5 min read
Do you need to be on all social media channels?
We see so many clients, individuals, agencies, businesses include links to social media accounts that are full of outdated content, blank content, incorrect links, poor content or misused content. So we ask the question - Do you actually need to be on every single social media platform under the sun? Or should you just use the ones that are best for your business?
In 2019, it is estimated that there will be around 2.77 billion social media users around the globe, up from 2.46 billion in 2017. Social network penetration worldwide is ever-increasing, so there's an obvious reason why businesses want to engage with customers/clients via social media.
With nearly half of the world’s population using social media platforms, they’re a natural place to reach new and highly targeted potential customers. It's a way of targeting people who have never heard of your brand before.
Most people do not trust a brand until they see “real-world proof” that the brand is keeping its promises and sticking to their ethos. Showing the human side of your brand is very important. People engage with brands that show emotion, listen to customers, connect, and be real. If we solely showcased our portfolio on social media, it would become boring. So we show a mixture of work, lifestyle, studio environment, team trips, advice and thought leadership etc.
Showcase your opinion, voice your thoughts on industry topics and let everyone listen online. The people close to you understand your opinion, what your views are on certain matters - but there's a lot of people out there you've never met, are based further away from you, that would love to hear your thoughts. It's a great way of telling clients that you understand, and your direction would be X, but it's also a good way to stay ahead of competitors and provide real insights into hot topics.
It's a great way to keep popping into a viewers memory. That client may not need a website right now, but in 6 months time when they need a website - you're in the forefront of their mind because they follow your content on social media. It needs to be active, it needs to be regular - staying in a viewers memory is hard, so you need to engage consistently.
It's quite simple. The more visits your get to your website, the more chance you have of....
And that's why we all perform marketing campaigns.
Lead Generation is one thing, but increasing sales is even better. Using social media to engage and get a viewer interested is the start, make sure that your website provides the final data to convert that viewer into a customer.
Your brand reputation is SO important. We've worked in the industry for many years and reputation doesn't happen over night. It's built up through winning awards, producing good work, having repeat customers, good testimonials, happy clients, etc etc. Social media is a great way of building up that trust with viewers, and building the brand reputation with people you may have never met in real life. Their impression and view of your business can be positive or negative through content you create.
A great way to get quick answers is by creating polls or asking questions on platforms like Twitter and Instagram. You get instant answers from a large number of people that are interested in your brand (because they follow you). This can help in defining business decisions, business improvements, upscale, etc.
We all do it. Admit it. And if you don't do it, why not?! You should always keep a close eye on your competitors and what they're up to. Some brands don't update their blog often enough, so you don't really know what they're doing day to day via the website. Social media is a great way of gaining an insight into a competitor, quickly and easily.
I personally don't read Newspapers, Magazines etc. I gain industry news and updates via Newsletters and Social Media. It's a very quick way of keeping on top of the latest news and views. It's very easy to scroll for 20 minutes each morning and sieve through the good content from bad.
Most of the positives listed above can be turned into negatives if poor content is created, or not created at all. Which leads us onto the main question Do you need to be on all social media channels?
The answer is No, in my opinion.
I see far too many people creating social media accounts for the sake of it. Sometimes clients don't know why they are linking to social, they just create accounts because they know what Twitter is and the amount of users on the site. Or because their competitors uses a platform, they must do it. My opinion here is to do what is right for YOUR business.
If you know that you're not going to have the time to update your Twitter Feed, or your Instagram - or whatever platform it is, then don't create it in the first place. A first impression can stick, whether it's positive or negative. so let's just say that you created a Twitter page in January 2018, posted a welcome message, then never posted again. Now imagine a client visiting your website, clicking on the Twitter icon and going to your page in April 2019. They will instantly think you are either too busy to deal with clients, can't be bothered, or the business has closed during that period. SO, it's better not to have a Twitter page at all, rather than have a Twitter page that has no content.
The same goes for poor content.
If you have created a social page just for the sake of it, or felt like you had to do it because everybody else is - you will be found out. Struggling to regularly create new content, keep on top of it, produce industry insights, brand insights, etc. will catch up with you and be obvious to viewers. Just reposting a magazines tweets, retweeting articles from The Drum, posting 'Happy Friyay' isn't going to improve your brand, and it's not going to win you clients. If you don't have the time or the expertise to regularly create fresh content, then hire somebody to do it for you. Or don't create the page in the first place.
Co-Founder of MadeByShape. Most of my blogs are about business related aspects, not just web design.
