Organizational Uses

By Mikala Lindhardt

            Now a day it is rare to find a company without a social media website. From clothing boutiques to restaurants to cupcake bakeries it seems as though everyone has a social media profile. This is so the public can ‘like’, ‘share’, and/or ‘follow’ to see the best deals and what is new and exciting.

            There are some important things to remember if you plan to market using social media (and you should plan to market using social media.)

            According to an article written by ‘The Content Factory’ there are ‘9 reasons social media marketing should top your to-do list’. I would like to talk about just a few of them. However, feel free to clink the link above to learn more.

            One of the points The Content Factory gave to the public was ‘your competition is facebooking and tweeting like crazy’. Following this statement, the article read, “The early bird gets the worm, and the sooner you start up Facebook and Twitter pages, the sooner you can start amassing a ton of fans and followers. This isn’t something you want to fall behind the competition on, because it’s much harder (and more expensive) to play catch up than it is to get in on the game early. Truth be told, your competition is probably already marketing with Facebook, and maybe even Twitter and LinkedIn, too.”

            I recently had the opportunity to interview someone who was in charge of social media for a company in Utah. She said that social media was a big deal in her industry. She mentioned they updated their Instagram news feed more than once a day because there is so much traffic in social media marketing. Social media is how this particular company does a lot of their sales and promotions.

            Another point mentioned by ‘The Content Factory’ as a reason to have a social media profile is ‘you get to see your target market, up close and personal.’ Those who follow you, you can follow them back. Remember that. You can quickly learn about someone and their interests based on their social media profiles. This can be a great advantage to you.

            The third, and final point I would like to bring up is ‘It’s free’! Seriously, who doesn’t love free marketing and advertising? The Content Factory reminds us, “If you handle your own social media management, running a social networking campaign is as cheap as it gets. If you hire a social media management or online PR agency, it will cost around $3,000-$7,000 per month, but it’ll be an investment that you’ll be likely to see a return on. If you’re intimidated by interacting with people online or your writing skills leave something to be desired, hiring an online PR agency is definitely the way to go. Posting poorly written content or conveying the wrong kind of messages on social networking sites can seriously affect your digital PR presence.”

            Remember there are student just like me taking social media classes and learning about social media (all the ins and outs) so we can be professionals at social media and marketing. We are interviewing and researching the best ways and the most effective methods of social media. Just keep that in mind.

            In conclusion, I would just like to share a quote from Business 2 Community. In February 2014, when social media wasn’t as big as it is now, Business 2 Community said, “Social Media is the Game Changer. This is a game changer for businesses engaging in marketing, sales, customer service and other business activities.”

            Depending on how you want your business to go and what game you’re playing is a decision of whether your social media is up to par with everyone else and you are competitive.

Thanks for reading.