Imagine this: you’re starting your own business without having any idea of who your customers are. Sounds silly, right? Well, without establishing a social media presence for your brand or company you are essentially doing the same thing. 

At a time where all the information in the world is literally at the palm of your hands, it makes for an exciting era for businesses to connect with and understand their consumers. Creating a social media profile isn’t exactly rocket science, but managing the relationships with your consumers and understanding how to tailor your content for each channel can be tricky. It’s highly recommended for growing businesses to dedicate time and attention to their online presence through planned and purposeful social media management.

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What is Social Media Management?

Social media management is a simple method that allows companies to organize and curate their online interactions and content across social media platforms. It’s a strategy used by brands to create engagement with their audience and gain visibility amongst uncharted networks. For example, every post is like a 10-second elevator pitch, embodying the value proposition of your company. There is no limit to the networks you are able to reach through social media, allowing you to exceed set marketing objectives and grow your business at an impressive rate. Research shows that 66% of marketers saw benefits to their lead generation efforts through being active on social media.

One of the most important reasons why your social media presence should be taken seriously is that consumers love consistency. Being consistent as a business creates a credible and trustworthy brand image. The more customers trust in your business, the more loyalty they will have. Failing to be consistent can cost the interest of your followers, thus reducing levels of engagement. What you publicize as a business should be treated as a vow instead of an idea.

The Importance of Good Social Media Management

As more and more social media platforms emerge, it is important to decide which ones are relevant to your business. Certain platforms will expose you to potential customers within your target demographic and help you hone in on your audience. When developing content for social media, it is important to ensure that it aligns with your campaign goals and brand values. 

An online presence affords your business an opportunity to better understand your target audience and have fun with the content that you post in a way that is engaging and exciting—and with 62% of millennial consumers preferring to support companies that engage with them online, creating a social media strategy for your business is incrementally more essential than ever before. 

When a marketing strategy leaves out a social media plan, the business can face serious repercussions such as a detriment to the brand experience. All the benefits mentioned earlier will play out in reverse; it will be harder to gain access to a variety of new networks, search engine rankings will suffer, and engagement rates with customers will drop, resulting in fewer insights on target segments. 

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Using Social Media to Stand Out

The retail market is one of the most challenging ones to break through, but some homegrown Vancouver companies have achieved international success and a strong social media following. Take fashion companies Lululemon and Aritzia for example. Both brands have a similar approach to marketing themselves. Rather than advertise through printed media, they approach their audience directly through a number of social media platforms. Aritzia and Lululemon both use social media influencers and celebrities as a way to increase audience engagement and expand their network. A strong approach to social media has kept both brands innovative and trendy.

Becoming good at social media marketing takes time, effort, and a willingness to learn what kind of content is valuable to your audience. Managing social media is a simple way to ensure that you are staying aligned with your brand’s objectives and responding to the behaviour of your customers. It is a constant work in progress and can be challenging to keep track of at times. Hiring a specialist in social media management and branding is a wise investment for maintaining an organization, consistency and credibility through your social media presence.