Unless you live under a rock or prefer an off-grid, unplugged lifestyle (which are basically the same thing) then you probably have at least one social media account and understand the basics of how to use it. For those of you who don’t know, “social media” references websites and apps that enable users (like you) to create and share content or to take part in social networking. You’ve probably heard of a few of the most well-known social media platforms- Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Social media allows you to share content- like photos, videos, and status updates- quickly and efficiently, and has revolutionized the way we live our lives. In the last 10 years, Facebook alone has grown from almost 800 million monthly active users (MAUs) to over 2.8 billion MAUs and it’s not hard to see why. Instead of having to print photos and handwrite a letter to your friend across the country to tell them about this ~super cool thing~ you did last weekend, you can take a photo on your phone and post it to your page with a caption telling all your friends from around the world about this ~super cool thing~
Social media hasn’t just changed the way we live and communicate with each other, but it has also changed the way we do business. With almost 4 billion daily active users worldwide, you can bet your bottom dollar that brands and businesses were going to hop on the social media bandwagon. You can post to social media platforms from anywhere that has a wifi connection and reach all of those people. That’s just, like, too easy. Isn’t it?
How hard can it be to post a photo online with a little caption? Anyone can do that.
Well, when you put it like that it sure does sound like a piece of cake! But, for example, do you think Nike became the most followed brand on Instagram just by posting photos with little captions on their page? Kind of, not really. If that was all it took to have a successful account, then every brand and every business would be competing for a top spot and they’re...not.
So, now you want to know why something that seems so easy and simple doesn’t work the same way for everyone. Well, that’s what we’re here to tell ya!
You should note: posting a photo and caption from your personal page to share with your friends and family is a little bit different than a brand or business posting to their clients and potential customers. This is where social media marketing comes in. Social media marketing is using social media platforms to connect with your audience to build your brand, increase sales, drive website traffic, and pretty much anything that markets your products and/or services...but on social media.
Being a successful brand on social media is a little bit more complex than just publishing a nice photo with a good caption. Just like with anything, the fact that anyone can do it doesn’t mean that everyone should do it. Let’s compare this to driving a car real quick. That’s just holding onto the steering wheel and putting your foot on the gas pedal, right? Anyone can drive! Let’s go to the mall! Ha ha, no. Driving is a little bit more complex than that, isn’t it? Otherwise, we would all get a license as soon as we’re tall enough to reach the pedals.
Being “good at social media” requires a lot of time, expertise, and demands a lot of skills and experience. People who are placed in charge of their workplace’s social media accounts are often ill equipped for the job with little to no past experience (reminder that your personal account is quite different from running a brand account). Managing a social media presence properly means you have to have a keen eye for aesthetics, short-form copywriting skills, creativity, customer service and problem solving skills, the ability to analyze and understand data, and- most importantly- time and consistency.
Ok, but it’s just not as important as my other marketing efforts.
Fake news. Nowadays, social media isn’t just a place where people go to see new menu items or product releases. Prospective customers are treating your social media profile as the new homepage. Meaning that, when potential customers land on your social media profile, they want to quickly get an idea of what kind of business you are, what you have to offer, and why they should choose you over your competition. Sound unimportant now? We didn’t think so!
In that case, I’ll just have my receptionist do it!
Your receptionist may very well be a social media genius, but even then won’t have the time to do a quality job on your social media.
We get it, running a business costs a lot of money (staffing being a very large expense). With backgrounds in small- to medium-sized businesses, we understand the issue you face: that you are small. When you’re not a corporate giant, like Nike, Starbucks, or other well-known brands, you often have a small team composed of dedicated individuals who go above and beyond the designated duties of their position. The luxury that big businesses have is that they can dedicate specific people to specific jobs and don’t have to worry about just running the business because their business has already been running. A major downfall of social media marketing for small businesses is they don’t have the time to post to their page and manage customer interactions when consistency is key.
Keeping your social media efforts in-house can save on costs, but adds stress to your business if the person(s) in charge of managing it isn’t given the proper resources or time they need. This can lead to a detrimental experience for your online audience who receives inconsistent posts, updates, and interaction from your brand. And if they are getting a better experience from your competitors, then you may have lost those customers.
Then what do you recommend?
Cue the agency!
The benefit of having a marketing agency handle your social media is that it affords you the time and capacity to manage the day-to-day tasks of running your business. They can also create a custom social media marketing strategy for your business and ensure that your social media presence accurately represents your brand and aligns with other messaging and marketing efforts you’re making. This means that, no matter where potential customers find you, they can quickly recognize your business and understand what you’re trying to tell them. At Vibe Creative Marketing, we take pride in our ability to add value to small- to medium-sized businesses by strengthening the cohesion of in-house marketing with the knowledge and efficacy of agency marketing. So, if you’re thinking about outsourcing your to a social media marketing agency, you’re in luck because we happen to know just the place 😉
