SEM – Search Engine Marketing.  SEM utilizes search engine platforms, either through paid or organic efforts, to appear higher in search engine results and thus drive traffic to your website.  Both will require an investment -either time or money. But we also know that when you apply both, the results for your organization are exponentially better. The closer your website is to the top, the higher your company’s visibility, products, or services to interested individuals, increasing the likelihood of a web visit, phone call, lead, or sale.  Bringing your ranking up also gives you the ability to “push” competitors onto deeper pages.

PPC- Pay Per Click.  This is precisely what it sounds like.  This is the paid form of search engine marketing. It allows advertisers to bid for ad placement in a search engine’s sponsored links when someone searches on a keyword that is related to their business offering.

A lot goes into building a winning PPC campaign: researching and selecting the right keywords, organizing those keywords into well-organized campaigns and ad groups, and setting up PPC landing pages optimized for conversions. Search engines reward advertisers who can create relevant, intelligently targeted pay-per-click campaigns by charging them less for ad clicks. If your ads and landing pages are helpful and satisfying to users, Google charges you less per click, leading to higher profits for your business. So if you want to start using PPC, it’s essential to learn how to do it right.[2]

SEO – Search Engine Optimization. This is the organic approach to improving and, essentially, optimizing your search engine ranking.  This is by no means “free advertising.”  Optimizing your website is a long-term commitment.  Your content must contain the keywords and phrases your customers are searching for online.  This includes everything from your product and service descriptions to blogs and links.  SEO involves correlating your content to your target audience’s needs.

Search engine marketing is one of the lowest cost investments for lead generation. According to Google, 76% of people who use their smartphone to perform a search for something nearby will also visit a business within one day. (28%of those searches for something nearby result in a purchase.) If your business is at the top of those results or even on the first page, there is a likely chance you’re getting those customers.  If your business is a few pages in, you may need to improve your SEO.

If your business needs any assistance in improving your search rankings, optimizing your website for search, or putting a pay-per-click ad campaign together, we are here to help you or answer any questions you may have. Our team of dedicated digital marketing specialists is creative problem solvers who are eager to help you grow your business!

Resources:

[1] https://www.webfx.com/internet-marketing/seo-statistics.html

[2] https://www.wordstream.com/ppc

Have you given your website a performance review? Your website is your first, and sometimes only, storefront for your business. A good site will attract new customers and lead them through the buying journey. In some cases, the website is your top-performing sales executive. In many cases, your website is an extension of your sales team.

Have you ever written a job description for your website? Well, maybe it’s time! With your website’s critical role for your business, I recommend treating it as a sales executive. Make a list of the expectations and deliverables you expect from your website, then evaluate your current one to see if it matches up.

At a minimum, your site should keep your customers informed on new products and services and enhance your business’s visibility on search engine results pages.

• You should refresh your website:
  • When your website no longer reflects your business’s offerings or culture
    • Your website should change as your business does.
    • All your offerings should be displayed and detailed on your website.
  • When your messaging needs updating
    • As your customers’ needs change, your website should change.
      • Tip: Keep track of the questions you receive from your customers. If you are receiving the same questions frequently, it’s time to clarify your messaging. Consider an FAQ page.
    • When your website is no longer contemporary
      • Web visitors “judge a website by its cover”.
      • Visitors assume that companies with modern websites offer modern solutions/ products, so your website’s aesthetic is directly related to its effectiveness.
        • Tip: Save time by using a template.
      • If your website is not mobile-friendly
        • Websites that are not mobile-friendly offer a poor user experience and increase the chance a visitor will bounce from the website.
        • 55% of all internet traffic is mobile, and you don’t want to miss out on this traffic!
        • Google uses mobile-friendly sites as a ranking factor. Having a mobile-friendly website may mean ranking above your competitors.
      • When your load speed is poor
        • Updating your website to speed it up will increase the chance users will stay on the site.
        • Several reasons could cause slow loading speed: heavy, unoptimized images, underpowered hosting, and even an old, poorly performing theme.
          • Tip: Aim for a loading time under 3 seconds. Use tools like Pingdomor GTmetrix to check how long it takes your site to load.
        • When you want to overtake your competitor
          • A new website could mean ranking above your competitor in Google.
        • When your organic traffic is dipping
          • Google rewards websites that publish content regularly
          • Fresh content ranks better than outdated content
            • Tip: Don’t feel like you need to do an entire website overhaul. Start small by updating blogs.
          • If your backend coding is more than five years old
            • At this point, likely, the code is no longer supported and suspectable to hackers or even breakdowns.
            • Usability and tech have evolved tremendously since your last website – and the costs have come down.

