How to Use Social Media To Grow Your Business in 2019

I am a big advocate of using social media to grow your business. Sprout Social did a primer and I think you should check out and pay close attention to step 2: Choosing the right social network and step 3: Design Your Content Creation Process. These are the most important keys to success in my opinion, especially if you factor in what I have vlogged about concerning my two biggest mistakes I made when I first started out! There are several steps in its primer, but following two excerpted from Sprout Social that are most relevant in my opinion:

Choose Right Social Media Network

The best kind of social media content strategy is the one capturing the interest of your target audience by their network. Targeting every social network without focus will often lead to wasted budgets and confusion. Consider these factors for each network:

• Facebook: Facebook is one of the most obvious options for social research. Around 76% of adults online use Facebook, and since the rise of Facebook Live, the platform has seen a 700% growth in video views.
• Pinterest: Around a third of adult internet users access Pinterest, but the platform appeals more to women than men. This could be the ideal platform for female-focused brands.
• Twitter: Twitter has about 319 million active users per month. Plus, about 80% of Twitter usage is mobile, which could be great for local companies who want to engage with customers on the move.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is the leading B2B social media platform. The network has members across 200 countries and is perfect for B2B businesses or personal brands looking for growth.
• Instagram: There are more than 800 million monthly users on Instagram. It’s a great way to engage with young, visual audiences, particularly in the millennial demographic.
• Snapchat: Home to 173 million daily users, the audience for Snapchat is very young, with most users under the age of 24.

To choose the perfect platform for your social media content strategy, you’ll need to create something called a “follower profile.” This allows you to pinpoint your perfect customer. Look at demographics like age, gender and even educational or career background to pinpoint your top followers.

Design Your Content Creation Process

Now you know who you engage with and where you need to create posts, you’ll want to establish a guide to keep your content consistent. Although there’s no one-size-fits-all guide to content, ideally, your social posts should be designed to create emotional bonds with your audience. That means establishing a unique personality and tone of voice.

1. Find your voice: Content has more volume when it’s fine-tuned to a tone that resonates with your business. Think about what you want your personality to be like and try to make sure it aligns with the platform you’ve chosen. For instance, a professional tone is more appealing on LinkedIn, while a playful tone might work on Snapchat.
2. Tell a story: Social media is about engaging with your audience, so make sure that you have a strategy for sharing content that aligns with the values of your company. For instance, you should only share content that’s relevant to your industry, aligns with your company ethics and highlights your brand purpose. A green-conscious tech company could share updates about how to upgrade your PC without damaging the environment, for example.
3. Know your competition: Being effective in your social media content strategy is all about making sure you’re better than the competition. Figure out what some of the main players in your organization are doing, then decide how you can do it better. Be careful not to just copy and paste another strategy.

Knowing your tone of voice, story and competition will help you create a more consistent social strategy.

Jay Jay Ghatt is also editor at Techyaya.com, founder of the JayJayGhatt.com and JayJayGhatt.com where she teaches online creators how to navigate digital entrepreneurship and offers Do-It-For-You Blogging Service. She manages her lifestyle sites BellyitchBlog, Jenebaspeaks and JJBraids.com and is the founder of BlackWomenTech.com 200 Black Women in Tech On Twitter. Her biz podcast 10 Minute Podcast is available on iTunes and Player.fm. Follow her on Twitter at @Jenebaspeaks. Buy her templates over at her legal and business templates on Etsy shop!