Popular Answers to Common Social Media Questions
Whether you’re an experienced marketer or you’re just getting started with social media marketing there is always something new to learn. Some people have questions about social media but they don't ask them as they think their question is too simple to bother asking. At SMURKE we believe that being informed is better than simply not asking the question. So we have complied this list of popular answers to common social media questions people like you are just afraid to ask.
1. Do we need to be on every social network?
Response: No.
Why: Trying to be on every social media network is a daunting task and in most cases not a great strategy. Be strategic with the social media channels you choose. The best way to do this is by asking yourself the question: which social media channels will I find the majority of my audience. Start there and keep it simple.
Another way to think about which social media networks to engage with is by thinking about what you are bringing in forms of content to the social media channel. Is the content what people want to see? As SMURKE we choose to engage with Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and the one most companies miss - Google my Business.
If you have the time to make outstanding videos, then you should definitely have a presence on YouTube and in today's world maybe even TikTok. If not, get off of video platforms until you can create high quality content. You don’t have to take on everything at once. Start out slow and as you see success and have the time to expand, then slowly add other channels.
2. Do our social media handles have to be the same?
Response: Yes.
Why: Keeping your social media handles the same make it easier for your audience to engage. At the end of the day your social media strategy is all about your audience. When handles are different across every social media channel, it gets confusing for customers. In addition, you want your raving fans to be able to tag your social media channel with ease. If the handles are different, this isn't going to happen. We think of social media handles, websites, apps, online advertising, and online media publications as your digital real estate. Brand it as such and keep the brand consistent.
At times your first choice might not be available. If this is the case, get creative. Your social media handles do not need to be the same as your site's URL. One thing you should avoid though, is adding numbers, characters, underscores or phrases that have nothing to do with your brand. Keep your usernames as simple as possible.
3. What type of content should we share?
Response: What your audience wants to see.
Why: We think this is one of the most important questions we get asked here at SMURKE. The type of content you should share is the type of content your audience wants to see. You must know your customer or if a new organization the ideal customer. When you find relevant and timely content that brings value to your audience, they will find it much easier to engage with the content and share it with others.
Another way to share content that your audience wants to see can be by sharing content that influencers they follow are sharing. If the content is valuable, relevant, and timely don't be afraid to share it. If you don't share it direct you can use it to curate blog posts or other conversation starters on your social media networks.
Finally, this is a good place to use #hashtags. Don't know how to #hashtag? Check out our article here: https://www.smurke.com/post/how-to-hashtag
4. How often should we post?
Response: It depends.
Why: As often as it makes sense to your audience given your organization's bandwidth. It's most important that the content you post brings value to your audience. The goal should be quality posts over quantity of posts. Never give up on quality. If you do, you WILL fail.
Believe it or not you are better off posting nothing than posting something that does not represent your brand or your audience's needs first. Find a schedule that works for your organization given the time you have to commit to creating or curating strong content.
Finally, repurposing content is a good strategy when you have data that shows which content your audience engaged with the most. A system like SMURKE should be able to provide that kind of insight. With this data, you can refresh the content or provide new found insights on past content. Old blog posts can be retweeted with a slightly different message and new imagery. Setting a strategy where you post a blog post on one channel on day one, another on day 3, and another on day 5 can be used to get the most out of audience engagement overtime.
Make sure you track content and find where it performs best for your organzaition.
5. What is the best time to post?
Response: It depends.
Why: We really like to think about posting at anytime is good when you have content that your audience really needs. The more value your content brings to your audience, the less important the time of day of your post becomes. The reality, however; is there is no single best time to post. If you have historical data from your social media channels, look at the data and post at times when your audience is engaged the most by channel. Schedule content with SMURKE at times that matches the behavior of your audience.
6. How do we get more followers and engagement?
Response: By providing genuine, unique content.
Why: This questions brings up the thought of quality over quantity. You will see this idea a couple of times in this article. You really only want followers who will engage with your content. This is where the real value can be found in forms of engagement.
In today's social media world people are overwhelmed with content from all angles. Standing out in a jammed packed world of content must be your goal and getting followers who mean something is the best chance of results as the end of the day. Because you’re not just asking people to follow you, ask yourself why they should give their attention to you instead of someone else?
Most importantly though, remember that social media is a conversation. Interact with your followersGo where they are. Get involved.
7. Does social media impact search engine optimization?
Response: Yes. Indirectly.
Why: Social media channels all by themselves do not improve SEO. However, social media can indirectly impact your search engine ranking as you engage influencers or other bloggers. This is an indirect effect as your content can be tagged and propagated through the web. If the content is canonized correctly, then you get SEO value.
Finally, social media builds relationships and one of those relationships might lead to a guest post or interviews. This can create new content that can likely impact your SEO strategy.
