The 3 Basics of Social Media – Is Your Brand Falling Short?

Whether you like it or not, Social Media has become a prevalent part of today’s society. Just look at the most recent Super Bowl commercials for example – at the end of each clip, there was almost always a hashtag for the commercial. For those who do not know, a hashtag is a word or phase preceded by the pound sign (#) and is used to identify messages on a particular topic. If there was a commercial that consumers really liked, for example – the adorable clip of the puppy and Budweiser horse, people could go onto social media and talk about this commercial by using the hashtag #bestbuds. In return, if anyone wants to see who else is talking about the commercial, they can click the #bestbuds link and you will be transported to a plethora of conversations about the same topic.

Even when using outbound tactics like TV advertising, brands still encourage their audience to engage with the brand in some way. Consumers now want to be a part of the action – even when it’s something as simple as voicing their opinion of the commercial online. This is where the idea of Social Media advertising comes in. Depending on how you want to showcase your brand, there are various types of media you can use.

I’ll briefly touch on three of the most prevalent forms of social media for businesses: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Facebook allows you to create a personal page for your brand where you can share stories, links, text updates, and practically anything else you can think of. You also have the ability to comment directly back to your customers, which will increase your brand’s credibility and authenticity. On Twitter, as mentioned before, businesses can use the hashtag to aggregate content. This matters quite a bit because the hashtag has almost become its own form of entertainment. A tweet takes mere seconds to complete, but when you can get twitter users talking about your business, each tweet becomes an advertisement all in its own. The final social media outlet, Instagram, uses snapshots and pictures to tell a story of your brand. By using Instagram, this will help you put a face to your company’s name. You can put pictures of behind-the-scenes of your business and enable your followers to learn more about what your brand is like at its core.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the three most important Social Media outlets that you should be using on a daily basis if you always want your brand to be a part of the online conversation. Sure, it might be a little difficult getting started and learning the ropes, especially if this is entirely new to you. I can assure you though, social media marketing is now essential for a business to flourish. You could hate it, but it’s not going anywhere, and will only going to get bigger and bigger as time goes on. So what do you say, stick to the past and get lost in the shuffle, or upgrade your company to the 21^st century and get your brand recognized and talked about? It’s your decision- I say make it happen. If you need help, feel free to give us a shout!

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Lauren Prantil

Content Strategist at SocialCore Marketing

I create and implement amazing content to optimize the reach and success of our clients brands. I am a firm believer in developing resourceful marketing that people love.