Currently, social networks have approximately 3 billion actively connected users around the world. They work as a means to facilitate interaction and connection between people, especially among those who have common interests. There is no denying that the year 2020 has changed the way companies use the Internet, and in particular social networks, to do business.

If you own a business, social networks are platforms that allow you to connect with your customers and attract potential customers. During the Covid-19 pandemic, these platforms were, and continue to be, countless times, the only way for many businesses to continue selling their products and/or services.

Just like companies, consumers also changed their behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic and started to use social media, delivery apps, and online sales platforms. The fact is that brands need to be where their customers and potential consumers are, and social networks are part of that context.

With the help of Digital Marketing strategies, companies are optimizing their resources and creating actions with great results. In this sense, social networks for companies have become fundamental tools, allowing them to reach a huge audience, attract new consumers, and create authority for the brand.

Even before the pandemic, the internet has already proven to be an increasingly used and effective place for dissemination and sale. However, it is not enough to just create a profile on some platform, you must engage your audience. But, which social network best fits your venture? In what ways can you use them more efficiently? Let's see below.

What are social networks?

Social networks are environments that enable the social connection between people, groups, or organizations that have similar values or interests, and, for this reason, interact with each other. With the internet, social networks have become even more comprehensive, because, through social media, which are the platforms where content is transmitted online, such as the well-known networks of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, and others, the connections between people become even wider.

The initial focus of social networks was and continues to be, to enhance the relationship between people and people, and today, with the strengthening of the digital age, these networks are essential for relationships, entertainment, networking, and the strengthening of niches.

Which social networks should my business be present on?

First, it is essential to know who your audience is, and then, what is their profile (habits, social network they use the most, etc.), which can be easily discovered with market research. Also, it is necessary to know what your objective is within the platform, which can be: to sell; publicize your brand; create content; talk to customers and solve their doubts; among many other options. With that in mind, it's time to know the characteristics of the main social networks and find the one that best meets your expectations.

Facebook

This social network has long been becoming an increasingly improved vehicle for business and has several tools that facilitate and optimize the relationship between seller and buyer, such as:

Audience Insights: a mechanism that helps you know more about the people you want to reach, as it displays relevant information about the audience that is connected to your page, but also about users who are not, so you can create content that reaches other people who may link to your page;
Messenger: allows people to communicate with your company, in a simplified way;
Facebook Ads: you can create ads to circulate on the social network in a simplified way, and you can follow the reports that are also easy to understand. However, there is also the option to run your ad on other branded platforms, such as Messenger and Instagram;
Marketplace: an environment within Facebook entirely dedicated to selling material items. This tool uses geolocation to prioritize products from advertisers that are close to you, so you can avoid large shipping costs. In addition, Facebook has data about its users that are taken into account so that the right products are offered to the right people. Another benefit is that the social network does not charge any percentage of sales, as it does not intermediate the payment, which is at the discretion of the parties involved in the negotiation.

Instagram

Instagram is proving to be an increasingly prominent and rapidly growing social network. Instagram is also progressively adding tools that make the platform an ideal environment for a variety of businesses. Some tools that help business profiles in the app are:

Instagram Direct: A chat that allows your customers to get in touch through messages, and then be able to solve their doubts. There is also a way to manage the messages that arrive through the Inbox of your Facebook page;
Instagram Shopping: if you sell material goods, consider using this tool. Upload your catalog (products and respective values), and then you will be able to tag them in the photos posted on your profile, and interested parties will be able to contact you to make the purchase, or they can go to your website (if there is one);
Highlights in Stories: you can highlight the most important Stories published, that is, leave them pinned to your profile. Thus, you can highlight important information for your customer, such as deadlines, and product information, among many other data that you deem relevant.

WhatsApp has developed a separate, business-oriented application, WhatsApp Business. In it, you create a business profile with essential data for your customers (address, description of your business; email address, and website). Its most important features are:

Catalog of products and services: you can inventory your products and services in the application, and add photos, prices, and respective descriptions;
Quick Replies: a function that saves and reuses messages that are sent frequently to answer recurring questions;
Tags: created to organize your contacts, so you can easily find them, being able to tag them such as new customer, new order, pending payment, among others;
Automated messages: Create messages that can be automatically sent to your customers when you are away, or greeting messages that introduce your business.

