Page 140 - Hereford Magazine 2022

Five steps to effective social

media marketing

Words: Jodine McIntyre, Social Smarty

he mention of social media may make you feel like
running for the hills, but there’s no denying it’s
overtaking traditional marketing platforms when it
comes to spreading the word about your business.
T Using social media effectively can help you reach a
global audience, drive brand awareness for your stud, and build
trust and your authority in your industry.
But if you’re not sure how to tackle social media and you find
yourself simply throwing spaghetti to see what sticks, you may
be missing massive opportunities. Otapawa Herefords’ Instagram account.
Here are my five steps to effective social media marketing for
your business. a shorter timeframe than both Facebook and Instagram, so it is
definitely a platform to watch!
If you’re keen to do some research, there are many free online
1. Select the right social media platform tools available via a quick Google search to see the demographics
for each social media platform. However, I recommend simply
Before you dive headfirst into social media marketing, you asking your target audience which they use.
need to give some thought to which platform is the best fit. I recommend sticking to one main social media platform and
The goal is to be active in the online space where your target only adding another if you are confident you have the time or
audience is already spending time. the resources to post consistently to multiple accounts.
Here in New Zealand, Facebook is the most popular social
media platform with more than 3.8 million Kiwis checking in to
Facebook at least once a month. 2. Make sure you’re set up correctly
Facebook users in New Zealand If you’ve decided Facebook is the way to go for your audience,
December 2021 then you will first need a personal profile before you can
3 868 800 create a business page.
LinkedIn works in much the same way with a personal profile
and a company page. Instagram and TikTok allow you to go
53.4% 46.6% ahead and create a profile for your business without a personal
women men account.
Regardless of which platform you choose, it’s important to
12.2% 12.3% consider that social media platforms operate as search engines.
This means people can search on them to find businesses that
9.3% 9.1% 9.1% interest them. For this reason, give some thought to the words
8.2% 7.8% you use in the name and description of your profiles. Imagine
6.3% 6.3% 5.9%
4.6% someone is searching for your business online but doesn’t know
4% what it is called – would they still find you? What words would
2.7%
2.1% they use to search, and have you included these? Does your
profile clearly identify your location?
13-17 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ It’s also important to review your accounts regularly. Have
4.8% 18.5% 24.6% 17.3% 14.1% 10.9% 9.9%
any aspects of your business changed? Is your phone number
[Source: https://napoleoncat.com/stats/facebook-users-in-new_zealand/2021/12/] correct? Address information included?
Work your way through and make sure all information is
still relevant and you have filled in as much as possible (in
Chances are high that your target audience is among them. Facebook, look for ‘Edit page info’).
Instagram and LinkedIn are also popular platforms in New Social media can’t read minds – even though it may seem
Zealand. Instagram users tend to fit a younger demographic like it can at times – so it’s best to make things as clear and
while LinkedIn is great for building business-to-business concise as possible, without leaving any key details out.
connections. Remember – if people don’t find out what they need to know
TikTok also deserves a mention as it is growing massively in on their first try, they’ll just scroll on and find another stud.
popularity. The platform recently hit 1 billion users globally in

138 HEREFORD MAGAZINE Year 2022