Social Media – Where to Start?

Ask any brand if they have a presence on social media and almost everyone would say that they do. But are they effective in their social media strategy? Do they even have a social media strategy?

Every so often it happens that we visit a brand’s social media networks and either find that all the networks have exactly the same type of content or that they are just randomly posting content – think “Happy Friday” or sharing a video that is not at all relevant to their page, their services or their audience.

The reason this happens is because some brands still don’t realise the value of having a presence on social media and therefore does not invest in it.

Let’s look at three ways to use your social media networks to create an online presence that aligns to your overall marketing strategy and business goals.

Community Management

This is exactly what it sounds like – managing your communities (audiences, followers, connections) on your social media pages, platforms and profiles. The Community Manager (or whomever the brand assigns to the job function) would set up the pages, post, engage with the community and handle any queries.

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. This involves publishing great content on your social media networks, listening to and engaging your followers, analysing your results, and running social media advertisements.

Social Media Marketing first started with publishing. Businesses were sharing their content on social media to generate traffic to their websites and, hopefully, sales. But social media has matured far beyond being just a place to broadcast content.

Social Media Marketing includes the function of Community Management.

Content Marketing

Many brands have tons of content on their website – blog posts, FAQs, events, news, training etc. Content Marketing entails repurposing the content to bring an already established online community back to your website. An infographic on Facebook links back to an event on your website – and the visitor is enticed to register.

Content Marketing is content production and creative thought; whereas Social Media Marketing focuses on making social media a successful delivery mechanism. However, the difference between the two is not as simple. Content marketers are highly focused on methods of sharing and receiving content. Social Media Marketing focuses on making social media a successful mechanism for delivery of the content.

Not sure which one would apply to your brand? CF Communications advise, implement and manage suitable social media marketing campaigns for your brand and assist with community management and social media advertising. Browse our range of solutions below to find out how we help you grow your following, improve your reach and create powerful, relevant posts that deliver results.

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Photo by Cristian Dina from Pexels