Today, technology has undoubtedly permeated every facet of our lives. As a result, social media platforms have emerged as indispensable tools for businesses like yours seeking to thrive and expand.
With the potential to connect with billions of users worldwide, it’s no wonder that social media has become an integral part of modern marketing strategies.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the importance of social media for businesses, we’ll explore strategies, and share a list of tools you need to make the most of it.
So, if you’re a business owner or marketer looking to grow your brand, engage with your audience, and boost sales, read on!
What is Social Media for Business?
Source: Unsplash
Simply put, the term “social media for business” involves using social media platforms to promote products or services, engage with customers, and achieve specific business goals.
Unlike personal social media use, where individuals share personal updates and connect with friends and family, businesses use social media as a powerful marketing and communication tool.
Essentially, it’s about using these platforms strategically to establish a strong online presence, foster brand loyalty, generate leads, and achieve a competitive edge in the digital landscape.
How to Use Social Media for Business
Using social media for your business goes beyond creating a few posts and hoping for the best. It’s a strategic and dynamic process that involves careful planning, precise execution, and continuous refinement.
In this section, we’ve compiled 9 steps to help you make the most of your social media presence.
1. Identify your objectives
First, begin by defining your business objectives. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, or boost sales?
Having a clear understanding of your goals will guide your content strategy and help you measure success. Each objective requires a different approach, so it’s essential to be specific about what you want to achieve.
2. Understand your audience
Knowing your audience inside and out is extremely important. Create detailed buyer personas that encompass demographic information, interests, pain points, and online behaviors.
This not only helps you connect with your audience on a deeper level but also ensures that your messaging is relevant and compelling. By speaking directly to the needs and desires of your potential customers, you’ll increase the likelihood of engagement and conversion.
3. Set SMART goals
Setting SMART goals ensures that your objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
For example, instead of a vague goal like “gain more followers,” you might set a SMART goal such as “increase Instagram followers by 20% within the next three months.”
SMART goals provide clarity and allow you to track progress accurately. They also help you adjust your strategy as needed to ensure you’re moving in the right direction.
4. Keep an eye on the competition
Next, you need to monitor your competitors to understand what strategies are effective and which ones aren’t.
Use techniques like social listening and competitor analysis to gather valuable insights about your customers, industry trends, and business strategies.
5. Partner with influencers
Collaborating with influencers whose followers align with your target market can give your brand instant credibility and reach.
However, it’s crucial to choose influencers whose values and interests align with your brand, ensuring a more authentic partnership.
Whether it’s through sponsored posts, giveaways, or reviews, influencers can help you tap into a wider and more engaged audience.
6. Use paid advertising
Social media platforms offer robust advertising tools that allow you to reach a broader audience. Invest in paid advertising campaigns to promote your products or services, drive conversions, or raise brand awareness.
With precise targeting options, you can ensure your ads reach the right people at the right time.
7. Choose the right platforms
Not all social media platforms are the same, and each has its own audience and purpose.
For instance, if you’re trying to reach a younger, visually oriented crowd, platforms like Instagram or TikTok might be your best bet. For a more professional or B2B approach, LinkedIn may be ideal.
We’ll delve more into social media platforms later on in this blog post to help you make an informed decision on which ones are the most suitable for your business.
8. Practice social listening
Using social media for business also involves listening to your audience. So, it’s crucial to employ social listening tools like Simplified that will help you monitor conversations about your brand and industry in real-time.
By analyzing the data, you can gather valuable insights, identify trends, detect potential crises, and gather feedback to continuously improve your products or services.
9. Monitor key performance metrics
Keep a close eye on key performance metrics such as engagement rate, reach, click-through rates, and conversions. These metrics provide vital feedback on the effectiveness of your social media efforts.
Regularly reviewing these numbers allows you to make data-driven decisions and tweak your strategy for better results.
Why Should You Use Social Media To Grow Your Business
Source: Pexels
As we’ve already mentioned, social media has become an indispensable tool for businesses looking to expand their reach, engage with their audience, and ultimately grow their brand.
Using social media platforms offers numerous benefits that can significantly impact the success of your business.
Now, here are some compelling reasons why you should harness the power of social media:
1. Massive global reach and audience engagement
With an estimated 4.9 billion active users worldwide, social media platforms offer unparalleled access to a vast and diverse audience.
According to Statista, the number of social media users is projected to reach 6 billion by 2027.
