Many think that Marketing is exclusive to the creatives, however I would suggest that marketing is much more of a nerd sport than many realize. Certainly I am not indicating that all creative types are exclusively about the art and the design, but there must be a focus on the numbers. It is the deep understanding of the numbers within any marketing budget or system that makes all of the difference in the results. Knowing exactly what is working, bringing in revenue, is the marketers number one job.
Staying in the realm of marketing and the study of the numbers I would like to isolate the topic of social media. A common question that I am asked is how often should I be posting on social media?
Buffer, an on-line tool for scheduling posts, recently published this set of guidelines as it relates to the various and most common social media outlets. I have been utilizing social media for years to market my financial consulting practice and blog. I concur with many of Buffer’s findings, however I will also add that it depends on the intent, the content and timing of each post that impacts its effectiveness.
Below is a Guide to Frequency of Posting on the top 4 Social Media sites that are most commonly used for business marketing. We will look at Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. There are others that are relevant, like Instagram and Pinterest, but these are the leaders for most business marketing.
Until recently I had not used Facebook for business related posts, however this has proven to be the best media for the dentists, which I serve, to reach their target market. The largest segment of Facebook users is the 30 – 55 year old female which makes for a perfect match for Dentists. This particular demographic controls the entirely families decision regarding which dentist they will use as a family. So we coach dentists to have their marketing director to post on Facebook a minimum of two times per day, but not more than three. Ideally, these posts should include a mix of Patient Pictures, Video and Contest winners, current events of the office etc. The more personal the better!
Connect with me on Facebook here
My favorite social media! Twitter has become the fastest growing of all social media sites. Due to the fast pace nature of twitter it allows for an increased frequency of posts each day. The magic number is five, but never more than eight posts per day. Twitter is a great tool for driving people to your web site or blog. Active users will sometimes pick up thousands of followers, which can be achieved through effectively utilizing #hashtags, a way of grouping or searching for tweets by subject matter. Feel free to contact me directly for a quick tutorial on the use of hashtags. The frequency of twitter also allows for you to create more conversations that are outside of your primary expertise, which will also attract additional followers.
This one is strictly business. Stick to making connections here that will lead to private conversations. Excessive marketing inn this arena is frowned upon. One post per day is recommended and it needs to provide more education than marketing. Don’t misunderstand my tone regarding LinkedIn; it is a brilliant concept which I utilize. it simply works best to create relationships through asking for connections.
Connect with me on LinedIn here
Google+
Google+ in my opinion struggled to gain traction as a viable social media. There could be numbers that prove me wrong but from my experience I am not a fan. So, with that said I still believe that everyone should have a presence here. The relationship to its parent company Google makes it a must for your ability to found through search engines. Much like twitter it is a fast paced media allowing for a higher number of posts per day, even up to five per day are within reason. Since I primarily use this to be found more readily when searched on-line I believe this is one of the top spots to market your blog posts that identify you as an expert in your field.
Connect with me on Google+ here
As a business owner, marketing your business is important. If you don’t invite people into your business you just may spend your business day alone. And as we all know that doesn’t work for very long. So, I want to encourage you to utilize social media to market your business. It is an inexpensive way to make your community aware of who you are and what you are doing. There are tools that even make it easier and less time consuming, which I will discuss in a future post.
Try and follow the guidelines above in managing your on-line presence. Send an e-mail or message me to provide feedback regarding the results of your social media strategy.