With 7 out of 10 U.S. adults engaging on social media and people reportedly spending more than two hours per day on social media channels, tint shop owners are adding social media to their marketing strategies to reach new customers.
Below are six healthy habits to consider as it relates to social media management for your window film business.
No. 1: Choose the Right Channel(s) for Your Company
Choosing the right social media channel for your company is one of the most important factors in social media management. After all, managing social media takes resources. The last thing that you want to do is waste time engaging with the wrong audience and not get any results.
People tend to use different social media channels to meet different needs. For instance, Instagram is visual with posts focused on photos and videos. Meanwhile, LinkedIn is focused on business networking and developing connections.
So what channel(s) should your company be on? To answer this, get a deeper understanding of the audience on each channel – from demographics to phsychographics – and the way in which the user is using the channel. Ask yourself, “what is their mindset when they are on this channel?” From there, think about your own business goals and only choose channels that are going to help you achieve those goals.
No. 2: Consider Community Building, Not Selling
Generally, people aren’t turning to social media to hear a sales pitch. Rather, research shows they are on social media for five basic reasons:
- To be informed or educated
- To identify with others
- To be entertained
- To socially interact
- To escape the stresses of everyday life
Stop thinking of social media as a way to sell and instead, consider it a way to build a community around your brand. Create content that resonates with your audience and meets one of those five elements. Here’s a look at ways to do this on Facebook (although these strategies can be used across all channels).
No. 3: Offer the Right Mix of Content
Create the right mix of content, designed for the audience first. The right mix will help ensure you are creating content that is entertaining, informative and engaging for the audience.
There are many different formulas related to content creation. Inc. magazine suggests an 80/20 rule, in which 80 percent of what you post should be designed to inform, educate and entertain, while the remaining 20 percent should be used for a hard sell.
Meanwhile, Business.com talks about the 5:3:2 ratio rule, in which:
- 5 posts should be content from other sources that are relevant to your brand.
- 3 posts should be content that you have created.
- 2 posts should be personal, fun content that humanizes your brand.
It doesn’t matter which formula you use, the important thing to keep in mind is that content should be designed for the audience – not for your company. In the end, it’s about what the audience wants.
No. 4: Track Time and Other Measurements
Want to know if your social media presence is working for you? To do this, it’s important that you track the time that you are investing in social media as well as key performance indicators, such as reach, impressions and engagement. This will help you to see the full return on investment (or ROI).
There is an old adage, “Time is money.” This is certainly true when it comes to the time it takes to manage social media. Understand how much time it takes to create content. Weigh this against the results of that content – from reach (the number of people who saw a post), impressions (the number of times a post was seen) and engagement (the number of likes, shares and comments for a post). Understanding this will assist you in deciding what kind of content to produce.
For instance, perhaps taking four hours out of a workday to create a 30-second video yields low reach and engagement. But putting the time involved in creating a series of before-and-after images yields higher reach and engagement. Your measurements will tell you which one is worth your time.
Measurement also helps you establish a baseline and trend pattern for your social media presence.
No. 5: Don’t Stress Over Trolls
When you begin to engage with customers on social media, you open yourself up to critics and customer opinions. Sometimes, this can be unnerving – especially when people make comments on your posts that are unfounded or simply not true.
Internet trolls are those who seek to provoke and upset others for their own amusement. They can pop up on posts, live video feeds, online reviews or any other platform that gives them a pulpit. Your job is to not let them get to you emotionally.
Here is a look at responding to Google Reviews. The same rules apply when responding to troll messages on social media.
No. 6: Mental Health Breaks are Important
Social media management is not always fun, and research is showing that the demands of the 24-hour “always on” cycle takes a tole on professionals’ well-being. Therefore, it’s important to set boundaries to prevent burn-out.
Social Media Today recommends taking mental health breaks. For instance, stop answering messages outside of work hours. Customers generally understand that someone isn’t going to be sitting at their computer, answering Facebook Messages, after the business is closed or on a Sunday.
In addition, take digital detoxes and vacations in which you refrain from checking social media. Give your eyes and mind a break from the screen.
Speak to an Expert About Your Social Media Strategy
Have questions? Accent Distributing provides marketing assistance for its 3M™ Authorized Dealers. Contact Inside Sales at [email protected] or at (941) 922-5268 to request to get connected with a marketing professional.
