Regardless of your company's size, social media marketing is a fickle tool you can't afford to ignore, especially if your business targets Generation Z customers. Read on to discover five ways to get the most out of your social media.

#1. Choose the right platform

Between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn to choose from, you may be tempted to sign up for more social media accounts than you’re ready to manage. It may not seem like much at first, but you'd be surprised by how quickly you can be overwhelmed by statuses, commenting on existing posts, and answering inquiries on every platform, which is why it’s better to adopt only a few platforms that can effectively attract your target customers.

Ask yourself these questions before deciding which platform to use:

• Who is my target customer and what channels do they use?
• What do I hope to gain by opening a social media account?
• What kind of content do I want to share and create?
• How much time can I devote to social media management?

#2. Know when to update

Are most of your customers online at 8am or 8pm? With a better understanding of your target users' habits, you can schedule your posts so they create more traffic, increase brand engagement and, eventually, generate new leads and customers.

Depending on which platform you choose to invest in, you should post a new update during these times for maximum engagement:

• Facebook: 1pm - 3pm on Thursday and Friday
• Twitter: 3pm - 8pm, Monday - Friday for B2B, & Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday for B2C organizations
• YouTube: 12pm - 3pm, Thursday - Sunday
• LinkedIn: 8am - 5pm, Monday - Friday

#3. Use attractive, professional-looking visuals

One of the simplest ways to get followers to share your posts is by uploading high-quality photos, videos, and reliable infographics along with your messages. Studies have shown that Facebook posts with images result in 39% more engagement while tweets with images or videos create 200% more engagement.

#4. Engage with your followers

It’s important for businesses to maintain a healthy back-and-forth on social media. This means beyond sharing useful content, you should also respond to their comments and private messages as quickly as possible. You can build stronger relationships with customers by writing thank you comments to anyone who shared positive experiences with your business, and by addressing negative comments with personalized and helpful responses.

#5. Pump the brakes on promotional materials

With social media becoming important tools for customers and businesses to connect and interact, it is important not to muddy the water with too many promotional posts. A rule of thumb for social media promotions is that 80% of your posts should be shareable and interactive content, while the remaining 20% should be about your business. This will result in more engagement, a more consistent brand image, and a healthier bottom line.

Social media can help your business succeed, but only if it’s used correctly and effectively. If you’re interested in adopting the right social media platform to increase engagement and create a stronger brand reputation, contact us today and we’ll help you get started.

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Facebook’s newest action can mean bad news to businesses. The company had announced its decision to screen its News Feed to include less content from publishers and businesses and more from your loved ones. This comes after the allegations of how social media has unconsciously shaped people’s opinion and mental well-being.

Potential outcome for Facebook

One of the main sources of revenue for the social media giant is from its advertising program. But with the changes set to take place, there’s a high possibility that users will spend less time on its platform. This would mean comparatively less effective advertising than before, thus fewer advertisement signups from businesses.

While they do admit this move may potentially hurt profitability, Facebook hopes this change will improve user experience, which in the long-run may translate into higher profits.

Reason for News Feed change

Users enjoy learning about what’s happening in their social circles. Whether what's shared is as mundane as what someone recently baked, or as momentous as a wedding, every day millions of users like and comment about each other's lives. For this reason, Facebook has decided to spotlight images and videos that are more meaningful to people on a personal level. Such posts have greater power to deepen human bonds.

Weighing the pros and cons of the News Feed change

However, research has found that constant use of Facebook can cause people to feel alienated and inadequate, reducing people’s overall well-being in the long run. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, teenagers are especially liable to “Facebook depression,” as they constantly compare themselves with their peers.

On the other hand, several researchers believe that an individual’s personality has a greater impact on the type of response he or she will have. If you feel your life is very fulfilling, seeing your friend or family member having fun would make you happy. By contrast, if you’re unhappy or feeling insecure with life, seeing other people’s happier moments will depress you even more.

Effectiveness of change

It’s still too early to tell whether this move will change society for the better and, at the same time, salvage Facebook’s reputation of being a platform that helps people connect with each other. Only time will tell.

