The internet has revolutionized the way companies advertise and relate to the public. Therefore, social network marketing has gained space in organizations, which use this means to achieve more positive results for the business.
It was with the intent to help you learn how to use these channels correctly that we developed this post, which aims to serve as a true marketing guide for social networks.
In the following topics, we will explain when social networks have emerged, what is the difference between social network and social media, what is social media marketing and why it is essential to invest in these channels. Also, we’ll show you which social media are most used, how to produce content, and how specialized software like E-goi can help. Keep up with the latest news on the subject!
Contents
- When did social networks arise?
- What is the difference between social network and social media?
- What is social media marketing?
- Why is it important to invest in social media marketing?
- What are the most used social networks?
- How to produce content for each social network?
- How can specialized online software help?
When we talk about social networks, the first thing that comes to people’s minds is channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, among others. However, the concept of social networks is much broader than that and begins in sociology, even before the emergence of the Internet.
A social network is nothing more than a network of relations, something similar to the one that gives the idea of the region, according to concept elaborated by the theorist José Clemente Pozenato, in the book “Cultural processes: reflections on the cultural dynamics.”
In this way, we can say that social networks arose even in the time of the caves when our ancestors met to tell and to hear stories. Any group in which there is an exchange of relationships, therefore, can be considered a social network, be it digital or face-to-face.
A group of students from a university, the faithful of a church, the members of a club, among other groupings, are considered a social network. Therefore, as we can see, the concept of a social network is much broader than we imagine and its emergence was still in prehistory.
It is not wrong to say that Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other digital channels are social networks, because, as we have seen, they form a group of relationships, which conceptualizes that term. However, social networks on the internet also have media characteristics, and can then be called social media.
Facebook, for example, can be considered both a social network and social media. This is because it causes users to connect to each other, forming a network of relationships. At the same time, it allows the production and publication of photos, texts, videos, and other media contents.
The first social media records emerged in the mid-1990s when the internet became popular around the world, and the first forums for discussion on the internet emerged.
For some researchers in the area, the first social media that emerged was Six Degrees, a site where users could create a profile and add other readers, forming a network of contacts. This channel appeared in 1997 and was discontinued in 2001.
In the following years, other social media appeared and gained popularity. This is the case of MySpace and Orkut, which was widely used in Brazil and was, for many Brazilians, the first contact with the internet. Nowadays, not only do individuals use social networks and media to connect with one another, but also businesses, thus generating so-called marketing in social networks.
Before the popularization of social networks on the Internet, marketing strategies were carried out mainly in the so-called traditional media. Thus, radio and television stations, printed newspapers, folders, and flyers, among other channels, were those used to communicate with audiences.
These media had a disadvantage: the power of communication to be in the hands of a few. Thus, the owners of the TV stations, for example, were the only ones who could produce content for that vehicle. Thus, if the companies wanted to issue a press release, display an advertising message, etc., they should pay for that execution on the stations.
With the popularization of social networks on the Internet, companies could have their own channels of communication. Today, anyone can create an account on YouTube and produce videos, for example.
However, the concept of marketing on social networks is quite large. It involves not only the production of content for all these mediums that have come up but also the tact to relate to audiences.
Today, anyone can enter an organization’s Facebook page and leave a negative message, for example. In this case, it is necessary to use public relations techniques to appease the situation and prevent it from becoming a disorder or image crisis for the organization.
Also, it also includes marketing tasks in social networks, media budget planning, and control. Just as before you had to pay to appear on television, now there are also ways to make sponsored posts and ads on most social networks. In this way, the publications reach a higher number of people.
The main advantage of investing in advertising money in social networks is that they are not massive. If you have a company that sells athletic goods, for example, and you buy an advertisement in prime time from Brazil’s biggest TV station, you’ll have immense visibility. Thousands of people will see your ad! But how many of them, in fact, are interested in acquiring what you are selling?
In the case of social networking, you can make the same ad and target it to a very restricted public profile of people who may actually be interested in purchasing the products for athletes you are selling.
This is justified because classifications can be created by gender, age, geographic location, preferences registered in the social networks themselves, etc. Thus, your money will be well spent, and the results will be more effective for your business.