2. Increased brand visibility
Social media platforms provide an opportunity to showcase your brand, products, and services.
63% of Gen Z and 51% of millennial shoppers in the United States purchased an item they had previously seen on their social media feed.
3. High conversion rates
Social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate compared to outbound tactics like cold calling or direct mail campaigns.
4. Increased website traffic and sales
75% of businesses say that social media has increased their website traffic. This means that effective social media strategies can drive traffic to your website and boost conversions, ultimately leading to increased sales.
5. Large advertising potential
Social media platforms offer businesses like yours access to a vast advertising audience. For example, Snapchat’s total potential ad audience worldwide is over 557 million.
6. Effective targeted advertising
Targeted ads are highly effective in helping consumers find the ideal products, with 49% preferring them over organic brand posts (40%).
7. Increased brand recommendations
Positive interactions with brands on social media significantly impact word-of-mouth recommendations, with 71% of satisfied customers likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family.
8. Brand discoverability
An impressive 80% of Pinterest’s weekly users have stumbled upon new brands or products on the platform, underscoring its potential as a discovery platform for businesses.
9. Influences purchase decisions
68% of YouTube users turn to the platform for help in making informed purchase decisions, demonstrating the platform’s influence on consumer choices.
10. Aids brand research
44% of internet users aged 16 to 64 use social media as their primary source of information when researching brands. This emphasizes the importance of a strong social media presence for businesses to engage with potential customers.
8 of the Best Social Media Platforms for Business
With a plethora of social media platforms available, it may be a little challenging to determine which ones are best suited for your business.
But don’t worry — we’ve compiled a list of the 8 top social media platforms that you should consider for your business.
1. Facebook (Meta)
Source: Meta
Facebook remains one of the largest social media platforms, with over 3 million monthly active users. Businesses can create a Facebook Page to share updates, connect with customers, and run targeted ad campaigns.
Key Facebook features for business
- Paid Facebook ads to help you reach your target audience effectively
- Ads Manager to create and manage ads
- Audience Insights to track campaign success & measure actions, reach, and engagement
- Publishing tools to help you plan and schedule posts in advance
- Targeting options to reach specific demographics, locations, and interest groups
- Online chat support for your website
Important Facebook statistics to consider
- 36.7% of the world’s population uses Facebook monthly, and 47% of those are aged 13 or older.
- Facebook.com is the world’s third-most-visited website, after Google and YouTube.
- Users spend an average of 19.7 hours per month on Facebook, ranking it third behind YouTube and TikTok.
- By the second quarter of 2023, the number of daily active users on Facebook reached 2.06 billion.
- Over 72% of Facebook users also use YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
- 70% of American adults use Facebook.
- 56.3% of Facebook users are male and 43.7% are female.
- Facebook’s largest audience is made up of male users aged 25-34.
- Americans spend 33 minutes a day on Facebook.
- People are 53% more likely to buy from a business they can message on Facebook.
2. Instagram
Source: Instagram
Instagram is a visually-driven platform owned by Meta with over 2 billion monthly active users. It’s popular for its photo and video-sharing features.
You can leverage Instagram’s visual appeal to effectively showcase your products & engage with your audience.
Key Instagram features for business
- Business Profile which offers features like adding contact information
- Allow users to tap and purchase your products directly from posts with its shopping features
- Ads that can be targeted to specific demographics, interests, and behaviors such as photo ads, video ads, carousel ads, and story ads
- Insights provide valuable data on your audience, including demographics, engagement metrics, and the performance of individual posts
Important Instagram statistics to consider
- Over 61% of total Instagram users are between the ages of 18-34.
- Instagram’s audience is 52.2% male and 47.8% female.
- On average, users spend approximately 11.7 hours per month on Instagram.
- Instagram is the #1 social media platform for people to connect with brands.
- Instagram’s advertising costs are relatively high, with an average cost per click (CPC) of $3.56
- 50% of users become more interested in a brand after encountering its ad on Instagram.
- Instagram is the eighth most-visited website globally, receiving 4.25 billion total visits monthly.
- The platform offers the highest ROI for selling products.
3. X (formerly Twitter)
Source: X
X is a platform that allows businesses to share real-time updates and news & engage in conversations with their audience. It has over 540 million monthly active users.
It’s excellent for getting a read on your brand’s public reputation and building brand awareness.
