‘‘If you try and connect with everyone through everything, everywhere then you dilute the sense of your brand on social media’’ – Anna Farmery
The global digital snapshot and mobile subscription clearly indicate why businesses find it imperative to be on social media platforms. In the digital age of marketing, a brand is not what we tell the consumer; it is what consumers tell each other! Over 78% of consumers trust social peer recommendation versus a poor 14% who trust advertisements. This is one of the biggest reasons why businesses are clamoring for social media presence to build a better brand awareness.
Choosing the right channels and deciding what to say on these and how often, form the core of an effective digital marketing strategy. Now, the million dollar question – how do you select the right mix of channels for your business? Answering the below can help simplify the decision:
- What is the motive for getting social?
- What is the message you want to get across?
- What are the demographics of the customer persona to whom you plan to deliver a value proposition?
- How frequently and in what way do you engage with the audience?
Every social platform comes with its USPs and a dedicated set of audience. Despite an overlap of demographics, there is a core audience that is hooked to a platform for a reason. Understanding their engagement allows businesses to position their pitch accordingly. Finally, one should also estimate the money and manpower needed for intensive social marketing activity.
The most popular platforms that are being used for brand building are quite obvious – Facebook leads the race by a mile, followed by the rest of the pack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and others. We plan to capture the essence of each platform and mention a few brands that have made the best use of the channels.
The choice of platform for a Business to Customer (B2C) versus a Business to Business (B2B) is captured below:
We have summarized the key aspects of the most commonly used channels for brand building by most businesses:
Irrespective of which platform you are on, the right mix of entertainment and information with a deep understanding of the audience psyche always hits the sweet spot.
Social media is just not technology; it is an investment of time and effort in understanding customer sociology and psychology to have a crackerjack online presence! Just content does not win – content optimized for the audience wins. To sum it up, as Matt Goulart rightly said – “Social media is about the people! Not about your business. Provide for the people and the people will provide you.”
