If you are struggling with social media, you’re not alone. One of the greatest digital marketing challenges facing businesses and organizations, is determining which social media networks provide the greatest return on investment.
Following these three steps will help you determine
which social media platforms are the most effective at delivering your marketing message:
1. Identify Your Products/Services
Your products/services provide much of the inspiration for the content of your
social media marketing campaign. Begin the exercise by making a list of your company’s leading products/services. By “leading,” I am referring to the offerings that generate the most revenue, and/or are the most popular with your current clientele.
Using That BBQ catering company in Cornwall, Ontario as an example, the company’s products and services are:
- event catering
- barbecue chicken, bbq chicken
- bbq ribs, barbecue ribs
- bbq recipes
2. Identify Your Location
When
determining who your target audience is, it is important to correctly identify the region you are operating in. Doing so helps you understand which businesses are competing with you for the attention of your target consumer.
Do not limit the description of your location to the exact name of your city or town. It is recommended that you be more specific whenever possible. Include areas like neighborhoods (i.e. downtown, main street) and landmarks (i.e. near the post office, across from City Hall). As well, if there is a major city within an hour drive of your location, consider including phrases with the name of that city too. You would be surprised at the distances people will travel for a great deal!
- Cornwall, Ontario
- downtown Cornwall Ontario
- Pitt street Cornwall Ontario
- near the Cornwall Square
- Ottawa area
- Eastern Ontario
3. Identify Your Online Competitors
With the help of major search engines and a
social listening strategy, you can gain valuable insight into your competition’s online marketing activities. The information you collect will allow you to distribute your limited resources to social networks that have proven to be the most beneficial for your organization.
To identify your online competitors and determine which social media networks to use, follow these simple steps:
- Combine the search terms in step one and step two above; for example: event catering Cornwall Ontario, catering company Cornwall Ontario, bbq chicken Cornwall Ontario, catering Ottawa area, etc.
- perform a Google search for each phrase.
- For each of the queries generated above, study page one and two (top 20) of search results and identify the local businesses returned.
- To get a more detailed outlook on your competition’s social media presence, perform a new search for each individual business name you discover in the search result.
- Document and compare all competitor websites, content, and social media profiles you uncovered in your research. Choose (at least) five of the competitors that have appeared most often in steps one and two.
Upon careful review of the information you have collected, you will be able to determine where your competition is greeting their existing online audience, as well as which
types of marketing content are resonating with their fans, friends, and followers.
Which Social Media Networks to Use? A Final Thought
The rudimentary keywords used above are not a substitute for detailed
keyword research; the kind you would use in a strategic
search engine marketing campaign. The words and phrases applied in this exercise are intended to give business owners like yourself, an overview of their competitors’ social media presence. In using this approach, it will provide you with valuable insight into which platforms will deliver the best results for your organization.