LinkedIn is the world's largest corporate social network — ideal for finding qualified leads. When it comes to professionalism, LinkedIn is one of the main sites today and is often used in recruitment cases. However, there is much more than the platform can offer, such as interaction with decision-makers from large companies and updating the target audience profile. The purpose of LinkedIn is to stimulate professional contacts and facilitate the search for candidates, contacts, and job openings.

Personal profiles work as a kind of resume with a summary, photo, and various information about the candidate, such as previous experiences, positions, and skills. The social network also has groups for discussions on topics, usually related to business, and helps in building a personal brand while strengthening your company in the market.

There are some very interesting tools within LinkedIn to promote your brand and capture leads. One of the main ones is Sponsored Content, an ad model that allows you to offer sponsored posts directly in users' feeds and guarantees the use of targeting links in campaigns.

Another LinkedIn tool is Text Ads, a small ad that does not appear in the user's feed but remains fixed in one of the corners of the screen, occupying a space that catches the potential customer's attention. Finally, we have Sponsored InMail, a tool that guarantees the direct sending of messages in the inbox of users of the social network, also allowing the insertion of directing links.

Twitter

Twitter works as a kind of microblog where its users can publish texts with up to 280 characters, as well as videos, images, gifs, links, and polls. The social network is currently widely used as a second screen by its users, that is, while consuming other content, they publish their opinions. This is done using the smartphone app. The basic functions of Twitter are:

tweet: a published message, which can contain up to 280 characters;
reply: a public reply to a post that has been made many times;
mention: sending a public message to some profile. To do this, you must include an at-sign (@) before the name of the person or company you want to tag in the tweet;
retweet: a repost of content from another profile. It happens when clicking on the button appropriate for the function or when making a comment, in this case, including the user's text to the original;
like: a reaction to a tweet, showing appreciation or agreement with the post;
hashtag: any word or phrase that contains a hash sign (#) as the first symbol, with no spaces. It serves to organize conversations and generate topics about some subject.

Advantages of company presence on social media

The importance of social networks for companies can be seen more easily if we analyze how actions can be part of other strategies. See how they can be integrated:

Traffic to the website

Websites are one of the main sales tools for companies, bringing together various institutional information about the business, however, for it to work and generate good business, there must be traffic and interest from network users. Social media can be a gateway to a company's website and contribute to content strategies in a marketing funnel. You can insert links into your posts and profiles, and later generate leads.

By using the sharing of publications and information from your website on social networks, you can attract several users, involving more people with this channel, generating traffic that can be converted into more sales. In addition, greater traffic generates relevance and enhances your organic positioning in search engines such as Google. It's a ripple effect.

More opportunities for impact

Social networks bring us several opportunities to present a brand, product, or service to the customer. Each of today's social media is focused on certain formats and choosing the best option is linked to your target audience. There are several options with video, written posts, images, quick clicks, and several other ways to impact and draw your audience's attention to your brand and what it can do for customers. Each post is an opportunity to interact with the public.

Authority building

Publishing quality content on social media is a very efficient way to position yourself as an authority, which can be done through video lessons on YouTube, blog articles, or tips on Instagram Stories, for example. The important thing is to show that your company understands the subject.

The relationship is very important for customer loyalty and interacting on social networks is very easy. Take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere to post interesting content to personas, respond to their comments and even provide service. In addition to being present in the daily life of the consumer, you will be able to understand needs, habits, and opinions. Increasing authority on social media will ensure that your brand is always remembered when customers find themselves in a situation where your company can help.

Disclosure

Media is a great way to get your content out there. Twitter, for example, is one of the best social networks for companies to share articles and materials, due to its practicality and acceptance of links. On social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, it is possible to target ads particularly, taking into account the age, gender, location, and even the interests of the personas. In general, the value is low and the results are usually good.

Advertising your brand on social networks is simpler and cheaper to do than with traditional media, generating much more reach and being able to be directed only to a specific audience that brings more return to the company.

Measurement

A major advantage of social media strategies is the power of campaign measurement and return on investment (ROI) analysis. Apps and websites have their analytics dashboards. Google Analytics can offer additional help in generating insights into audience origin, number of leads, and conversions.

With such control, you can identify what works and which campaigns do not generate the expected return, redirecting your efforts and resources as you understand how your audience thinks or expects your brand.

Engagement with customers

One of the premises of social networks is to generate a direct relationship with customers that would not be possible in other ways. When companies create social media profiles, they need to not only make random posts but engage with customers through comments, likes, and shares.

This process generates engagement, which is the direct relationship between the company's page and its customers, who participate in discussions and interact with its publications. Engagement leads to an increased audience and greater interest in your company, brand, products, and services.

