9 Ways Businesses Are Rethinking How They Use Social Media

Social media has changed dramatically in the past five years alone. Don’t let your business fall behind.

Question: How is your business rethinking its use of social media now and why?

We Have Switched Our Focus

"We've found that our clients don't care about Twitter, Facebook or Google+, but they care a lot about Pinterest. So we focus 95 percent of our efforts on Pinterest. We try and automate the others as much as possible to have a presence. You should focus on what's making your business money and put less attention toward things that don't matter."


We Are Using It Less

"Using social media is important and can be a great way to connect and amplify your content -- especially if your audience is looking for you there. That said, it's too easy to get lost in the ego trap of wanting more likes, re-tweets and comments. We try to focus on the highest value tasks that deliver the most return for our business. In our experience, that's more deep work, less social media."


We Think of It as an Event

"We're approaching our social media now like we're all leading up to a big event. I'll write an article on something relating to a future product on my blog. Then I'll tweet quotes from that article or other related news or statements and we'll promote it on YouTube, post something on Tumblr, etc. Our goal is to build momentum."


We Use It as a Customer Service and Validation Channel

"With organic engagement on Facebook as low as one percent, it's become harder and harder to break through the noise. So instead of using it as a marketing channel to generate demand, leads or interest, we use it exclusively for customer service and company validation. Customer service is one of our key value propositions, so making it easier for the customer to reach us is an obvious win."


We Focus on Quality, Not Quantity

"Social media channels evolve over time. Facebook recently restricted organic reach to the point that only about one percent of our fans see posts unless we invest ad dollars behind them. What wont change, however, is that quality content will spread. Instead of worrying about the quantity of posts we have, we've begun investing much more into the quality of the content we share."


We Build Trust

"When you are asking customers to part with their hard earned money, you are asking them to trust you. Social media needs to reflect that there are trustworthy humans behind the professional mask of the company. Posting customer experiences and reviews is one great way to reflect that trust."


We Go Where Our Customers Are

"I hate Pinterest. But it's where our customer is. So, we have to be there as well. Don't let fear of or unfamiliarity with a platform keep you from authentic connection. Learn the tools or hire someone who knows them and get to work."


We Engage Through Teaching

"Because we want to provide our customers with more than a great product, we are now utilizing social media to create didactic and informational content to further engage our audience. Our blog now features health and lifestyle tips, ranging from how to optimize resources to consistently get the best sleep possible to how to deal with common health problems that might be impeding sleep."


Resources

9 Ways Businesses Are Rethinking How They Use Social Media

Social media has changed dramatically in the past five years alone. Don’t let your business fall behind.

Question: How is your business rethinking its use of social media now and why?

We Have Switched Our Focus

"We've found that our clients don't care about Twitter, Facebook or Google+, but they care a lot about Pinterest. So we focus 95 percent of our efforts on Pinterest. We try and automate the others as much as possible to have a presence. You should focus on what's making your business money and put less attention toward things that don't matter."


We Are Using It Less

"Using social media is important and can be a great way to connect and amplify your content -- especially if your audience is looking for you there. That said, it's too easy to get lost in the ego trap of wanting more likes, re-tweets and comments. We try to focus on the highest value tasks that deliver the most return for our business. In our experience, that's more deep work, less social media."


We Think of It as an Event

"We're approaching our social media now like we're all leading up to a big event. I'll write an article on something relating to a future product on my blog. Then I'll tweet quotes from that article or other related news or statements and we'll promote it on YouTube, post something on Tumblr, etc. Our goal is to build momentum."


We Use It as a Customer Service and Validation Channel

"With organic engagement on Facebook as low as one percent, it's become harder and harder to break through the noise. So instead of using it as a marketing channel to generate demand, leads or interest, we use it exclusively for customer service and company validation. Customer service is one of our key value propositions, so making it easier for the customer to reach us is an obvious win."


We Focus on Quality, Not Quantity

"Social media channels evolve over time. Facebook recently restricted organic reach to the point that only about one percent of our fans see posts unless we invest ad dollars behind them. What wont change, however, is that quality content will spread. Instead of worrying about the quantity of posts we have, we've begun investing much more into the quality of the content we share."


We Build Trust

"When you are asking customers to part with their hard earned money, you are asking them to trust you. Social media needs to reflect that there are trustworthy humans behind the professional mask of the company. Posting customer experiences and reviews is one great way to reflect that trust."


We Go Where Our Customers Are

"I hate Pinterest. But it's where our customer is. So, we have to be there as well. Don't let fear of or unfamiliarity with a platform keep you from authentic connection. Learn the tools or hire someone who knows them and get to work."


We Engage Through Teaching

"Because we want to provide our customers with more than a great product, we are now utilizing social media to create didactic and informational content to further engage our audience. Our blog now features health and lifestyle tips, ranging from how to optimize resources to consistently get the best sleep possible to how to deal with common health problems that might be impeding sleep."


See Also: How to Avoid Social Media Mishaps in the Workplace

If you have insights like this to share,

and join us!