Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | February 19, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 15 M A R K E T I N G & S O C I A L M E D I A F O C U S Which social media platform is right for your business? their Facebook presence, but upon ques- tioning, admit not many of their cus- tomers are shopping that way. "Not having clear goals and clear strategy when it comes to social media is one of the biggest mistakes I see," Inthirath said. Inthirath advocates for a mixture of outsourcing social media activities to firms specializing in them, and han- dling social content in house. There should be someone on staff who is the point person, he said, even if most of the content creation and scheduling is handled by a marketing company. A long view One of the pitfalls of going it alone is businesses may begin to engage on social media, but then let it fall by the wayside, said Susan Shalhoub, a WBJ advice columnist and contributor who offers social media services through her editorial services company, Plum Editorial. A customer may search for a business on Facebook and see their last post was published in 2013, creat- ing the image the company has gone out of business. "It sends a really bad message to cus- tomers," Shalhoub said. Shalhoub is a little more conservative than Inthirath about encouraging clients to become directly involved in posting, Tweeting and the like. She works closely with them to understand their business and how they can create content estab- lishing their expertise in a given field, but Shalhoub prefers to review social media content before it's posted. Another important caveat, said Shalhoub, is to avoid trying to sell products socially. Instead, be humorous while relevant, and provide useful information. For example, she asked one client, a pesticide company, to send her photos of a broken water pipe that workers found on the job, which helped the homeowner avert a major flood. "No hard sells; you have to really engage people – and be fun," Shalhoub said. Shalhoub said the perception among small businesses that outsourcing social media is too costly leads them to wing it on their own. But there's a range of services and price points out there, Shalhoub said, and companies of all sizes are likely to find something fitting within their larger marketing budgets. Making sure you execute correctly on social media is always worth the money, said Laura DiBenedetto, presi- dent and CEO of Worcester-based Vision Advertising, a marketing com- pany serving clients from Worcester to Boston with revenue between $2 mil- lion and $50 million. DiBenedetto said in an email manag- ing social media is enormously more difficult than it looks, requiring daily content creation across different chan- nels, in a way fitting the company's brand and overall marketing strategy. "Frankly, it's a dizzying amount of responsibility, and it's too easy to make a mistake. Sure, a business owner is likely well-suited to manage it, but shouldn't. Instead, they should use their sharp skills to hire the right people either internally, externally, or both, for the responsibility," DiBenedetto wrote. Laura DiBenedetto, president and CEO, Vision Advertising W Facebook – The majority of Facebook users are ages 25 to 54, and slightly more of them are women. If your target market is adults, particular women, Facebook is a good place to engage, according to Forbes. If you're targeting Millenials, most of whom eschew Facebook, move on. Snapchat – Snapchat is a better place to reach Millennials, especially those on the younger side of the generation, ages 18-24. According to digital marketing research firm eMarketer, 78 percent of survey respondents in this age group said they used Snapchat daily, beating out Instagram and Facebook in that age group. LinkedIn – Professional service firms of all kinds are well served by LinkedIn's networking features. It's like attending a Business After Hours online. LinkedIn allows your company to connect with professionals who might seek your services, advises business networking site Business2Community.com. By connecting with the right people, you create leads. Twitter – Twitter is like a running conversation, and it's a place for businesses to humanize their brand. It's second only to Facebook when it comes to return on investment, according to Hootsuite. It transcends industries and demographics, with everyone from fast-food chains to the President chiming in. Instagram – The photo-sharing app is the fastest growing social media platform – U.S. users are expected to surpass 100 million, and 71 percent of major brands are expected to have accounts by 2018, according to Social Media Today – so figuring it out is probably worth your while. Pinterest – It has a smaller following than other platforms, but it's a place where people draw inspiration from delectable photography, so if you have compelling photos and art associated with your business, you are likely to pique customer attention – particularly women, who make up the bulk of U.S. Pinterest users, says Hootsuite.

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