It seems like new social media sites crop up every other day.
The latest social media craze is TikTok. Touted by some as the “second coming of Vine,” TikTok allows people to make short, looping videos, often set to music. People are flocking to TikTok because it’s relatively easy to gain followers. Since it’s in its early stages, the creative market isn’t yet saturated. And, TikTok continues to grow in popularity, despite facing rumors that it’s sending information to China as part of a spying program.
But if you’re not eager to hop into the TikTok ring, you’re not alone. After several booms and busts surrounding Facebook and Instagram, businesses are more leery than ever of dumping time and effort into social media marketing..
When Facebook, Instagram and Twitter were in the early stages, it was relatively easy to grow an audience, as well as to engage with that audience. However, changing algorithms and rising advertising costs have driven smaller businesses away from success. In fact, Facebook often won’t even publish your posts to everyone who “likes” or follows your page — you’ll have to pay to boost it to your own audience.
What’s more, the link between social media vanity metrics — likes, follows, and interactions — and revenue isn’t always clear. According to Neil Patel, only 1% of people who like your Facebook page will ever visit your website.
Still, some businesses are having success with social media. Here’s what you need to do to make social work for you — and to see if social media is worth it.
1) Hire a Dedicated Team
If you’re interested in having social work for you, it takes more than a weekly post. You need, at a minimum, to have rich engaging content, specifically designed for each social media app, every day. The most successful businesses often post more frequently than that. Because it takes so much effort to generate this stream of content, it’s little wonder that many smaller businesses have given up on social.
2) Prepare to Invest
Social media is much less organic than it used to be. Currently, you’ll have to pay in order to gain traction. While social media ads may be effective, they seem to detract from the original goal of social media —allowing consumers to interact with your business organically. In order to see a return on social media ads, you’ll have to be prepared to spend a lot of money.
3) Integrate your Business
Facebook and Instagram both offer special tools for selling your wares directly through the app. However, it takes a lot of time to integrate your storefront with these social media sites. If you’re willing to try it, you may want to hire data entry workers to help you cross-list your products.
The Bottom Line
The days where you could organically grow your audience, interact with them, and sell o social media are most likely gone forever. While your business may see some spikes in growth if you hop on the latest social media trend, the amount of time and effort it takes to capture this market might not pay off. At the very most, social media ads should be considered part of an overall marketing program.
And, if you’re disenchanted with social media marketing — there’s always email marketing.
Does your business need help with technology? Call Vodigy today! We specialize in helping small and medium-sized businesses make the most of tech.
