A lot has changed in the digital space since last year, especially on social media platforms. For businesses trying to adapt to the ever-changing landscape, it can be difficult to keep up. And with all of the businesses and brands now competing more than ever digitally, it's important for continual learning and adaptation to happen.
Okay, let's be honest, there are so many social media platforms out there that it can be incredibly difficult as a business to know where you should be spending your time and efforts. Heck, it's hard to know which ones to choose as a consumer. Ultimately, as a consumer, the decision usually comes down to which platform provides the most value or is the greatest source of entertainment. Knowing this, as a business, is so important. If you know consumers are looking for value and entertainment, provide those things (within what's appropriate for your industry) on the platforms they're frequenting. Unsure about what social media platforms they're frequenting these days? Well, that's why we've written this blog.
Remember the days of needing a college email address in order to be verified to sign up for Facebook?
As the kids say, "lol!"
Now, according to Hubspot, there are reportedly over 1.5 billion daily users on the social media platform. Because so many people are on it, so are most businesses so they can get their products in front of more users.
There has been a dramatic uptick in turmoil at Facebook in 2018 and the couple years previous, thanks to coordinated misinformation campaigns by foreign and domestic players alike, misuse of improperly collected information through Facebook’s third-party apps, and now the mass data breach that has affected over 50 million users.
You would think that Facebook accounts would be closing left and right, but that’s not the case.
There have been many companies that have expanded their online presence to include social media sites (in fact, the vast majority have). Of these social media sites, Facebook is by far the most well known and the most prominently featured on company collateral and websites. However, there are many companies that create a Facebook page and don’t necessarily know how to properly implement their social media strategy.
There’s been a huge upset over fake news being propagated over Facebook for some time now. Many Facebook users now know how to spot fake news, but there are still many Facebook users who are still unable to distinguish fake news from legitimate (and you may be one of them). If you are one of those who are struggling to find the distinction, don’t be embarrassed. It can be really hard to tell the difference sometimes! “Fakers” have gotten really good at passing themselves off as legitimate, which is why Facebook is still on the search for many of them. In this blog post, we’ll delve into how you can distinguish fake news from legitimate news and how you can personally help your fellow Facebook users by reporting the “Fakers.”
Did you know that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations? If someone uses the Check-In function on Facebook when they visit your business, they are telling their friends on social media that they are currently at and enjoying your services or products. This results in free advertising, increased brand awareness, and is essentially an endorsement from that user. That’s why the more check-ins you can garner on social media, the better!
Facebook, like every other social media platform, is always evolving. Most recently (rolled out in summer 2017), they updated some key components in their news feed algorithm. If you’re one of the millions that noticed a recent change in your Facebook News Feed, you may have had the initial reaction I did, which was annoyance.
“I’ve seen all of these already… days ago, because they’re a WEEK old. Why am I seeing them again?”
Okay, I know that sounds petty when it’s written out, but isn’t that how social media has wired us now? We want to see the most recent news, not week-old news.
After doing more research, I realized that Facebook actually did something right.
Social media is an incredible tool that allows you to connect instantaneously with users all over the world in the blink of the eye. Increasingly, businesses are utilizing social media as a way to connect with clients and prospects. However, what many professionals don't realize is: it’s all too easy to commit social media taboos and not even know it!
Why does this matter? Because, believe it or not, you can be penalized, or receive flak or kickback from these, and you definitely want to avoid that. Read on to discover six of the most common taboos we've identified that can harm you.
For the first several years from the advent of social media, businesses could take advantage of a HUGE audience to peddle their wares and promote their offerings FOR FREE. Could it be too good to be true?!?!
In short: yes.
I would never suggest that Facebook used shady crack dealer tactics to get people hooked and then start charging. However, at some point, someone (besides venture capitalists who--surprise, surprise--actually wanted to turn a profit someday) had to start paying the salaries of the smart, hardworking people of Facebook if we all wanted to keep using it to connect with friends, family, communities and to reach wide audiences as businesses.
