By next year, industry experts predict that over half of all social media users will use these channels to make at least one purchase online. It’s safe to say there has never been such an exciting time to embrace social media!
But if you’ve only ever used social media to post a few photos of your most recent vacation, you probably have a few pressing questions about how it works and how you will benefit your business.
To help answer that, here are the ten most frequently asked social media questions.
1. How Do You Grow a Following?
One of the most common questions about social media is how to grow thousands of followers. The best way to grow a following is to be authentic, not try too hard, and post lots of original and exciting content.
Plus, interact with your audience as much as possible by replying to comments and joining conversations.
But whatever tactics you try to boost your follower account, never pay for followers. It’s forbidden by most social media platforms and will ultimately hurt your business.
Always use an analytics tool to track your activity. That will tell you what content gets the best reaction from your audience, so you can use that to guide your efforts.
If some content isn’t working, ditch it and test something else.
2. Should You Invest in Ads?
Social media platforms have created excellent business ad tools, offering granular targeting options and advanced AI technology to optimize your campaigns. So the short answer is yes, if you can afford to advertise, do!
However, perhaps you are on a strict budget.
In this case, there are plenty of alternative ways to market your business on social media without paying for ads. It requires a little creativity, some consistency with your approach, and lots of perseverance.
3. What’s the Best Platform Right Now?
Next on our list of social media FAQs is the question about which platform is best. TikTok probably wins the title of the fasting growing platform right now, but that doesn’t mean it is the best platform for you and your business.
The truth is that there is no best platform, only one that fits your business objectives.
Two things to consider are your target audience and your brand.
For example, if your target demographic is business professionals who spend their time on LinkedIn, you’re better off focusing on that than trying to grow on Instagram.
Your brand image will also shape your choice of platform. A young, fun, quirky brand will do well on TikTok or Instagram. In contrast, a more technical conservative brand may do better on LinkedIn or Facebook.
4. How Much Content Should You Post?
You should post as consistently as you can. That is more important than the frequency of your posting schedule. So examine your workload and determine the time you can dedicate to social media.
If you only have 1-2 hours each week, post one a week. If you have more time than that, post 2-3 times a week. And if you want to grow fast and plan to spend lots of time on social media, post at least once a day.
5. What’s a Scheduler?
It takes time to upload posts to social media, tag them, add hashtags and descriptions and respond to comments.
Fortunately, some technology can do the hard work for you. These tools are called social media schedulers. You can upload multiple content items and schedule them for automatic posting across various social media platforms using a scheduler.
Most schedulers have lots of other helpful tools, too, such as an analytics platform to give you an overview of how your social media efforts are performing.
6. What’s a Social Media Manager?
A social media manager is dedicated to looking after your social media presence. They can be internal, or you can hire a freelancer or agency.
Social media managers create and post content and sometimes even craft marketing campaigns for you. They’ll also communicate with your followers via comments and direct messages, giving them a partial customer service style role.
They’ll also use your social media scheduler to manage your accounts. However, if you use an external agency, they will probably use their schedulers to manage your social media presence.
7. Can You Make Money on Social Media?
One of the most popular social media questions is how to make money from the platforms.
You’ve probably heard of social media influencers. These are people with large followings and active personal accounts. They make money by promoting products and services on behalf of brands.
However, it takes time to build such a large and loyal following. Launching a brand and selling your products and services via social media accounts is better if you want to make money from social media.
8. Is Social Media Better for Website Traffic than SEO?
It’s best to build a presence on social media and invest in SEO. They are both valuable, and social signals via your social media platforms could help you create a presence on Google, as it’s an easy way to share content.
If you are time-poor when it comes to business marketing, choose either Google or social media but choose the platform your target customer actively uses.
9. What Sort of Content Works Best?
A short video is the best social media format on paper, as it gets high engagement levels.
But if you aren’t comfortable producing videos, pick your favourite format. It’s always best to work to your strengths and build a brand that seems authentic instead of trying to copy content that’s working for others.
10. Isn’t It Too Late to Succeed On Social Media?
It’s not too late to succeed in social media. In fact, there is more potential than ever as more people globally sign up for the top platforms.
The quicker you start, the more chance you have to build a profile that benefits your business.
Your Social Media Questions: Answered
Are you excited about the brave new world of social media?
The best time to start is right away, and few marketing channels are as easy and fun to explore. Now we’ve answered your social media questions, why not begin your research to discover the best channel for your business?
Perhaps social media management is the next step for your business. In this case, head here to contact our team to see how our social media experts can help you grow your online presence.