Key X features for business
- Provide timely customer service through dedicated customer service accounts and DMs
- X Lists to monitor your competition & keep tabs on specific accounts, industries, and communities
- X Ads to amplify your following, drive traffic to your website, build brand awareness, and more
- X Spaces to host or join audio conversations and boost audience engagement
- Analytics to measure engagement
Important X statistics to consider
- 53% of Twitter users use the platform to get the latest news
- 62.9% of Twitter users in the United States are men.
- 89% of shoppers use Twitter to discover new products.
- 76% of people on Twitter agree that conversations on the platform have driven them to make a purchase.
- US adults spend an average of 34.8 minutes per day on Twitter.
- Twitter ads reach 10.7% of all internet users
- On average, 60% of consumers expect brands to respond to their customer service requests within an hour.
- Most Twitter users (38.5%) are between the ages of 25 and 34.
4. Pinterest
Source: Pinterest
With 465 million monthly active users, Pinterest provides a unique environment where users feel safe to explore new ideas and try new things.
Many people come to Pinterest for inspiration, making it an ideal platform for businesses that want to showcase their products or services in a creative and inspiring way.
Key Pinterest features for business
- Ads with tailored targeting to launch successful campaigns
- Business Account with specialized features like custom analytics and unique content formats
- Catalogues to upload shoppable products
- Creator resources to help you reach new audiences
- Analytics to inform your social media strategy
Important Pinterest statistics to consider
- Shoppers on Pinterest spend twice more per month than people on other platforms.
- Pinterest has 23 million Gen-Z users.
- Ads on Pinterest offer 2.3x more efficient cost per conversion than ads on social media.
- Shopping ads on Pinterest offer a 7x increase in return on ad spend.
- Pinterest users watch nearly 1 billion videos daily.
- 87% of Pinterest users have bought a product because of Pinterest.
- 46% of weekly Pinners have discovered a new brand or product on the platform.
5. YouTube
Source: YouTube
YouTube is the world’s largest video-sharing platform with over 2.5 billion monthly active users. Its powerful advertising capabilities and extensive reach make it a must-use platform for businesses of all types.
On YouTube, you can effectively showcase products and services through video content & engage with a passionate audience seeking fresh content.
Key YouTube features for business
- Ads to reach your customers and discover new ones
- YouTube Studio to customize your channel and keep your audience engaged
- Live-stream function to connect with your fans
- Analytics to track your performance
Important YouTube statistics to consider
- 72% of small businesses feel that getting started on YouTube is easy.
- 85% of viewers go to YouTube for fresh content.
- 62% of YouTube users access the platform daily.
- YouTube is the world’s second-most visited website.
- Viewers are 2x more likely to buy something they saw on YouTube.
- YouTube ads have the potential to reach 2.56 billion users.
- Over 20% of YouTube’s global audience is composed of users aged between 25 and 34 years.
- Viewers are 4x more likely to use YouTube than other platforms to find information about a brand, product, or service.
6. LinkedIn
Source: LinkedIn
LinkedIn is another top social media platform you should consider for your business due to its unique focus on professionals and its extensive reach within the global business community.
With over 300 million monthly active users, LinkedIn offers a vast and diverse audience for businesses to connect with. It’s rated as the #1 platform for B2B lead generation, with brands experiencing significant lifts in brand attributes and purchase intent.
Key LinkedIn features for business
- Company Pages to drive brand awareness
- LinkedIn Live Events to connect with your community in real-time
- Ads to reach your marketing goals
- Product Pages to generate high-quality leads
- Analytics to measure your success
Important LinkedIn statistics to consider
- There are over 950 million members on LinkedIn.
- Marketers see up to 2x higher conversion rates on LinkedIn.
- 40% of B2B marketers indicated LinkedIn as the most effective channel for driving high-quality leads.
- Brands have witnessed a 33% increase in purchase intent from ad exposure on LinkedIn.
- Live streams garner 7x more reactions and 24x more comments on average than regular videos.
- Companies with a complete & active LinkedIn Page get 5x more page views
- Nearly 60% of LinkedIn’s users are between 25 and 34 years old.
- An ad on LinkedIn can reach 14.6% of the world’s population
- Members on LinkedIn have 2x the buying power of the average online audience
- 69% of LinkedIn users use the social network daily.
7. TikTok
Source: TikTok
One of the most popular social media platforms today, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide.
It offers tailored solutions for businesses of all sizes, including small businesses, large enterprises, and agencies. With TikTok, you can access resources to set business goals, create ads, and monitor your performance effectively.