Now that you know what social media marketing is and how it can drive savings in your advertising dollars, you still need to understand the importance of that investment. That’s because of the advantages that this marketing channel brings are many. Next, we’ll talk about the main ones. Look!
Strengthening ties with stakeholders
Researcher Raquel Recuero is the author of the book “Social Networks on the Internet” and one of the leading scholars in this area in Brazil. In her works, she advocates the theory that all relationships established in networks generate links, which may be weak or strong.
If a person likes the page of a company on Facebook, for example, it will be establishing a tie with the brand. However, this bond is still weak and to become strong, there must be an interaction between the two parties.
By strengthening ties with the public, they will be more likely to become leads and, after that, brand clients. That is why it is essential to create content that engages and encourages the participation of followers, such as promotions.
Organizational Culture Disclosure
Organizational culture is no longer something that should remain within the four walls of the company. More and more people value transparency in business, and that is why internal values need to be disclosed.
It’s no use saying a company is friendly to nature, for example, if it emits pollutants into the environment. Through social networks, the company can show the public the actions it carries out, regarding the preservation of natural resources.
Thus, the values, mission, and vision of the business can be converted into actions, which will be shown and even count on the participation of followers.
Ability to target audiences
Social networks, as we explained earlier, enable communication to very specific niches. However, companies do not always work only for a single audience profile. That is why the so-called personas can be developed, which are personifications of what the real clients of business would be like.
Imagine, for example, a shoe store, which sells social shoes and also sports shoes. It can, therefore, serve a more traditional audience and that likes to dress well and at the same time people who play sports, such as running and walking and want comfortable footwear for it.
In social networks it is possible to create posts for both modes of the public, adapting the language to each of them, using techniques such as copywriting.
Although social networks are not the only digital marketing strategy to be implemented to sell more, they can also be used for this purpose.
The idea is that you create ads or posts publicizing the products or services that your company offers. In such a way, followers may be directed to a site or landing page on which the purchase will be made.
Another advantage of social networks is that they contribute to SEO, allowing your content to be found in various forms of search.
There are several social networks, many of which are focused on specific audiences. Therefore, companies should do a detailed study to know in which of these channels your audience is present and thus reap more positive results.
Next, let’s talk a little bit about the social networks most used on the internet these days, bringing curiosity about each one of them.
Facebook was created in the year 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, the three students of Harvard University. At the time, they had no dimension of the true empire they were creating.
The story of Facebook, which initially focused on forming a virtual network for Harvard students only, can be seen in the movie “The Social Network.”
Facebook has grown exponentially and today is one of the technology giant companies. There are more than 500 million Internet users that have an account in this social network, being one of the main channels used by companies that wish to invest in digital marketing.
Created in 2009 by developers Brian Acton and Jam Koum, former Yahoo employees, WhatsApp is today the most popular messaging application in the world. In 2014, the creators of the app sold the project and its actions to Facebook, which today is the brand owner and responsible for maintaining the application.
The idea of WhatsApp was to be an alternative to SMS messaging services, which resulted in considerable amounts charged to users. Today, in addition to text messages, it is also possible to share content in the form of image, audio, and video, as well as make voice calls by the application.
There is also WhatsApp Business, an exclusive version for businesses. In this way, businesses can create an authenticated account and communicate with their customers.
YouTube
The world’s largest video platform, YouTube, is also a social network because it creates a connection and forms a network among users. The site was established in February 2005 by developers Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim.
Since then YouTube has grown a lot and today being youtuber is practically a profession. Many people are dedicated to producing videos in their channels and thus generate entertainment through the site.
Because YouTube is a social media that allows for the publication of videos as well as live broadcasts, it is also highly recommended for companies that wish to do social media marketing.
Instagram is one of the youngest popular social networks, created in 2010. At first, it was called Burbn, but a few months later it received the current name. Also, in the beginning, it was only used to apply filters and share photos. Currently, new functions have been added, such as Stories. This tool was inspired by Snapchat, another social network that was on the rise.
Instagram was created by the Brazilian Mike Krieger, in partnership with Kevin Systrom. In 2012, when the application was already quite popular, however, it was purchased by Facebook, which today is also responsible for this social media.