Besides Facebook, there are other online channels that can improve your business reputation. If you’re interested in building a stronger web presence, contact us today and we’ll help you get started.

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Big-name social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat are more interactive and responsive than ever. However, these platforms now have a plan to move another step forward in 2018. Here are the top 5 trends you should watch out for this year.

1. The boom of Augmented Reality
   The launch of the new iPhones -- both 8 and X -- last September brought with it an under-the-radar change to the devices. The incorporation of a new chip provides iPhone users with extraordinary augmented reality (AR) experiences. While most conversations about AR focus on the mobile gaming experience, social media platforms will likely find a way to integrate the new technology as well.
2. Influencer marketing
   Influencer marketing has proven to be the best way forward for companies to connect with younger audiences. Titanic companies such as The North Face, HubSpot and Rolex are great examples of companies which have profited heavily from social media-based influencer marketing. By contrast, companies that opted for traditional strategies struggled to connect to social media users, indicating that influencer marketing is here to stay and blossom in 2018.
3. All eyes on Gen Z
   The oldest Gen Z-er is 22 years old and is only just heading into the labor market, meaning they’re going to start spending more money for sometime to come. Brands recognize this, and are aiming to shift their social media strategies to appease the newest customers on the market. Investment in platforms like Snapchat and Instagram is expected to grow exponentially this year.
4. The growing importance of messaging platforms
   A recent study pointed out that over 2.5 billion people use messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Kik to connect with companies. Rather than simply publishing marketing content to profiles and feeds, companies should focus on making it easier for customers to start one-on-one conversations. Therefore, it is more than likely that artificial intelligence, voice assistants and chatbots will all be integrated into messaging platforms for a more personalized user experience.
5. Digital hangouts go mainstream
   In 2017, video content -- including live broadcasts and chats platforms -- was more prominent than ever, and live videos were definitely a successful part of it. This means digitally hanging out with friends and colleagues will become a social norm, as evidenced by the video hangout platform known as Houseparty, which boasts of over one million daily users.

With Gen Z-ers becoming a larger part of the buying marketing, companies will utilize social media platforms to their fullest by incorporating a wide variety of targeted methods to capture their attention. These methods involve technologies that were unimaginable only a few years ago, such as virtual reality and augmented reality. Moreover, investments in optimizing messaging platforms and influencer marketing also signals the start of a newer, more interconnected era between businesses and customers.

Social media marketing is the future. Get in touch with our experts for advice on how you can make 2018 your year. Call today.

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In November, 2017, Facebook announced that their extremely popular Facebook Messenger application would allow businesses to speak to customers on both their own websites and from within Facebook Messenger. Read on to discover how your business can benefit from this feature!

The How

By installing a plug-in called Customer Chat, retailers can integrate Facebook Messenger with their website, letting their customer support representatives carry on conversations with clients just like they would on Facebook.

Customer Chat also saves conversation histories, meaning a user can be talking to a customer representative on their website and then continue the conversation once they shift to Facebook -- without having to start a new conversation. Customer Chat is now open to any business in the form of an ‘expanded public beta.’

Here’s Facebook’s guide detailing how to install Customer Chat.

Facebook’s Grand Plan

Like all new services, the success depends on the users. Customer Chat’s primary user base seems to be those who lack the time or confidence involved in sending a formal e-mail for a casual business inquiry.

Regardless, Facebook has long been developing its platform with an eye on chat's broader benefits to tighten its grip on businesses. A recent stat indicates Facebook Messenger has surpassed 1.3 billion monthly active users.

So, What Next?

As Facebook seems to be monopolizing and clamping down on the communication realm -- both private and business -- with Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp, the plan is clear: They want to absorb even more of the communications that usually take place over phone calls and e-mail.

It is still an uncertainty if the new Messenger feature will have a large impact on Facebook’s grand plan, but it certainly won’t hurt if it ends up working. Customer Chat opens up new avenues of integration, such as sending money, making video calls or even convincing customer service reps to give you a refund. Thus making Facebook the go-to app for anything and everything.

Got any questions about Facebook? Let us help you understand the technicalities. Call us today!

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