Key TikTok features for business
- Analytics to see how your content is performing
- Business Account to unlock exclusive features
- Collaborate with creators with Creator marketing tools
- Ads designed to boost visibility, engagement, and reach
- Commerce solutions to connect your brand to a vast audience
Important TikTok statistics to consider
- TikTok users are 1.5x more likely to immediately go out and buy something they discovered on the platform.
- 55% of people on TikTok say TikTok helps them discover new products/brands
- 68% of TikTok users find its advertising content unique or different from any other platform.
- 16% of teenagers say they use TikTok “almost constantly.”
- Among users aged 18 and above, TikTok has a potential ad reach of 945.2 million.
- As of 2022, users worldwide spent approximately 23.3 hours using TikTok per month.
- 50% of TikTok users have bought something after watching TikTok LIVE.
- Ads with Creators on TikTok drove a 26% increase in brand favorability among social/video platform users.
- 48% of TikTok users are interested in making a purchase on or from TikTok in the next 3 months.
- 37.8% of TikTok’s global audience are between the ages of 18 and 24 years.
8. Snapchat
Source: Snapchat
One of the most popular social networks worldwide, Snapchat has over 750 million monthly active users.
With easy campaign setup and customizable ad options, this platform offers businesses of all types a valuable advertising channel to reach a right and engaged audience set.
Key Snapchat features for business
- Ads with advanced targeting capabilities to help you reach your marketing goals
- Public Profile to engage with your customers, build a following, and sell products
- Sponsored Lenses to connect with consumers on a massive scale using augmented reality
- “Shop” feature to allow Snapchatters to browse, try-on, and buy your products
Important Snapchat statistics to consider
- 64% of Snapchat users visit Snapchat multiple times per day.
- People on Snapchat are 45% more likely to recommend businesses to friends.
- Over 23% of Snapchat users are on the platform to follow or research brands and products.
- Views of Public Profiles connected to active ads are 5.4x higher than when no ads are active.
- Over 300 million Snapchat users engage monthly with the Snap Map (a personalized map that recommends business listings and nearby Stories.)
- Half of Snapchat shoppers agree that augmented reality (AR) gives them more confidence about a product’s quality.
- Snapchat has a potential ad reach of 575.7 million people.
Maximizing Your Business on Social Media: 8 Tips for Success
Source: Pexels
Here are 8 great tips you should keep in mind to help you boost your business presence and engagement on social media.
1. Post at the right time
Timing is everything on social media. This is why it’s important to research and analyze your audience’s behavior to determine when they are most active.
Scheduling your posts during these peak times ensures that your content reaches a larger audience and garners more engagement.
2. Properly engage with your followers
Engaging with your audience on social media is crucial for building a loyal following and fostering meaningful connections.
Here are some ways to do this:
- Respond promptly to questions, feedback, comments, and messages
- Create polls, quizzes, surveys, and interactive posts
- Share user-generated content to build trust and community
- Host contests and giveaways
- Use live videos to interact with your audience in real-time
3. Network and build relationships
Next, connect with other businesses, industry influencers, and potential partners, as doing this can open up collaboration opportunities and expand your reach.
Attend virtual events, participate in relevant online communities, and actively engage with your industry peers.
4. Incorporate visual content in your posts
Visual content often captures more attention than text alone. So, it’s advisable to use images, videos, infographics, and other visual content formats to capture your audience’s attention and convey your message effectively.
5. Stay on top of the latest trends
Remember that the social media landscape is ever-evolving. In order for you to stay relevant, you need to be updated with the latest trends and adapt your strategy accordingly.
You can do this by subscribing to industry news sources, following key players in your niche, and participating in relevant online communities.
6. Build authority
Another way to effectively use social media for your business is by positioning yourself or your brand as an authority in your industry. This helps to build trust and credibility among your followers.
How to do this? Share informative and insightful content, participate in discussions, and provide solutions to common problems.
7. Use relevant hashtags and keywords
If you want more people to discover your posts, then you should incorporate relevant keywords and hashtags.
Conduct extensive research to identify popular industry-specific keywords and trending hashtags that will resonate with your target audience.
If you need some help, Simplified’s got you covered! Its AI Hashtag Generator will provide you with a list of hashtags based on your specific target audience and niche to help you boost engagement.
8. Create a consistent brand image
Consistency is key to building brand recognition. Use the same logo, color scheme, and brand voice across all social media platforms.
This unified brand image will help you establish a strong online presence for your business.