Created in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams, Twitter is a social network that allows publications of up to 140 characters. The initial idea is that the social network functioned as a microblog, in which people could share brief information with their followers.
Soon, Twitter fell in the popular taste and began to be used by various people and media. As it is a very agile tool, this social network is ideal to report what is happening at the moment.
Although Twitter has its ups and downs of popularity, it still continues to be used by many people and is certainly useful for marketing in the social networks of various companies.
There are other social networks that, although fewer users, can be useful for certain niches of business. This is the case, for example, Snapchat, Tumblr, Pinterest, among others.
You should examine each of these channels to see whether or not it is worth investing in them in the strategic actions of your business.
Pinterest, for example, plays a vital role in the fashion industry and in the travel industry. Therefore, it is interesting for companies in these segments.
The production of content in marketing for social networks varies according to the channel used for this purpose. Facebook is a wide-ranging network, so it allows for a wide range of products.
In contrast, the LinkedIn social network, for example, is aimed at the business environment. Therefore, the content must be developed with a language adapted to this public profile.
In general, there are a few items that need to be taken into account when producing content for social networks. We will list these items in the following topics. Follow us and check it out!
Strategic planning
Regardless of the channel, you choose to develop marketing on social networks, you need to have planning behind it. One should not simply create random content without a thorough study of the audience.
You need to keep in mind what the organization’s goals are for being in a social network and thus creating content calendars and relationship strategies. Never create an account on a social network and leave it abandoned!
Produce quality content
It may seem that this subject is beaten up, but you should also not publish dubious quality content on your company channels, as it is the image of your business that is at stake.
Care must be taken and even a journalistic that your page does not become a promoter of fake news, for example. Besides, content production needs to be scrutinized.
Instagram, by way of example, is a social network that has the main focus on image sharing. That way, the least you can do is post good quality photos that are beautiful and enjoyable to be viewed by the public. Attention to the ideal size of the images for social networks, therefore, is something that must always be realized.
The same goes for YouTube, which needs to have very well scripted, produced and filmed videos. Investing in the best cameras to record videos can help in that sense since the images will have quality for the people who will attend their functions.
We call propagation engagement the strategies that generate the interaction of people with the content that you publish on the social networks of the company. This engagement can be a tasting, a comment, a sharing, etc.
For this, an interesting idea is to make people feel encouraged to interact with you on the networks. In this way, asking questions, producing content in the form of games or activities, among other actions are indicated.
Propagation engagement, in addition to making more people access to the shared materials in their marketing actions on social networks, also helps in SEO. This means that the more people interact with your content, the more it will be shown in the feeds and, logically, more business opportunities will be generated.
It may even be easy to control all your social networks in one account, but what about when you need to create content and schedule posts across multiple profiles? How to control all this?
In this case, the ideal is to have a tool to create and schedule posts on social networks in an easy and practical way so as not to waste more time and organize the publication of your content on these channels.
Here at E-goi we use our own tool to create and schedule posts on social networks.
The Customer Service Department (SAC) was usually done by telephone. Nowadays, however, many people prefer to ask for information, make complaints or praise over the internet. That is why marketing on social networks can never neglect this activity.
You need to make networks a channel for closer relationships, creating strong ties, as we explained earlier, based on the theories of Raquel Recuero.
In addition, interactions with the public also serve to generate ideas of content to be produced. If many people have the same question about how to use a product, for example, a tutorial can be done to help in that sense.
How can specialized online software help?
Online software can be a true alliance of marketing strategists on social networks. This is because there are several programs that can aid in the production and propagation of content.
There are some softwares that allow the programming of the posts, management of schedules for publication, generation of interaction reports and so on. All this contributes to that more strategic actions can be developed in the future.
There are also other online softwares like E-goi, which allow integration with social networks. Widely used for email marketing and messaging, this tool can integrate with social media.
You may have already received, for example, newsletters with buttons in the footer or page header to share content on networks like Twitter and Facebook. This is one of the actions that can be developed by E-goi.
Marketing in social networks today represents a significant portion of the publicity and public relations activities developed by companies. Therefore, we must always be aware of the news of the area and hope that this post has been useful in this regard.
Keep in mind that E-goi can help your business get even more efficient when working with this type of media. How about, try our platform right now!