The Power of Social Media Marketing

October 22, 2017 6:46 pm CDT

It can at times be hard to understand how something like social media has had such a large impact on the business world. “…Roughly 94% of small businesses use social media as a marketing tool.” EVE’s aim is to enable you to embrace social media as an effective tool to engage customers, as well as to select and focus on the kinds of social media that would be optimal for the goals of your business.

In 'We Are All Cyborg Now', anthropologist Amber Case’s 2010 TED talk calls the tool of technology “an extension of the mental self” that enables us “to travel faster, communicate differently”. It “gets adopted because people use it and it’s made for humans”. We can take social media, as an expected “side product” from the advancement of technology, and the kind of person we are online becomes a sort of “second self” to our being.

This phenomena of the second self online gives businesses the opportunity to curate a unique and interesting persona that, when effectively used, can not only reach out to existing customers to keep them engaged, but also to new potential customers, with the click of a button. People trust these online personas of companies to be representative of the brick and mortar stores because we display ourselves similarly through social media.

As a small business owner, you must define your target audience creating buyer personas or an ideal customer profile. Persona is an effective tool to help craft a target audience. “Speak, act and think like your target audience. Get inside their heads, hang out where they hang out, care about what they care about.”

Facebook users like to connect on a more personal level. People crave this attention on Facebook. There are about 2.08 billion daily active users on Facebook. It makes responding directly to user’s comments easy, and by interacting on a small scale you can connect with the audience that is interested in your product or services by direct messaging.

Facebook provides the possibility of advertising events and sharing photos that users can easily share on their personal pages and continue spreading the word. “If you click on “People” under your insights on your Facebook page, you will be able to see if your page is reaching your desired market.”

This phenomena of the second self online gives businesses the opportunity to curate a unique and interesting persona that, when effectively used, can not only reach out to existing customers to keep them engaged, but also to new potential customers, with the click of a button. People trust these online personas of companies to be representative of the brick and mortar stores because we display ourselves similarly through social media.

As a small business owner, you must define your target audience creating buyer personas or an ideal customer profile. Persona is an effective tool to help craft a target audience. “Speak, act and think like your target audience. Get inside their heads, hang out where they hang out, care about what they care about.”

Facebook users like to connect on a more personal level. People crave this attention on Facebook. There are about 2.08 billion daily active users on Facebook. It makes responding directly to user’s comments easy, and by interacting on a small scale you can connect with the audience that is interested in your product or services by direct messaging.

Facebook provides the possibility of advertising events and sharing photos that users can easily share on their personal pages and continue spreading the word. “If you click on “People” under your insights on your Facebook page, you will be able to see if your page is reaching your desired market.”

Instagram does a lot to set itself apart. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram is the fourth-most popular social media platform in the world. Instagram connects with people through visual imagery such as food, clothing, jewelry. These types of industries thrive on their product looking good. Instagram will benefit these industries.

Hashtags are the most important aspect of connection with your audience. As the data collects, the analytics will tell a story about what connects with your audience such as stylized photo or particular hashtag. “The more info you have about the content your audience resonates with, the more you can improve your future posts.”

Instagram does a lot to set itself apart. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram is the fourth-most popular social media platform in the world. Instagram connects with people through visual imagery such as food, clothing, jewelry. These types of industries thrive on their product looking good. Instagram will benefit these industries.

Hashtags are the most important aspect of connection with your audience. As the data collects, the analytics will tell a story about what connects with your audience such as stylized photo or particular hashtag. “The more info you have about the content your audience resonates with, the more you can improve your future posts.”

X (formerly known as Twitter) is a platform that directly, yet concisely voices your opinion in 140 characters or less. You can use X (formerly known as Twitter) to direct message people, instead of broadcasting your message to everyone. This allows you to focus on creating personalized experiences and engage in conversations with your followers.

Share your content multiple times throughout the week or month to get more eyes on it. You shouldn’t start spamming your followers to get seen. Always put quality ahead of quantity. It gives your company the opportunity to present itself as a single, personalized voice, rather than as a business or corporation of sorts.

Meet Faraj Nayfa. We are currently managing the social media of his restaurant, Hala In, located in Mayfair neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. He is a seasoned small business owner of 11 years, and is busy with managing the restaurant.

Since he personally has no time or social media experience to curate an online presence for it, EVE has helped to start the foundation for an online following onInstagram and Facebook to reach customers Faraj would previously have missed out on.

It is important to recognize that social media marketing is becoming the new norm. While the start up of a social media strategy can be overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be.

While you focus on your passion of running your business, EVE is here to focus on our passion of helping you navigate the social media world and digital business.

Since he personally has no time or social media experience to curate an online presence for it, EVE has helped to start the foundation for an online following onInstagram and Facebook to reach customers Faraj would previously have missed out on.

It is important to recognize that social media marketing is becoming the new norm. While the start up of a social media strategy can be overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be.

While you focus on your passion of running your business, EVE is here to focus on our passion of helping you navigate the social media world and digital business.

With all the types of social media around, and new ones emerging, we will help you create specific social media marketing goals, build customer personas and target your audience. To ease you through the “second-self adolescence” and provide an Elevated Virtual Experience.

Contact EVE | User Experience Design Agency, with locations in Nashville, Tennessee, Troy, Michigan, Detroit's northern suburbs and Northside Chicago in Edgebrook Illinois. We'd love to encourage and provide answers to small business owners. Call us: 312-519-6459.

About the Author:

Tricia Chee is a content writer & strategist for EVE – User Experience Design Agency based in Nashville, Tennessee, Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. Born and raised in Singapore, she came to Chicago to study Fine Art and is now working in the city.

About the Author:

Tricia Chee is a content writer & strategist for EVE – User Experience Design Agency based in Nashville, Tennessee, Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. Born and raised in Singapore, she came to Chicago to study Fine Art and is now working in the city.

More Articles by EVE

EVE takes on a new client in Chicago, Illinois (IL) to establish their Customer Experience (CX).

User Experience (UX), have you considered what this phrase means?

While it is easy for small businesses to get caught up in the running of the business offline and put off thinking about creating a website to establish an online presence, many are starting to realize how important it is to do so.

   Copyright © EVE | User Experience Design Agency. All rights reserved.