5 Best Social Media Tools for Business
If you want to effectively leverage social media for your business, you’re going to need some help. Here are 5 top tools that will make managing your online presence a breeze.
1. Simplified: Your AI-Powered Social Media Ally
Source: Simplified
Simplified is an all-in-one platform that’s designed to simplify all your social media marketing efforts.
It offers a plethora of AI-powered tools that will streamline your workflows and effortlessly increase your brand’s visibility.
Key features
- Integrate your social media networks: Connect your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, Google accounts, and more.
- Organize, plan, and schedule posts: Create, schedule, and post all your online content with the social media management dashboard. You can even schedule over 10,000 posts with preset posting times, and visualize your posting schedule using the calendar and timeline views.
- Graphic design: Access one-click AI-powered graphic design tools, millions of free photos, & thousands of design templates.
- AI copywriting: Use the AI Writer to generate SEO-driven copy, hashtags, quotes, and descriptions.
- Video editing: Create and edit professional-like videos for your brand.
- Social media analytics: Access up to 12 different social media metrics that can enhance your campaigns and increase your ROI.
- Manage engagement: Manage your social media messages, comments, and mentions with Simplified’s Social Inbox.
- Team collaboration: Tag, comment, and assign work to team members & collaborate on projects in real time.
- Social listening: Effortlessly monitor mentions, comments, and discussions across social media platforms.
- Chrome extension: Share articles, posts, and more from anywhere with a single click using the Chrome extension.
- AI chatbot: Build your own chatbot to enhance your marketing, boost sales, and optimize customer support.
Pricing
- Free forever
- Social Media Pro: $17/month ($11/month when billed annually)
- Social Media Agency: $199/month ($159/month when billed annually)
- Social Media Agency: $399/month ($319/month when billed annually)
A 14-day free trial is available.
2. Hootsuite
Source: Hootsuite
Hootsuite is another tool that helps you manage, schedule, analyze, and engage across all your social profiles from one convenient dashboard.
With this tool, you can also set up customizable streams that let you monitor trends and stay notified about your business, customers, competitors, or any topic that you’re curious about.
Key features
- Publishing and scheduling
- Campaign management
- Messaging and customer service
- Advanced analytics
Pricing
- Professional: $99/month
- Team: $249/month
- Enterprise: Custom
A 30-day free trial is available.
3. Google Analytics
Source: Google Analytics
With its ability to provide detailed customer insights across various platforms, Google Analytics empowers you to make informed decisions, optimize marketing performance, and enhance return on investment.
Plus, it offers seamless integrations with Google’s advertising tools to further streamline your marketing efforts.
Key features
- Real-time reporting
- Predictive capabilities
- Data collection and management
- Integration with other Google solutions like Google Ads
- Built-in automation
Pricing
- Free
- Google Analytics 360: $12,500/month; $150,000/year
4. Sprout Social
Source: Sprout Social
From industry insights and competitive intelligence to data analytics and more, Sprout Social provides a comprehensive platform that helps you make strategic business decisions.
It offers analytics for major social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Key features
- Social inbox to monitor engagement
- Analytics
- Publishing and scheduling of posts
- Social listening
- Paid promotion tools
Pricing
- Standard: $248/month
- Professional: $399/month
- Advanced: $499/month
- Enterprise: Custom
A 30-day free trial is available.
5. Buffer
Source: Buffer
With Buffer, you can plan, collaborate, and publish captivating content across various social media channels, all from a single user-friendly dashboard.
Buffer’s analytics feature empowers you to analyze your social media performance and create detailed reports, providing valuable insights into your marketing strategies.
This tool also offers an AI Assistant that generates ideas, repurposes posts, and rewrites copy with just a click.
Key features
- Analytics, insights & reporting
- Planning & publishing tools
- AI Assistant
- Engagement tools
- Collaboration
Pricing
- Free
- Essentials: $6/month/channel ($6/month/channel when billed annually)
- Team: $12/month/channel ($10/month/channel when billed annually)
- Agency: $120/month/10 channels ($100/month/10 channels when billed annually)
The Takeaway
In conclusion, we’ve discovered that using social media for business in 2023 largely centers around making a meaningful impact on your target audience and achieving your business goals.
Navigating the ever-changing landscape of social media can be a bit of a maze. The good news? Simplified makes sure that you don’t have to go through it alone!
This free social media management tool allows you to collaborate in real-time, create & schedule posts, manage your engagement, monitor your campaigns, and much more!
