How to Handle Multiple Social Media Pages for Your Business

Info People

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are perhaps the most obvious social media channels to build your brand awareness. However, due to the ever-increasing range of platforms, and the inclusion features such as micro-blogging and media sharing, it can be difficult to keep up with the who (to follow) what (to post) and when (you should publish). All in all,multiple social media pages can be greatly beneficial to your business, provided you are implementing them properly.

There is plenty of software available to help out, but the first tool to managing your digital marketing is to distinguish the different types of social media. The model below, courtesy of Cite.co.uk, charts the different types and channels available:

It is important to note that these are not rigid categories, and many of the features of each overlap one another. Imagine some helpful Venn diagram that would take me the best part of a week to create. For example, the 'status update' feature of Facebook could be seen as a micro-blogging tool.

The following are some generic tips to help organise the running of your chosen platforms:-

• Choose wisely. It is crucial to gage which social media platforms your target audience are most likely to engage with, and these should be prioritised first. For example, Pinterest is largely used by women, whereas Facebook use is growing fastest among users aged over 65. Snapchat has a primarily teenage base. If there is one area of social media which is using up a lot of your time but is yielding minimal results, then it is probably time to refocus your strategy.

• Adapt. Each platform is capable of distinguishable features, and it is vital to work out which best work for you. For instance, Instagram is highly pictorial with a focus on images and short video, and the message that you may have sent out on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter could need to be adapted to fit the mould. Research suggests that posts with a photo on Facebook yield 120% more engagement than plain text alone. 

• Organisation is key. Perhaps create a folder or email address that is strictly designated to social media. That way your digital marketing will not get lost amongst other areas of business. Be cohesive and consistent in the tone and look of your online branding on all platforms. Designate specific time purely for social media, as this is likely to make your posting more effective than if it were sporadic. Socialmediaweek suggests that 5 hours a week is suffice, but obviously this is largely dependent on the scale of your campaign. 

• Monitor and analyse.  There are plenty of tools out there ready to help you analyse the data extracted from social media channels, but the problem is what to look for. Determining the best time to post to have the best outreach, measuring your click-through rate and how many posts you need per day are all vital to better digital marketing.

The following software is designed with your business needs in mind as they save you the near-impossible task of manually monitoring the aforementioned data. We have hand picked some of the best :-

Google Analytics

Google Analytics allows you to find out which online campaigns are bringing the most traffic and conversions, where your best visitors are located,  identifies your least performing pages and much much more. The app condenses all this information in an easy to use format that is an invaluable tool for any online business. Not to mention, it's free!

Hootsuite

Hootsuite allows your to monitor all of your channels in one, delegate tasks and eliminate the trouble of co-ordinating responses to consumers. Free when using in accordance with 5 social profiles.

Bitly

Featuring real-time analytics along with the ability to track clicks and remember your favourite posts and pages, Bitly has a neat and clean interface and allows your to shorten URLs for posting on sites like Twitter. Once again, the tool is completely free.

With the digital marketing opportunities and resources available these days, there is no reason why you shouldn't build a big online presence through the use of different social media channels. Social media is an incredible tool - used wisely and effectively, it can have a dramatic, positive impact on your business. 

Author: Katie Gascoyne

SMF rookie, fresh out of academia, looking forward to more creative ventures. With a love of current affairs, green tea and an ever insatiable wanderlust, Katie is ready to have her voice heard. Follow her @KatieAtSMF

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