Bottom line – invest in your website the same way you would invest in your people. And with a clearly written job description and regular reviews, you will receive much higher performance.

Sources:

https://learn.g2.com/how-often-should-you-update-your-website

https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/mobile-internet-traffic

When establishing a partnership with a media buyer, starting off on the right foot is essential. The best way to set your partnership up for success is to establish parameters, timelines, and deliverables first. While it might seem overly formal, clearly defined written expectations take the guesswork out of your relationship.  Documenting detailed expectations maintains accountability and builds trust. Building this solid foundation from the start leads to strong campaigns with successful outcomes.

Set clear expectations with your media buyer using these four steps:

Step 1: Determine and Agree on KPIs

Start with an open conversation about your big-picture goals. What change do you want to see in your business? Do you want to book more appointments with new clients, increase the average sale amount, or even build a following on social media? Be specific. For example, sharing that you want to increase sales is too broad of a goal.  Stating that you want to increase traffic to your website to result in increased sales is more specific.

Once you’ve shared what you want, it’s time to choose key performance indicators (KPIs). These are the metrics that will show whether you’re on track to achieving your big picture goal. Avoid making vanity metrics your KPIs. Choose actionable or ROI-based metrics instead.

You may need to track multiple KPIs to track campaign success, but be sure to narrow down the truly important metrics. Just because you can follow a dozen KPIs doesn’t mean you should.

Step 2: Create SMART Goals

Now that you’ve chosen KPIs get specific by creating SMART goals. Craft SMART goals with your KPIs at the center.

SMART goals are:

• Specific
  • Your goal should not have vague language.
• Measurable
  • Your goal should be trackable. This is where your KPIs come in.
• Attainable
  • Goals are meant to be a challenge but not impossible. Be realistic about time and especially budget!
• Relevant
  • Ensure that your goal contributes and aligns with your overall business objectives.
• Time-bound
  • There should be a start date and deadline.

You must create these SMART goals collaboratively with your media buyer. This keeps both parties on the same page.

Be sure to write down your SMART goals and make them accessible to all parties. Did you know that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals when you write them down?
Click To Tweet

Now that you have a clear destination, it’s time to determine how you’ll get there and who will be responsible

Step 3: Build a Roadmap Together

The third step to setting clear expectations with your media buyer is to create a detailed plan for achieving your SMART goals. This chronological document should contain details about each task, such as:

• Responsible parties
• Deadlines
• Budgets
• Deliverables

We’ve all experienced miscommunication that results in a delay or errors in the campaign. This document aims to prevent realizations like “oh, I thought you were taking care of that.” Note you’re your roadmap should not be set in stone. When things change, you’ll need to pivot. Stay agile by revising your roadmap regularly and sharing edits with both teams.

Step 4: Talk Fine Print

Lastly, don’t forget to review the finer points. Be sure to discuss:

• Frequency of communication
  • How often will the client hear from their media buying partner?
• Billing and invoicing schedule
  • When will invoices be sent? When are invoices due? What method of payment is preferred?
• Reporting frequency and depth
  • When will reports be sent? What metrics will the report contain? Will reports we received with the media buyer be in person or on a video call?
• Turnaround times
  • How quickly will work be completed? Do holidays and weekends affect turnaround times?
• Cancellation policy
  • Should the client or media buyer choose to terminate the partnership, what is the length of notice?
• Non-disclosure agreements
  • Both parties should sign non-disclosure agreements to protect proprietary information.

Along with open communication, these four steps are sure to set you and your media buyer up for success. If you are looking for a media buyer who won’t leave you in the dark, a partner who’ll provide transparency and meet your expectations? Contact us today for a free quote.

Congratulations! You’ve taken the big leap of launching your first digital advertising campaign. After a month or so, you’ve likely received a report with all types of metrics and charts. But what metrics are the most important? What metrics specifically indicate campaign success, vanity metrics, or ROI-based metrics? Let’s explore the differences between vanity metrics and ROI-based metrics and identify examples.

What are Vanity Metrics?

Vanity metrics look great on paper but lack clear guidance for subsequent actions.

Vanity metrics appear in almost any digital marketing report. These metrics look great on paper and are typically easy to track. However, they don’t tell the whole story and thus can’t be used to make campaign decisions.

Impressions, clicks, followers, likes, video views, and email opens are vanity metrics.

