When you post a promo and Facebook doesn’t let anyone see it, have you really posted a promo?
We’re hearing a growing number of business owners vent their frustration with the increasing imitations and restrictions on their social media business pages.
Brands that work hard at leveraging social media are becoming fed up with YouTube, Facebook, and others that are constantly changing their algorithms. Many are moving away from Facebook as more and more of their content is going unseen.
Experts have predicted that brands don’t need ‘pages’ on these social media sites or organic content; but instead a good website coupled with paid promotions on social media to grow their audience. Social media sharing can still occur; but the brand doesn’t need to be present on that platform for sharing to happen.That’s all well and good for those who have the budget for these ads; but what about those who rely on the ‘free’ social media marketplace?
Different businesses will benefit from different social media platforms. The main players may not necessarily be the best bet for you. Here are three of the lesser-known social media tools that have the potential to be very valuable for your brand. Get your ‘outside the box’ thinking cap on and check out some of these social arenas.
- Social Mention: An excellent resource for brand management, this platform tracks whenever a company, product, topic or brand is mentioned on social media. Users can quickly act on the positives and negatives and engage in real time with the people actually talking about their product or service.
- Tumblr: Blogging platform that enables users to schedule posts, tag, customise the blog, comment, re-blog and like. In that sense it’s similar to facebook; but it has some SEO advantages. Tumblr blogs can be accessed over the Web, whereas Facebook content is available only to Facebook users. Tumblr content gets indexed by search engines and can increase your search visibility, overall reach and rank.
- Quora: Quora is a simple question and answer platform. Follow thought leaders in your industry to keep on top of emerging trends. Answer the questions in your area of expertise. It’s a great way to connect with people who are interested in your field. For example, I could search for people asking about alternative social media avenues for business and answer their query. I can also link to this article and drive traffic; not just any traffic, those that are interested in my topic.
Every social media platform will offer ‘angles’ that can be applied differently to various businesses, that’s the beauty of the beast. It’s advantageous to set aside some time to analyse your social media strategies. Are you really benefiting from your chosen outlets? How much time do you really spend on it? On which platforms do your buyer persona frequent? Don’t write off the smaller up and coming sites, you might pioneer a new strategy and be one of the first businesses to capitalise on the next big thing in social media.
