Social media: making it work for your business

By Helena Young, MIH Solutions Communications and PR Executive 

 

 

We’re often asked: ‘How do I get started on social media and which platforms should I be on?’ 

 

With so many channels out there and new ones landing all the time, it’s easy to be confused. Most organisations know they need to ‘do’ social media, but few know their Twitch from their Tumblr. 

 

Our advice is consistent – you should keep things simple by considering the following two questions: 

  1. What are you trying to achieve? 

  1. Who is your target audience? 

 

If you are selling directly to consumers, for example, lifestyle channels such as Instagram, Facebook and X (formally known as Twitter) are good choices. Their visual, conversational feel will allow you to express yourself and build a rapport with customers or service users. Facebook groups are also a powerful way to stay in touch and create a line of communication with your customers or service users. 

 

If your audience is largely from the younger generation, you may want to consider platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok, channels that lend themselves to the expressive images and videos favoured by those in their late teens. 

 

LinkedIn, meanwhile, is the place to demonstrate professional expertise, making it an excellent way to showcase achievements, case studies, connect with other businesses and expand your potential client base. It’s also a great space for recruiting new talent. 

 

Once you’ve identified which platform is likely to work best for you, stick with it – doing one social media channel well, with a strong profile backed up by a solid content strategy, will be far more effective than spreading yourself too thinly. 

 

Some experts suggest spending 20% of the working week sourcing or creating content to keep an audience engaged. It’s therefore an incredibly important investment of your time, and the benefits you reap will likely be commensurate with the effort you put in. There are free online tools to schedule content in advance, meaning you don’t have to do everything in ‘real time.’ Remember, the use of good visuals will be a really powerful tool to help attract attention. 

 

Finally, monitor your account regularly - by responding to comments in a timely manner and interacting with others, you’ll demonstrate your keenness to engage and therefore increase your brand's credibility. 

 

If you’re interested in learning more about making social media work better for your business, please get in touch with our team.