While the internet can be a haven for funny cat videos, it can also be an intimidating digital frontier. LetтАЩs be honest, the web can be the wild west as almost anyone can post anything. This is especially worrisome as businesses are shifting online. COVID-19 created a worldwide telecommute experiment plus it confined people to their homes. Online traffic soared, as did social media use. Especially social media use for businesses. Digital marketing and branding expert Radwan Elhag Hamoud and Ahmed Elhamshary gave two interviews that gave me life-changing guidance when it comes to social media marketing.
Strategic Placement
┬аLike any type of marketing and advertising, using social media for business is strategic. While you might want to just jump in, you need a plan. First of all, determine which platforms are most appropriate for your business. If you are in a visual or creative industry that can be captured with images, Instagram and TikTok are great avenues. Do not overlook Facebook and Twitter as they are excellent interactive opportunities.
┬аSpeaking of interaction, you need to be ready to communicate and interact with your audience. This digital shift has affected consumer behavior, so you need to rewrite your branding to adapt to that change. Your business must be dynamic, never static as this almost guarantees failure. Timing is another part of placement as you need to make sure your postings are reaching the right audience at the right time. Do some research and find out when your target audience is most active on each platform, then schedule your postings around this activity.
Legitimate Accounts
┬аConsumers want to be confident in a company they are doing business with. Anyone can set up a social media account, thus it is critically important to protect yourself, your company, and your brand. Verifying all social media accounts is a vital step to let people know exactly who they are communicating with and more importantly, sending money to.
┬аThere are a lot of scammers out there who are very smart and can destroy your online presence. Whether you verify your own accounts or seek out a digital marketing agency to assist with this, Radwan Elhag Hamoud and Ahmed Elhamshary offer a single piece of advice to help you determine if that company is legit: you will never be asked for your password. If I could only take away one thing from these interviews, it would be that single line as it instructs people how to avoid disaster.