The greater the engagement in your publications, the greater the reach they take within social networks, reaching more people and generating more business and authority, making your brand relevant.

Customer satisfaction

Another great strength of being active on social networks is the guarantee of customer satisfaction, which comes, again, through a direct relationship. Users use social media not only to report good things but frustrations as well. People are not just looking for a way to make purchases, they want to feel well taken care of and have a good experience with the brands they interact with.

In social networks, it is possible to identify, through comments, bad experiences and work to reverse this bad impression of the consumer. Thus, turning a negative fact into a positive one, as the satisfied customer becomes a brand evangelist. This good service and attention on social networks are directly linked to increased customer satisfaction.

Prospecting new consumers

The internet is today one of the main channels to attract and conquer new customers. People access it to search for products and services, compare prices and define the best places to buy. In front of all this audience, it is necessary to develop strategies to stand out. After all, it is not enough to offer the best conditions for purchase (this is already done by any company). It is necessary to attract consumers through quality content that can add something to people's lives. For this, social networks and blogs are excellent alternatives.

Optimization of SEO Strategies

Until recently, having a strong profile on social media did not have a direct impact on ranking in internet search engines, however, this has changed as the importance of social media has increased. Google considers the linking of social media profiles in its search algorithms, ranking better companies that have a strong engagement with sharing posts and mentions.

However, for Google, the number of followers, itself, still does not influence search positioning. As for Bing, the second most used search tool in the world, which works with different rules than Google, not only links and sharing are considered, but also the authority of the profile, which means that the number of followers can interfere with the positioning your brand in a search.

Customer loyalty

Social networks are a fundamental communication channel when it comes to customer loyalty. After all, it allows direct contact between your brand and consumers, who can use comments, chats, and appointments to express their opinions, ask questions, and request assistance.

This quick and simple contact leads to a relationship, strengthening the ties between your customer and your brand, and generating the trust necessary for loyalty since the consumer starts to think of the company as a friend who can always help him. In addition, as social networks are a much more relaxed environment, it is possible to talk more directly and use humor and several other strategies that help in customer loyalty.

Know the target audience

To work marketing in the best way and develop strategies that can bring a return to your brand, you need to know your target audience, their demands, and desires, and what they expect from your company. Through an analysis of metrics made available by social media platforms, it is possible to build high-performance marketing and sales strategies, demonstrating the results of each of your actions.

In addition, by analyzing the response to each of your posts, it is possible to draw a basic profile of your audience and their behavior on social networks, which content attracts the most interest, what are the opinions about their actions, and their positioning. These insights help to supercharge your campaigns.

Reduce marketing costs

Traditional media was, for a long time, one of the main focuses of marketing, and only big brands were able to maintain an adequate budget to occupy the best spaces within this format. Even though traditional media still has its strength, one thing is for sure, it is very expensive and does not always have the expected return.

Digital marketing with the support of social media strategies is much cheaper and capable of generating a much greater reach with the same budget. Even though there is still a need for investment, both in terms of financial resources and time, it is much smaller than in traditional media, being able to generate much more interesting and faster results.

Increase your engagement with social networks

Being present on any social network doesn't just mean creating a profile, to be present you need to engage your audience. After defining who your persona (ideal customer) is, try to create an identity for your business (own language, visual identity, behavior, and positioning).

Social networks are a place of relaxation but are sure to show that you are professional in what you do, so post quality content, designed for your persona, and that conveys an air of authority on the subject so that your business becomes a reference. within the niche in which it is inserted.

However, each social network calls for a different strategy. For example, Instagram is a social network in which the more visual content is, the more prominent it is. It has several tools that stimulate creativity, such as filters, different formats for videos (IGTV, Reels), and Stories, among others. On Facebook, videos are also popular and are the preferred format for users, so think about creating quality content in this format.

In addition to those mentioned, other social networks are very present in the lives of the world, with increasing growth, such as Instagram, Twitter, etc. The digital world is constantly changing, and innovations always appear to make life easier for internet users. Always try to be informed to adapt your business to the news, and reach more and more people with your content. Also, it is important to emphasize that it is never too late to join your business on some social network.

And remember, building a consolidated brand on the internet can take time, so be patient and don't lose the consistency and quality of the content posted, as all your effort has a great chance of being rewarded with recognition within the main platforms, even more so during the pandemic we are living in, which has caused online sales to increase by a large proportion.