Here’s an example:

An optometrist hires a media buyer to run banner ads promoting a back-to-school eye exam special. They receive 200,000 impressions, but they cannot associate any booked appointments with their advertising efforts. On paper, 200,000 impressions look great. However, the optometrist is disappointed because they didn’t book any appointments. The vanity metric (impressions) only told part of the story.

You might be asking yourself, why track vanity metrics at all? Sometimes vanity metrics can be helpful, especially if the campaign goal is awareness.

Take our optometrist example. These banner ads were getting high impressions, which means the optometrist was increasing brand awareness. Their business will be top-of-mind when people served their ad are looking for an optometrist in the future. However, the optometrist’s goal was to book appointments for their back-to-school promotion, not increase awareness.  It’s Likely, this tactic wasn’t a good fit for their goal, leaving both the optometrist and their media buyer disappointed. Therefore, clarifying expectations and setting clear goals with your media buyer is crucial.

What are ROI-Based Metrics?

ROI-based metrics inform decisions by measuring means relative to ends

ROI-based metrics (also called actionable metrics) should appear in every digital marketing report. Sadly, they are often left out. This is partially because they require some setup and team buy-in to track accurately.

While tracking this ROI-based metric requires some setup, it helps the company make insightful decisions. For example, A business published a whitepaper on their website a few months ago. They are considering writing another, but they don’t know if their website visitors are downloading the content. They can set up a conversion goal in Google Analytics to determine if their visitors are interested in this type of content before they dedicate resources to creating another whitepaper.

Likewise, the lifetime value of a customer can help businesses make a multitude of decisions. But before they can make these informed decisions, the company must dedicate resources to tracking the components needed to calculate this KPI accurately.

You’ll find that the time spent setting up ROI-based goals is well worth it when your team can make informed decisions based on actionable metrics.

Media buying is a booming industry. With ad spend expected to top 330 billion dollars worldwide soon, it’s no wonder that making your first digital media buy can be intimidating. With so many options, it isn’t easy to know where to start and what to expect. Allow us to break down some of the complexities of this process.

What is a Digital Media Buy?

Let’s start by simply defining a digital media buy. A digital media buy is the process of purchasing ad space or time on any digital platform.

Examples include:

• Purchasing promoted posts on social media
• Running pre-roll videos on YouTube
• Buying audio ads on Pandora

A media buyer is the person who is responsible for negotiating with publishers for ad inventory, managing budgets, and optimizing ads to improve campaign performance per HubSpot. When you hire an agency to do your media buying, they act on your company’s behalf to achieve your advertising goals. In other words, they are doing the leg work.

Setting Ad Performance Expectations with Your Media Buying Partner

Digital media buying via an agency should start with a conversation about your goals. To begin with, it is okay to start with a generic goal like increased website traffic, phone calls, or brand awareness. Be sure to narrow the goal by making it SMART. SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

• Poor goal: Increase web traffic
• SMART goal: Increase annual web traffic by 10% compared to last year.

Creating a clear goal early in the digital media buying process helps each party know what they’ll be responsible for and how their performance will be measured. The goal-setting and clarification process is crucial to getting all parties on the same page.

Clarifying Additional Expectations

Aside from campaign performance, there are many other expectations to review with your media buying partner. Be sure to discuss:

Frequency of communication

• How often will the client hear from their media buying partner?

Billing and invoicing schedule

• When will invoices be sent? When are invoices due? What method of payment is preferred?

Reporting frequency and depth

• When will reports be sent? What metrics will the report contain? Will reports we received with the media buyer be in person or on a video call?

Turnaround times

• How quickly will work be completed? Do holidays and weekends affect turnaround times?

Cancellation policy

• Should the client or media buyer choose to terminate the partnership, what is the length of notice?

Non-disclosure agreements

• Both parties should sign non-disclosure agreements to protect proprietary information.

Both parties should sign a written agreement with all expectations spelled out.

When first dipping your toe into the world of purchasing media, take it slow.
Click To Tweet

Be sure to ask “what if” questions and discuss various scenarios with your media buyer. This is a crucial step to building trust with your media buyer.

Interested in buying digital media?  At KeyMedia Solutions, we pride ourselves on taking time to set clear goals and discuss expectations with our partners. Give us a call today to get a custom digital advertising strategy for your business.

When Looking for a new restaurant or an opinion before making a purchase, where do you go?  Google, of course! Your first inclination is to pick up your phone and google it; your second is to read the reviews. Your time and money are important to you. Getting instant feedback from actual patrons or users provides valuable insight for making an informed decision without leaving your couch.  In fact, 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business.

