The best time to post to social media will vary greatly based on the platform, your location, what you are posting, where you are located, and when your target audience is available.. Sprout Social has broken it down into more details. With platforms like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer, and many more you can set up your posts anytime and then have the posts scheduled to go out across a network of accounts at any given time.
When is it worth setting up a business profile on social media?
- When developing a brand strategy. Social media should be part of your marketing strategy when developing a brand image. Strategy is the basis of all actions! If we do not know what we really want to achieve, what our goals are, and how we will implement our activities, we have a small chance of success.
- You consciously build the image of your brand. Consciously, this means that you know how you want to be perceived and how to achieve it. Also, note that you should choose wisely the platform on which you will implement your activities. Not necessarily each is for you. For example, do you know the beauty shops on LinkedIn?
- Are you looking for a new communication channel? Great – social media is definitely a good idea. Besides, I will always repeat that it is worth being where our clients are – but with caution! Do not just post garbage without meaningful content. For example, Facebook users would not like to watch the promotion for steel pipes for industrial installations in their free time … unless you do it right, with distance and keep it interesting!
- Searching for potential clients? Social media is a great place to meet both current and potential customers. In addition to the possibility of communicating with him via free messages or messages posted on the company’s profile, you can also use quite well-developed advertising options.
- You want your company and brand to be perceived as modern. If you want your brand to be perceived as attractive, modern, and interesting, it is worth having a profile on social media. Of course, an empty profile alone is not enough, but it should be supplemented with interesting content that may be of interest to social media users.
According to a report created by We are social and Hootsuite, at the beginning of 2021, there were already 4.33 billion social media users worldwide, and this is as much as 55% of the world’s population. Amazing, isn’t it?
I may surprise you, but privately I’m not a fan of social media. Perhaps this is due to the fact that I am more knowledgeable about them than the average user and I can see the dangers they bring. On the one hand, it is about security, personal data that we share with large corporations, but also aspects of social impact on the perception of the world and ourselves.
You probably know the recent Dove campaign, which shows how social media creates a false image. However, from the point of view of a professional, marketer, and business representative, I see a lot of opportunities that it would be unwise not to take advantage of. How to do this, you will find out in today’s article.
What are social media (social media)?
Social media are various types of social networking sites that, through applications or websites, allow for quick information transfer between users. They are based on an open discussion model that provides the opportunity to share your opinions with all users, as well as with companies, institutions, and brands.
Characteristic features of social media
All available social media share characteristic common features, such as:
- Social media requires the involvement of its users. Activity is required for social media to develop and expand. For this reason, participants should not only share their content but also participate in discussions and express opinions on information published by other users of social networking sites.
- Content is published almost immediately, so users can react to information on an ongoing basis.
- Social media works on any scale, both locally and globally. Thanks to this, users can easily contact others in different parts of the world. The global dimension of social media also allows for the development of local businesses – let’s imagine a small, family-owned handicraft shop from Poznań. Thanks to the global scale of social media, it can reach various recipients.
- Social media gives its users equal rights. Each of us has the ability to create and share content that complies with the regulations. The same applies to the reception of content that is generally available to the public.
- Social media is available to any recipient, anywhere, anytime, in most countries. It should be taken into account that in totalitarian countries, some social media are not available or their native counterparts operate there.
The most popular social media in the world
The number of social media users in 2021 increased by 13.7%, which translates to over 16 new users every second. Currently, over 70% of the global population has their own social media accounts.
In addition, a typical user actively uses more than 6 different websites, spending an average of 3 hours a day on social networks.
For many of us, Facebook and Instagram are the most popular social networks in the world. This is not true in all countries. Per a report created by Alexa and SimiliarWeb, Facebook is the leader in Western Europe, Australia, and North and South America, For Asian countries, the results are different as they have their own versions of social media.
