PDA

View Full Version : How important is social media in your marketing today?



Harold Mansfield
08-24-2018, 11:33 AM
I've been around this forum for the better part of 10 years and we've had a ton of discussions on best ways to use social media for marketing.
Over the years things have changed. For one some say social media has turned into a cesspool of link bait, scams, and trolls that makes it hard for anyone to stand out.

Another is that it's clear to most now that social media isn't the easy button of free marketing that people made it out to be. Just like any other form of marketing it requires a strategy, and takes time and money to create engaging content, images, and to promote your thing above the others so that it has a chance to be seen by your target audience. Basically the principles of advertising.

There's also the security and privacy issues that are now turning many users away from platforms like Facebook.

I personally still use Facebook mainly because I run a small group there, but I don't do much with my business page anymore. As a matter of fact I've pretty much stripped my Facebook profile of any information about me. And I refuse to put it on my phone or use messenger in any way.

I still like Twitter and that's mostly where I will share business or industry related stuff, but I use it more or less like a news feed of my interests. Twitter is my go to place when I need customer service from someone. It works better than email and phone calls because if you call people out the right way on Twitter, they will respond pretty quickly and help with your issue.

I've recently started updating my LinkedIn profile since I'll be needing it soon.

Other than that I have accounts on Instagram, Snapchat..pretty much every platform but I don't do much of anything on them other than follow other people and things.

So I'm wondering, in 2018 how many of you still rely on, or want social media to be a major element of your overall marketing strategy?
And for those of you who do still rely on it, what have you learned over the years...what insight have you gained that you can share with others?

Fulcrum
08-24-2018, 04:33 PM
I don't use it, but one of my brothers will from time to time. He says it does make a difference in sales that day (butcher at a farmer's market).

Harold Mansfield
08-25-2018, 10:34 AM
I don't use it, but one of my brothers will from time to time. He says it does make a difference in sales that day (butcher at a farmer's market).
I can see that. Sort of like the food truck strategy. In many cities with a robust food truck culinary culture, since the trucks don't always have a dedicated spot, they will post up in different areas of the city and message their location to followers on Twitter. I think for things like that Twitter seems to work well.

chrismarklee
12-07-2020, 03:52 PM
I do Income Taxes for locals. I generate my new customers by blogging with Facebook locals. I build relationships with them. I need an automatic tool to build relationships with Facebook locals. This has generated me countless new customers.