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Social Media Management

Social Media has infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives 

Social media is constantly evolving and has infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives – keeping up with it isn’t an easy task. Of course, social media isn’t just for personal use -it has become an integral part of digital marketing and can help a business develop from a start-up into a smooth-running machine.

Social media marketing is all about communication.  According to industry legend, Neil Patel, “Social media marketing is the process of creating content that you have tailored to the context of each individual social media platform in order to drive user engagement and sharing.”

Facebook has 2.320 billion users by the end of 2017 and even though there are currently over 7.5 billion people in the world, one in four people have a Facebook account. Patel claims that Facebook is quite literally taking over the world and that in some ways, it is a country of its own. With so many active users on a daily basis, social media presents a prime marketing opportunity.

That’s only Facebook and it’s worth noting that each platform is different in that they each require their own strategy. One thing remains the same, however, the content. Content drives each social media platform. In Neil Patel’s article, Social Media Marketing Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide, he unpacks some key social media terms. We have summarised them here for you:

Content: Content is whatever you are posting on your social media profiles. This includes text, videos, and images. Each social network requires different forms of content meaning that what you post should be tailored specifically to each platform.

Hashtags: Incorporating hashtags into your posts have become a very common way of adding meta information on nearly all social networks. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest thrive on hashtags which lets you describe the topic of your content or mark it as part of a current trend.Hashtags make content easier to find and share – especially if it’s part of a trend.

Shares: Shares are considered the currency of the social media world, they are all that matters. While “likes” are also important, you want people to pass your message on.

Engagement: Engagement just means that other users see and interact with the content you share on social networks. This includes liking, commenting on and sharing your posts.

Fun fact: Nomophobia is the fear of not being near your mobile phone. 

In another article, Social Media for Business: A Marketer’s Guide – by Saige Driver. Driver explains that not every social platform in a good fit for every business, businesses need to invest in the platforms where they are most likely to reach their target audience. Here’s what you should know about each of the most popular social media platforms:

Facebook

Facebook can be used to share any type of content from photos to important business updates. With a business account, you’ll be able to access various advertising and analytics tools. Having a business page also enables you to highlight operating hours, contact information and the products and services on offer.

Instagram

With Instagram gaining popularity, it’s important to note that the platform is almost entirely mobile meaning that you can’t create or upload content from your desktop. Artists tend to do well on Instagram as they can take photos and upload them on-the-go with their mobile devices. It’s important that whoever runs your page has some basic photography skills and a keen eye for detail.

Twitter

Twitter is the ideal platform for posting short updates about your business or sharing links to longer content such as a blog. Twitter has a character limit of 240 characters but also allows the sharing of multimedia content, links, and polls etc. Driver suggests that if you’re a highly visual business or if you don’t have a blog, you may want to skip Twitter. All in all, Twitter is a great platform to quickly spread the word.

Watch: How to Start Social Media Marketing (4 ESSENTIAL Tips for Beginners) – By Neil Patel

If you would like to learn more about the fast-paced world of social media marketing, take a look at our Social media marketing short course here: https://www.immsc.co.za/online-course/social-media-marketing-short-course/