In this day and age it seems that every man and his Lolcat are Facebooking, Twittering, Instagramming, YouTubing, Snapchatting, Pinteresting or Tumblring.

It’s time for your brand to join the conversation.

it or  it, social media is here to stay and (if used correctly) it can have positive effects on your business. Follow these 5 tips to make your business #relevant.

The Rule of Thirds.

Before we dive into the pool party teaming with Generation Ys and Zs, let’s go over the golden rule of social media marketing — The Rule of Thirds.

1/3 Promotes

This tends to be the part that businesses focus all of their energy on — and it’s the easiest to talk about. Social media for businesses is essentially another form of advertising but this is where the waters can get a bit murky for those that aren’t used to the social media landscape.

In traditional forms of advertising basically every ad serves to promote the brand. But when it comes to social media only 1/3 of posts should talk directly about the business.

It’s all about being social. Imagine being at a party and all you talk about is your company and how great it is? The conversation is totally one-way. People will tune out, look for the nearest exit and probably avoid you at all costs.

1/3 Engages

Social media is all about providing a platform where people can interact, talk and share experiences with each other — your brand should facilitate that. Liking, sharing or commenting on a follower’s post is a simple yet effective way of engaging with your audience.

Try sparking a relevant conversation with your audience, listen to what they have to say then reply and converse with them to become more personable. Never ignore the conversational aspect of social media.

1/3 Shares

Sharing other industry-relevant news not only tells people you are up-to-date with new trends but it shows that you’re also not too proud to promote what others are doing in your industry.

Now, obviously you’re not going to start posting that your direct competitor has a “One Day Mega Sale” on at the moment but why not share articles or images about new advances in your field?

As always, consider what your audience would enjoy reading and what would increase your social media reach, and tie all that in with your own branding. Say you’re a plumbing company, share some funny videos of DIY plumbing fails. If you’re a designer, share some interesting new design articles.

Follow these 5 tips to ensure your business stays #relevant.

1. Find the Right Platform

As mentioned above, there are numerous social media platforms out there. So how do you choose? Firstly you need to ask yourself your audience is. Hopefully you already know the answer to this as knowing your target demographic is key to any marketing strategy.

Not all social media sites are made for the same purpose and not all social media platforms will suit your brand.

A quick search online can tell you where your demographic are hanging out when it comes to social media. For example, Younger generations such as Gen Z are increasingly moving away from Facebook and heading to platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat for their social fixes whilst older generations gravitate towards Facebook and LinkedIn.

2. What Will You be Posting?

Now that you’ve identified where your audience is hanging out you need to post content that is designed for that platform.

For example, let’s say you are a designer of really cool boutique furniture. You want to showcase your beautiful creations in the best way possible so you should be looking at Instagram for the bulk of your social posts as well as Pinterest.

If you’re looking to share news and updates then look to Twitter and LinkedIn for more professional, research-based content or YouTube and Facebook for video content.

3. Ride on the Coattails of Trending Topics

The hashtag “#hashtag” is a used on social media platforms to identify specific topics within content. Identifying global trending hashtags that are relevant (even loosely relevant) to your industry is a great way to gain more followers and also engage and entertain your current audience base. Don’t be afraid to get a little creative here either.

Let’s take Game of Thrones for example, by far it is the most watched, shared, talked about TV show in recent times and in 2016 (a year that had Trump, Rio Olympics, Brexit, countless iconic celebrity deaths and Pokemon Go) #GameOfThrones was the 10th most used hashtag in the world.

Brands that were quick to identify these trending topics and worked these into their social content were able to reach far more people than ever before. To identify the latest trending hashtags check out Google Trends.

4. Deliver a Digital Experience

Generation Z (those born in the mid 90s & 2000s) is the first generation of true “digital natives”. This generation cannot imagine a world without the internet and easily available information. They want it (and expect it) now.
Gen Z are the driving force behind the mobile revolution and if your brand isn’t engaging with them in their digital environment they won’t give you the time of day.

Advertising on radio? Gen Z are listening to Spotify. Running TV commercials? They’re watching Netflix. Print ads? They’re not reading newspapers or magazines, they’re on social media.

If it isn’t convenient for Generation Z they will move on. This is why it is absolutely essential your brand has a responsive website that caters to mobile users, if it doesn’t? They don’t even know you exist.

5. Measure Performance

You know where your audience is. You know how you want to engage with them. Your content is out in the social world — but how is it performing?
Social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and many others have built in analytics and tracking tools so you can see which posts resulted in the most engagement which helps you to tailor future posts and capitalise on the data. Other analytical tools such as Google Analytics can tell how your online ads and campaigns are performing.

Analytical tools found on social media platforms can provide in-depth information on the performance of your posts, while social media tracking services, like amaSocial, measure the perception of your brand across various platforms.

At Quentosity we are a digital marketing consultancy that, via our digital marketing techniques, can ensure your brand is a part of the conversation.
Social media plays an important role in your brand’s greater digital marketing strategy and should not be overlooked.

Whether you are based in Auckland, Tauranga, Christchurch or anywhere else in New Zealand, talk with us today and see how we can take your business to the next level and allow you to reach your business goals sooner!