Reviews have the power to influence your business in many different ways. For example, did you know the number of positive or negative reviews left on Google Reviews affects the ranking of your website within search engine results?  First, let’s look at the impact of positive reviews on your business.

It only takes five positive Google Reviews to boost your ranking within search results. 72% of consumers will take action only after reading a positive review.  That same percentage says a favorable review makes them trust a local business more. When customers trust your business, they spend more, recommend you to others offline as well as online, and become loyal repeat customers.

Positive reviews can help your business boom; however, negative reviews can lead to impending doom!  86% of people will hesitate to purchase from a business that has negative online reviews. Not only can a negative review cost you potential customers, it can affect your revenue.  According to Moz,  1-2 Negative Reviews= 22% Revenue Loss, 3 Negative Results = 59% Revenue Loss, and 4 Negative Results = 70% Revenue Loss.  Another disappointing fact, negative reviews cannot be removed from the internet.

So how does a business handle reviews, good or bad?  Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to build good reviews and negate the bad. When a customer leaves a positive review be sure to respond and thank them.  Show your customers that you are listening and appreciate their feedback.  When trying to build your good reviews, be intentional!  Start a campaign requesting a review after each purchase.  Ask your satisfied customers to leave you a review after a good experience with your business. This can be easily done through an automated follow-up email after a customer purchase or transaction.

If your business receives a negative review, the worst thing you can do is ignore it!  Follow-up immediately with a response such as, “ I am sorry your experience was unpleasant, what can we do to rectify the situation?”.   If there is an actual grievance, try to take the conversation offline.  If someone is trolling you or just trying to negatively impact your business showing empathy and concern as well as following up as soon as possible will show others the true intentions of the negative reviewer.

If you are a B2B business or B2C business, reviews can definitely impact your reputation, sales team, and overall bottom line. The best course of action is to be patient, proactive, and pursue positive feedback.

What is the actual value of your social media pages? If you’re a business owner or chief marketing officer, you likely wear a lot of hats. Filling social media queues can seem like one more item on your to-do list. You may be asking yourself, “how valuable are my social media pages?” and “Do I really need these?”

The short answer is yes; in today’s day and age, businesses need to have some social media presence.

Today is the 3^rd in our series on social media marketing, where we want to help you determine the overall value of your social media pages. And while we want to make sure we tell you that while 90% of people with access to the internet use social media, they are not all there waiting for your marketing message. Instead, you will be more successful by being SOCIAL, engaging in conversations, following related pages, and responding to comments and questions.

If you can do that, your social media efforts will yield a positive return.

Here are the top reasons social media is valuable to businesses:

1. Increase Awareness
   1. To people not currently aware of or buying from your company
   2. Of related or other products that current customers are using/buying
   3. Nearly half the world’s population uses social media
   4. Over half of all social media users check social media multiple times a day. This means your business has countless opportunities to get in front of your target audience
2. Increase Website Traffic
   1. Social media posts are vital to driving traffic to your website. Sharing great content from your blog or website to your social channels is a great way to get readers as soon as you publish a new post.
   2. If you are not sure how much, log into your google analytics, look at your ACQUISITION and see what is bringing the most traffic to your website.
   3. There is not a “standard” for all businesses to follow
3. Provide accessibility for customers
   1. Social media changes the conversations with your clients from a push message to connecting with you when they are ready or have a question.
   2. Is an excellent customer service tool so that customers/ prospects to reach out directly to a business
4. Keep up with industry goings-on
   1. Once you find your industry’s niche, you can join a specific conversation and stay up to date on changes in your industry.
   2. In joining these conversations, you will establish your business as one that values staying up to date.
5. Keep an eye on your competition
   1. 1. 1. See how you stack up against your competitio

These are all great reasons to invest in SMM. But, let me give you another one, ROI. Of course, your business is unique, so how you attribute return will also vary from other companies and industries – but I can assure you that it is there, and it is measurable!

• Start by stating your objective. What do you want to accomplish through your marketing efforts? Then, ask yourself, what needs to happen within the next six months for you to say you are happy with the time and financial investment?
• Write down your GOALS. These should be specific and measurable and should be directly related to your objective.
  • EXAMPLE: if your objective is to grow your email list in your CRM, your GOAL would be to acquire 100 new opt-ins to your mailing list.
• Set up tracking so that you have real-time monitoring to tell you how you are doing.

From here, you can determine the financial value of your marketing efforts by applying the math learned in Episode 8 of our Down & Digi series (determining the value of a lead).

