Portugal has many social media users, however small businesses still leave a lot to be desired in terms of their online presence. Did you know that almost 73% of adults who are online have a presence on social media. And that Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Pintrest are the main networks where they spend the most time? Did you know that this social group includes, or can include, many of your customers?
Don't give yourself the luxury of ignoring or underestimating your business's presence on social media, as you could be missing an opportunity to grow your business, increase your visibility, create new relationships, among many other things.
Now, first things first!
The first thing to do is define objectives, because as long as there are no goals it is not possible to define where we are going to score.
Grow your business. Get in touch now.
Get in touch.
Set objectives
The best way to start is to decide what the main objectives of your social media presence are. Ideally, they should be SMART:
- specific (specific),
- measurable (possible to measure),
- Thechievable (achievable),
- realistic (realistic), and
- timed (period of time).
Do you want to increase sales? Do you want to acquire new customers? Do you want to spread the message? Do you want to retain customers? Define what really interests you at the moment and in a summarized way (preferably).
A good example of SMART could be 'Reach 1000 followers in three months'. This makes it easier to measure activity and achieve results. Don’t forget that they should be short and “easy to read”. Don't waste time until this first phase is well defined.
Know the target audience
The best way to try to communicate with your target audience is to identify and get to know them. But this applies to both traditional (offline) marketing and online marketing. Makes sense, right?
Typically the online target audience is very similar to the type of customers who frequent your offline business.
The more you know your “target”, the greater your ability to measure results. Are they women? Teenagers? Do you live in the area? What do you like? What are your hobbies? Where do they usually go? What do they usually do? Define who the target audience really is, as this is the only way to create relevant content – as we will see later.
Choose social networks
There are thousands of social platforms that can be used to try and reach your target audience. There are many. Even many. And as good an idea as it may seem, having a presence on many social networks is not the best option.
It is preferable to focus and use all your energy on the social networks that you have carefully chosen, and that you can match with your objectives and target audience.
On the other hand, be careful and don't keep all your efforts on Facebook if the majority of your customers use another platform. The best way to find out all this is on the ground. Asking your customers which social networks they are present on.
Another way to try to understand the best context is to identify what the competition is “doing” on social media and try to understand where customers are and what they like or dislike.
Choose the best ID
Do the best you can and try to use your name equally across all the platforms you are on. This little tip can help you create a stronger and more easily recognized identity.
The best way to do this is through this free application – namechk.com which will help you, instantly and simultaneously, to search on all – or almost all – platforms whether the name of your brand/company is still valid. If it is not available, try to use abbreviations, but in a logical way.
Choose the type of publications
In the next post, I will explain in more depth how to create the right content (I'll say right away that there are no magic formulas or pixie sticks).
In general, and always keep this in mind, build a trusting connection with your target audience, showing empathy and interest.
Be an asset. Don’t just talk about your brand/company. If you have to, keep it short and simple.