For example, China has imposed a state block on foreign websites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, WhatsApp, Yahoo, and Messenger. Mark Zuckerberg’s website got blocked in July of 2009, right after the riots. However, there are versions of websites in China: WeChat, Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ, Tencent Video, Xiao Hong Shu, Douban, Zhihu, Meituan – Dianping, Toutiao, DouYin.
The leading social network in Russia is V Kontakte, which, like social media in China, does not enjoy full freedom. It is becoming an element of the political game and there are more and more urges in the Russian Duma to introduce various types of censorship.
For example, in December 2020, the law introducing a social media registry in Russia was adopted. It imposes an obligation to remove content that will be considered by the deputies to be inconsistent with the law and public order.
Another rather scary example is North Korea, famous for its dictatorship and its strong need for isolation from the world. It only allows .1% of the people to use the Internet. Most residents have access to … the intranet, which is called Kwangmyong. The network was opened in 2000 and differs from the Internet in that it is a closed, isolated loop. In North Korea, classic social media is not available – but there is its own controlled social network that is not accessible to foreigners.
As for interesting facts, the most popular social media in Japan is Twitter, and in Iran Instagram.
Iran is also a country that is trying to impose military censorship over social networks. Officially, all social media platforms in Iran are blocked, but not banned. However, according to a recent study by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, more than half of Iran’s 82 million inhabitants have accounts on at least one of the theoretically blocked platforms. The regime analyzes the actions of citizens on social media, examining their social mood and political activity.
Types of social media
Many of us, when talking about social media, think about the most popular platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. However, it is worth paying attention to other types of social media, such as:
Traditional social networks (Facebook, Our Class)
Characteristics of classic social networks are easy to access, the ability to quickly set up an account for the user and for the company, as well as wide possibilities of contact with other users via video, text, shared links, and games. Traditional social networking sites are extremely popular, hence a large user base. All of this makes this type of social media very eagerly used by companies as a communication channel that allows for active branding, loyalty-building, and sales via social media.
Video portals (YouTube, Wrzuta, Tik Tok)
Video services are an alternative to television. They provide their users with entertainment, but also access to training, webinars, and substantive content of high value. This medium is also highly trusted by companies because it is perfect for building brand awareness.
Discussion forums
Users with similar interests and needs meet on various forums. They give the opportunity to discuss and provide your own opinions, information and advice. Thematic forums are also a good place to promote a brand, but in this case, communication should not be based on advertising. Brands should be supportive and expert, but certainly not intrusive.
Expert / professional social networks (LinkedIn, GoldenLine)
LinkedIn websites are an ideal place to build a personal brand as well as expand the concept of employer branding and employer advocacy. These are also places where a business brand should exist, engaging users and providing professional content. Many people have accounts there for recruitment purposes or to attract clients.
Microblogs (Twitter)
These are the places where users can share their opinions as well as follow others by commenting on their posts, photos, and videos. A distinctive feature is the ability to create a message not longer than 150 characters. Twitter is a medium that is especially popular with politicians and journalists.
Company blogs and expert blogs
Personally, I encourage all the companies I work with to create a company blog or an expert blog. They allow you to build the image of a specialist, a brand you can trust. These types of social media also allow you to build an expert’s personal brand. An additional advantage of company blogs is the positive impact on the website positioning process.
Is it always worth being on social media?
In my opinion, it is worth acting on social media, but let’s face it – not everyone is suitable for running a company profile. Most often they are dealt with by random people, i.e. secretaries, assistants, and often also small business owners. And that’s the problem. I am not saying that in order to have a company account you should hire experts – definitely not, but knowledge of PR and how this specific world works should be obligatory.
How to choose social media that is worth being in?
Not every company and brand will find its place in all social media channels. There are brands that some portals just don’t fit. For example, on LinkedIn or Twitter, advertising sports equipment or underwear will not bring many conversions. This is not where users look for things like this. Thus, it is worth considering whether legal or state institutions should be on TikTok – which I do not exclude, but then a good strategy is required.
Social media offers both users and companies a lot of opportunities, check back often on The Daily Blog for more interesting articles.
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