Are you looking for more traffic and customers? If you answered no, congratulations, but if you are like 95-percent of the population chances are you are always looking for more traffic in your door. Whether you own a physical brick-and-mortar store or are seeking ways to engage with your customer base through online sales, social media might be the answer for you. If you have not tapped into social media platforms you could be leaving money on the table.  

Marketers are spending more on social media advertising than ever before and it’s a trend that is not going anywhere soon. The landscape of social media is ever-evolving and while keeping up on trends might seem like a daunting task, in the end, it will only drive up sales and have a huge impact if you know which platform will work best for you. Here are some statics according to Smart Insights to consider when it comes to where to put your marketing dollars.

Which social media platforms are most popular?

YouTube and Facebook are the most widely used online platforms and its user base id most broadly representative of the population as a whole. Smaller shares of Americans use sites such as Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Here’s a summary of the Social Media Statistics for 2020:


  • 3.5 billion social media users worldwide.
  • Facebook is the most popular social media platform.
  • 90.4% of Millennials, 77.5% of Generation X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers are active social media users.
  • Users spend an average of 3 hours per day on social networks and messaging.
  • 73% of marketers believe that social media marketing has been “somewhat effective” or “very effective” for their business.
  • 54% of social browsers use social media to research products.
  • 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family.
  • 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations on social media.
  • 500 million daily active Instagram stories are uploaded worldwide.
  • 91% of all social media users access social channels via mobile devices.

Facebook

If you don’t have an online Facebook presence you’re not reaching your potential customer base. As the world’s largest social network you can create a business profile that’s separate from your personal profile. According to Social Media Examiner, having a separate Facebook page for your business keeps your account in good standing, and gives you the freedom to post, advertise, and focus your content around your business, industry, and customers.

Pros

  • Gives you access to Facebook ads.
  • Separates your personal life from your business.
  • Gives you access to Facebook Analytics.

Cons

  • Managing a business page can be time-consuming.
  • You’re subject to Facebook’s ad policy, and your ads may not be approved under it.

Best Practices

  • Avoid overly promotional content.
  • Find, create, and share content that’s relevant to your products.
  • Create a greater narrative that keeps your customers interested.

Instagram Marketing

Every year Instagram makes business marketing easier and more targeted through an extensive list of features and analytics tools that help business owners create profiles, attract followers, build engagement, and develop insights into their customer base and, of course, sell their products and services with speed and efficiency.

What you need to know

  • Respect the boundaries ‘follow’ and ‘unfollow.’
  • Instagram users are limited to the following 7,500 accounts. Once you hit that limit, you will have to unfollow someone to be able to follow someone new. Instagram also limits the number of people you can follow within a certain time period. Newer accounts have lower limits on the number of accounts they can follow hourly or daily.
  • Limit ‘likes’ to 350/hour.
  • Limit group direct messages to 15 recipients.
  • Cap hashtags at 30 per post.
  • Tag no more than 20 users per post.

How to Use Twitter for Business and Marketing

About Twitter

Twitter is a short message communication tool that allows you to send out messages (tweets) up to 140 characters long to people who subscribe to you (followers).

Your tweets can include a link to any web content (blog post, website page, PDF document, etc.) or a photograph or video. If a picture is worth a thousand words, adding an image to a tweet greatly expands what you can share to beyond the 140-character limit for tweets.

People follow (subscribe) to your Twitter account, and you follow other people. This allows you to read, reply to and easily share their tweets with your followers (retweet). According to Social Media Examiner, here are the steps you need to take to get started. 

Step #1: Present Your Brand

Your Twitter account and profile are the foundation of your Twitter experience. It’s your chance to tell your business story to the Twitter community.

It is important that your Twitter presence have the same look and feel as your other online tools. This helps people identify your business and builds trust. Choose an account name and images consistent with your other online presence and your brand.

Choose Your Twitter Username

Nothing expresses your brand on Twitter more than your account username. This name appears next to all of your tweets and is how people identify you on Twitter.

Step #2: Build a Strong Foundation

It’s important that you complete your Twitter account profile completely. Each feature gives more details about your business that contribute to your business story.


  • Location. Tell people where they can find you. But remember, people may be visiting your profile from another city, state, or country and won’t recognize your neighborhood or community name. Give them enough information so they can find you.
  • Website. You can share a web address with your community. You can give them your website or blog, but consider using a special Twitter landing page. This is a great way to provide additional information of interest to Twitter users looking into your business.
  • Bio. You only get 160 characters to tell people who you are and what you do. Skip the mission statement and talk about the benefits you deliver. And add in a little personality to bring your profile to life.
Step #3: Start Following People

When you follow another Twitter user, you subscribe to read what they share. So be selective about whom you follow, especially at first.

In general, start following people in these categories:


  • Your customers
  • Your business partners, suppliers, contractors, and vendors
  • Your competitors or peers
  • Trade organizations or professional organizations for your industry
  • Businesses in your neighborhood
  • Businesses run by people you know (your professional network)
Step #4: Start Talking

Talking on Twitter is different from every other social media site. It’s a fast-paced smorgasbord of ideas and sentence fragments. It’s hectic, but it’s also fun.

Give yourself a little time to get your feet wet. Listen to others. Jump in when you feel comfortable. Start talking as you get your bearings. In general, there are five types of Twitter messages:


  1. Tweet: a message you send out to everyone who follows you. This is the heart of Twitter communication.
  2. @Reply: a message you send out as a reply to a message you received. The @reply is a public message that mentions the Twitter username of the person. It shows up in the tweet stream of everyone who follows both of you, and on the @connect (mentions) page of the Twitter user.
  3. Mention: a message you send out that mentions another Twitter username.
  4. Direct message (DM): a message you send privately to another Twitter user. You can only send a DM to someone who follows you.
  5. Retweet (RT): a message created and sent by someone else that you share with the people who follow you. Twitter makes it easy to share tweets.

When it comes to ensuring that you stay digitally connected to your clients during this global pandemic, including social platforms, trust your team of committed marketers at Mountain South Media. For nearly 20 years, we have provided reliable expertise to help businesses like yours grow their online marketing. The focused digital marketing plan we create for you will ensure your company not only stands out from the rest online but that your business can overcome every obstacle, even an unprecedented virus. To learn more about how we can equip your brand with the appropriate marketing tools, contact us today.