Here are some tips to simplify your social media strategy:

• Don’t use every platform
  • Research what platforms your target audience uses the most. Only use these platforms.
• Post only at peak times
  • More isn’t more. Use your analytics to determine when your target audience is online and post then.
• Don’t reinvent the wheel
  • Revise high-performing posts from the past and repost
  • Create pillar content and leverage it by turning it into several different formats
    • Write a blog. Use this blog for:
      • A short video (use a template from Canva!)
      • An audio file of the blog
      • A Twitter thread
      • An Infographic or ebook
      • An Instagram post
• Use a scheduling/ management tool
  • • • These time-saving tools allow you to manage multiple accounts, schedule posts, store content, manage engagement, and streamline collaboration.

As always, if you could use some help determining the value of your social media pages and managing them, our digital media experts are eager to help you grow your business, contact us today!

Sources:

https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-for-business/

https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/8-tips-to-simplify-your-social-media-marketing/

https://stephtaylor.co/simplify-social-media-marketing/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/measure-social-media-roi-business/

Do you need to be on every social media platform?

Does your business need  a presence on every social media platform out there?  Simply put – no, you do not have to put your business on every social platform.  However, you do need to find out what platforms are a good fit for your company.  Keep in mind; your customers are using social media daily.  It is where they spend the bulk of their time. This means it’s necessary to have a solid social media presence. However, using every social media platform available to you because your customers do, is probably not the most beneficial move.

What are you trying to accomplish for your business through social media?

First, determine what you’re ultimately trying to achieve through social media platforms. Are you trying to build brand awareness? Do you want to be able to communicate quickly and directly with your customers?  Decide what your goals are for each platform and why. You will also need to figure out how much time you or your staff can reasonably devote to social media.

Next, research what platforms your current customers and target audience use most frequently.  A primary objective of social media for business is reaching your customers where they are.  So, WHERE are YOUR customers online?  To locate your ideal clientele, determine their demographics.  Do your customers fit a particular age range? Do your products or services cater more to men or women? What hobbies, interests, and lifestyles do your clients have in common? Are all of your customers located in one geographic location?

Once you establish your social media goals, how much time to devote to your social media marketing efforts, and who’s your target audience, you can determine which platforms make the best match for your business.

Which social media platforms are a match for your company?

Do not become overwhelmed as you enter the realm of social media platforms.  It seems as though a new platform springs up daily, while another is now obsolete.  To keep things simple while getting started, begin by establishing a Facebook page for your business.

Facebook is the largest social network worldwide. In the second quarter of 2020, Facebook reported 2.7 billion monthly active users.  Active users are those who have logged in to Facebook during the last 30 days. In the previous reported quarter, the company stated that 3.14 billion people were using at least one of the company’s core products (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger) each month.[1]

With billions of active users, it is safe to say you will find your target market on Facebook!  This social platform is crucial for your business.  Facebook is also a great starting point for building your online presence. Facebook makes it quite simple to set up a free business account with features that make it easy to customize your profile to your liking.

Another mega platform that happens to be great for reaching younger audiences is Instagram. Instagram is a member of the Facebook family and connects with younger audiences through pictures, videos, and Instagram stories.  Many companies and organizations gain followers by sharing glimpses into their culture, processes, company histories and personal stories.

Beyond appealing to the younger crowd, Instagram is known for its rabid user base. Case in point, 63% of Americans say they check Instagram daily. Couple this data with research conducted in Australia average Instagram user spends at least 7 hours per week on the platform.[2]

Like Facebook, Instagram is user-friendly and launching a business account is quite simple to do.  If you are looking to reach a very young demographic, apps like TikTok and SnapChat may be platforms your business should consider.

Before launching your social media accounts, review the pages of other companies in your industry and related industries.  Notice what, when, and how often they post. What are their followers commenting on? What posts are getting the most attention? What demographics can you decipher about their customers?

Be sure to have a strategy in place for each platform based on the goals you initially set.  Incorporate into that strategy a system for creating and scheduling content. Ensure your content is aligned with your intended message. Decide on how you will track and measure your progress on each platform.  Determine who will manage the social media for your company. Assign this as part of a job description to establish  Is this something you want to handle in-house or contract out to an agency to handle?

Social media is a necessary and useful tool for every business.  It is a great way to meet your customers where they are, grow your customer base, and establish brand recognition. Like most things in life, there is no magic or instant fix to social media stardom. However, creative original content that speaks to your audience posted consistently is the key to making it work for you.

• [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/#:~:text=How%20many%20users%20does%20Facebook,network%20ever%20to%20do%20so.
• [2] https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-stats/