8. Should we connect with everyone?
Response: No.
Why: While natural instinct might say yes. This is certainly not a sustainable to advisable approach to getting the most out of your social media strategy. You don't always have to follow back or accept every request to connect. In fact, who you follow or connect with say about as much of your brand's promise as does the actual content you publish.
Here a few tips your might try:
Follow or connect with people or influencers who can positively impact your content strategy and brand.
Use a social media management system like SMURKE so your audience mentions or important messages don't get lost.
Use a social media management tool to manage and isolate important, revenue generating conversations.
9. Should we pay for social media ads?
Response: Yes.
Why: In some platforms like Google my Business and Facebook you will likely find advantages from "paying to playing". Trying to understand the massively smart algorithms of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedI, and Google my Business are really challenging to fully understand in order to get your content in front of an organic (non-paid) audience.
We say yes here because, it will strongly improve the ability for you to capture new followers but more importantly new sales. Paid ads (when done right) should end up as marketing qualified leads and sales as the end. Facebook is by far the most popular platform marketers use for social media advertising for B2C products. On the other hand; however, LinkedIn takes the lead for marketing B2B products or services.
10. Do we need a social media calendar?
Response: Yes.
Why: We have all heard the phrase, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You don't want your social media marketing strategy to fail. A social media calendar is a necessary step in bringing your strategy to life.
A social media calendar can help an organization stay on track and consistent in messaging across various channels. It also helps you create higher quality content by planning ahead. For SMURKE, when we you see the entire month across all our social media channels in one place, it’s easier to create our content's copy for strength and consistency.
Finally, when you’re planning ahead, you have a better chance of maximizing your impact on social media. This gives you the ability to plan a distribution strategy for your content, instead of doing everything as it happens. Planning content on a social media calendar allows you to line up your brand's influencers to engage with your content ahead of time. This helps your message reach a bigger audience.
11. What is our social media ROI? How can we measure it?
Response: The amount of revenue made from your social media efforts less the amount you spent.
Why: Measuring return on investment (ROI) when it comes to social media can be a bit slippery. In fact a large percentage of companies in the United States are not sure that they can measure if their social media marketing efforts are paying off or not. Figuring out what your ROI is doesn't have to be as hard as most organizations make it. Take your total costs of social media including staff's time, systems, images, content creation etc. and total amount of revenue made that can be attributed to your post. Do some simple math and you have the basics of social media ROI.
Don't forget that social media ROI might look different depending on your organization's goals. If you’re using social media to get leads, your return won’t be the same as it would if you were using it to build brand awareness.
12. We are in a boring space. Do we still need social media?
Response: Yes.
Why: When it comes to social media marketing, your goal is to reach your audience. Everything marketing is about getting in front of the right people at the right time. Boring or not, spend the time where your audience is. Engage with them right where they are at...for most organizations that is on social media. A whopping 78% of Americans have at least one social media profile. This means you'll find those who don't think your space is boring.
Another rule of thumb is that social media isn’t an advertising platform. Instead, use social media as a platform to educate and entertain your audience.
13. Is it okay for us to share promotional content?
Response: Yes. With Caution.
Why: Don't be a spammer. No one likes it. Spread out promotional posts when your organization really has a special value promotion. The whole idea goes back to bringing the value to your audience. If they are on social media, they know how to find you on the web. It's not completely out of the question to send promotions on social media, however, use caution.
Fun fact, more than 40% of people will unfollow a brand for sending too many promotional messages.
14. Do we need a social media management tool?
Response: Yes.
Why: First, we must share that we absolutely think so. But we sell such a tool so yes we are biased. However, social media apps were first built for personal use. Therefore, as your organzaition uses social media to do more than just a conversation, then a social media management tool like SMURKE becomes essential. SMURKE allows users to schedule content in advance, look at in-depth analytics to measure performance and work in teams.
If social media is an important part of your organization (it definitely should be) then you need the right tools to deliver the most value to your audience and to your organizations bottom line.
15. Should we outsource our social media marketing?
Response: Maybe.
Why: Outsourcing your social media marketing can be tricky, but effective if done with the right partner. You know your audience and their interests and needs better than most. However, if you don’t have the resources to put together social media campaigns from scratch, working with an agency such as SMURKE can be a smart move. But we do not suggest ever that you take a completely hands-off approach. Not with SMURKE or any provider, ever. Again, nobody knows your brand like you, so you should always have a hand in your social media marketing efforts. But remeber there’s nothing wrong with getting help from the experts.
Do you have a question that’s not answered here? Comment below or Tweet us and we’ll see if we can answer it for you. There’s no such thing as a dumb question, so ask away!