Get Online - websites and social media platforms

There's no longer any question that social media is a necessary marketing tool for every business that wants to remain relevant and visible in today’s busy online world. In fact, 92 percent of marketers say that social media has helped increase exposure, which means that if you aren't using social media to its fullest you're missing out on a huge opportunity.

But getting started can be difficult.  There are many social media platforms out there for everything and everyone.  Of all the social media sites out there, the top ones in terms of monthly active users include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

There are many benefits of using social media:
• Improve your customer service offer by providing another platform on which customers can reach out to your business
• Identify new leads and prospects who are similar to your best customers
• Reach out to new audiences 
• Learn more about your customers and potential customer

Start by defining your goals: what content do you need to create; who is your target audience; etc.  Then determine what channels your audience is already using; the point of social media marketing is to put you in contact with potential customers.  There are a number of ways you can go about finding where your potential customer is hanging out online.  You can use social media sites to find this information; with platforms like Facebook, you can actually tell Facebook about your ideal customer and they’ll estimate the audience size for you.  

Lastly, examine the type of content your business typically creates.  Different types of content work better with certain social media platforms, so it’s integral that you consider the type of content you like to create and that works best with your brand.  Instagram, for instance, is all about the pictures, so it may not be the right choice if most of what you create is long-form textual content.  The type of content you create will depend on a number of things, including your industry, your brand, and your target audience, but content types you may focus on include:

• Blog posts
• Podcasts
• Testimonials
• User-generated content
• Webinars and livestreams
• Videos
• Photographs

After that pair your goals, audience and content with the right platform.