One of the most important things for most businesses regardless of their size is to create their online profiles on the various social media platforms.
If you still don’t have them, what are you waiting for?!
The first questions that every client always asks me are: is it costly? Should I put up ads? How much money do you recommend I invest? Relax, gentlemen, there are much more important things to do before investing in advertising!
Where to start?
The first thing is to align the image of your business, do you know how frustrating it is for any agency to ask for your logo and receive it in excel? Well, let's be honest, now it just makes us laugh.
If you have paid a designer to make your logo, please demand it in editable or vector format and in those formats that will surely be useful (perhaps .jpg, .png and .eps). Ask for your user manual, where they specify colors, negative or positive uses, sizes and meanings, so we can give it the correct use and even highlight your image to the fullest.
Now, it's time to think about which social media channels you should be on, but wait, do you have a website? No! Can’t be. The first impulse of every new client will be to search for you on the internet, what does Mr. Google say about you, can he find you on the first pages? Do you have an active and updated Google listing? Do you exist on Google Maps?
It seems that there is still much more to worry about before diving into social media and how much to invest in them. Don't think about it anymore, my recommendation is to create a website to describe your brand, highlight your products or services and their benefits, position yourself in the search engine and, please, do it with a professional. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be that expensive.
Can we start already?
Yes, it seems that now is the time, but first we should stop and think about what your business is about, what needs of your clients are you solving, how old are your clients, how do your clients like you to address them, what your customers would like to see about you constantly.
Are we clear about it? Perfect! Now let's decide together which social media profiles we should open. Facebook will surely be mandatory; Instagram if our audience is young and the photography that we can show of our product is very striking; or Twitter if we find that our clients are constantly there; LinkedIn if our market niche is very selective; or even TikTok if we think doing something cool and fun could be good for our brand; or if we can do tutorials maybe it should be YouTube.
Phew! It's hard to decide, right? It is best to start with three different channels, choose the combination that you think will reach more people in your target market. Please, do not choose the fashionable social network just for that, because if your customers are not there, surely not even the most clueless will see your content and what can I tell you about attracting new customers: zero.
Since we have decided now, the most important thing is to give a tone to your brand, you had not thought about it, right? It is very important to know how to address your clients even on social networks: informal, formal, serious, kind, friendly, funny, or even very irreverent. Make up your mind and set the tone for your brand.
Let's move on to the most labor-intensive part of all this, creating your monthly posting calendar. And no! It is not as easy as it looks. With all the information about you and your clients, a professional content manager will be able to plan a calendar that will attract your current clients and new potential clients. That your secretary or the son of your cousin who plays with Photoshop does it, will not ensure results and will make your brand look unprofessional, you’d surely lose potential clients.
Similarly, the consistency of your publications is very important, that is why a monthly calendar is the best way to keep the reach in your profiles and get the most out of them as an advertising tool.
And the budget?
Did you see that it wasn't the most important thing? But be careful, it does not mean that it is not necessary. Can you imagine how many brands of painkillers you can find on Google or on any social network if you search for “my head hurts”, many! And this is where the advertising budget for social networks or "ads" works its magic.
Again, we will make use of market research that with some questions we were able to ask in previous paragraphs, so we can segment in each social network those people we want to reach with our brand and who we know may be our future clients.
And how much should I invest?
Always start with the minimum suggested by each segmentation tool and increase your budget according to the results you have. It is important that you do not despair, the results are never immediate. You must be constant and analytical to measure and contrast your investment and its scope, that’s why you should always do it with the help of a professional who guides and advises you to invest your advertising budget in the best way and thus achieve amazing results. The secret is in knowing that investing little does not mean saving, the real savings will be when you invest correctly.
Do you want to position your business in the digital world? We can surely help you!
Schedule a meeting with me and let’s keep #ConnectingMinds!
