In this Google training, learn how tools like social media, video, and content marketing can help businesses increase their online visibility and grow their customer base. The link to the different modules right after the article.
Theme explored in module 1 of the Google training: Which social networks should your company use?
Social media have become an integral part of an effective communication policy. But there are so many of them, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, that it's not easy to decide. Which social network should your business choose?
You may not have sufficient human and financial resources to communicate effectively on all social networks. If you create too many accounts, you risk not paying enough attention to each individual account, which can be counterproductive.
Which network to choose? If you think Facebook is the most popular site and everyone uses it, you're wrong. Each social network has its own characteristics that must be taken into account to find the right one for your business.
Presentation and usefulness of the different social networks
With Facebook one can create groups and invite other users to these groups. Participants can communicate by e-mail and share multimedia information.
For example, users can find a list of friends, a list of mutual friends, a list of networks the user and the user's friends belong to, a list of groups the user belongs to, a block of photos linked to the user's profile and a "wall" where the user's friends can leave text messages that the user can reply to.
Facebook is not used to share important information, but to stay in touch with someone and show that you care about them. Some people use Facebook to announce important events and wait for a response from their friends, but most people just use it to stay in touch.
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The advantages of Facebook
On Facebook, businesses can create 11 types of promotional campaigns, ranging from visibility (for example, to make your posts stand out and grab the attention of people close to your business) to activity (for example, to attract people to your offers and increase conversions on your website).
In addition to this broad offering, brands have the ability to show ads to qualified audiences, such as customers who have spent a lot of money in the past 12 months or consumers who have visited your site's checkout page. , but haven't made a purchase yet.
Innovations in advertising on Facebook are driven by creative formats. We think of carousels that present 2 to 5 images or videos at the same time.
In terms of efficiency, Facebook generally offers the lowest rates for social advertising, even when compared to Google Adwords. The social network also rewards companies whose quality advertisements attract users with a decrease due per clicks charged.
Along with Facebook, Twitter is the network par excellence. The number of people who are on Twitter around the world is incalculable. Despite the fact that it was created more than ten years ago, it remains one of the most popular platforms and attracts thousands of new users every day. More than a content distribution service, it is the link between millions of people who follow each other. The site is available on a variety of devices, including computers, tablets and smartphones.
In practice
Twitter is a network whose access is free and yet allows access to many tools. Unlike other global social networks like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, Twitter is open to everyone by default. This means anyone can find and view your posts without signing up. To contribute to a conversation, all you need to do is use hashtags (#). Hashtags (#) are used in combination with keywords related to topics and conversations that interest you.
As soon as you register, you will be offered the personalization of your profile. You can also use Twitter to build a community of supporters for your brand and promote your services and products. You can increase your online visibility and presence very quickly. Especially if you associate your possible site or blog with a twitter account.
The benefits of Twitter for your business
Some claim that Twitter is the best social network for microblogging. However, it is also a great communication tool for many business strategies. You can send your followers short messages containing links, photos and videos. Twitter is one of the fastest social networks to send messages and retweets.
Use the virality of Twitter.
Twitter gives you the freedom to express yourself and broadcast your thoughts.
The number of characters is limited, so keep it short and simple. Make the most of it: Tweet as many links, hashtags, images and videos as you can (within 30 seconds).
If you tweet interesting content and it goes viral, it can gain you a lot of followers.
If you like it, repost it. Remember, however, never to saturate your followers with messages. Too many indifferent tweets can quickly backfire.
Twitter can help you gain a large following online. It can help you attract new customers to your products.
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LinkedIn is a professionally oriented social network.
A flagship network for recruiters, interns and job seekers in all kinds of fields. LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to present yourself as a professional.
Benefits of LinkedIn for your expansion
By creating a professional profile or a company page on LinkedIn, you can increase your visibility and improve your natural position in search engines like Google, attract potential customers, strengthen your digital identity and attract potential talent to your company.
To attract attention and generate interest, it is important to describe your activity, goals or objectives in your personal profile. Your biography should be short, but clear and explain who you are and what you do. Your profile should also be well populated, as numerous studies show that you are 40 times more likely to get new opportunities if you post a lot of information.
You can also use this platform to post and share news or articles. This is your chance to become a recognized expert in your community. A company's website is also an important part of communication with employees, investors and customers. All your employees who are LinkedIn users can find themselves under one roof and increase the visibility of your business. You can also post job offers and information about your products or services. Know that 50% of B2B buyers use social media to make purchasing decisions.
Share your network and knowledge with your team.
One of the main benefits of LinkedIn for entrepreneurs and businesses is the sheer number of connections you can make with colleagues, clients, or partners. Using the grouping feature, you can bring people together in communities, discuss and share information about market trends and developments, build business relationships, and provide information on specific topics. By creating a group dedicated to your business or activity and inviting participants to discuss or comment, you can generate interest and share your knowledge. They will want to know more and maybe even buy your services or products.
YouTube
YouTube is a website and a mobile application where users can watch and download videos. YouTube is the largest streaming service in the world. Membership is free, which obviously increases the popularity of the site considerably.
There are paid services for subscribers and others that allow unlimited video streaming. It is a real search engine with a search bar where you can search different types of video content: songs, news, movies, documentaries, TV series, cartoons, guides, tutorials.
Who is YouTube for?
It all depends on your goal. For millions of users, YouTube is an informative and entertaining website. They can watch news, weather, videos of big events everyone is talking about, football commentary, movies or documentaries. In some hilarious videos, amateurs talk about their personal lives and experiences. Both professional and non-professional artists use YouTube for marketing purposes to reach a large audience and attract attention.
The advantages of YouTube
YouTube is a platform allowing companies that wish to create video content. Creating a YouTube page is a long process of building a community and an audience. This audience is not only interested in what you have to offer, but also in your brand. The first thing you need to do is build up a loyal following.
You can also use a YouTube channel to showcase your expertise. You can publish training videos on your products, your expertise. The demand for courses increases by 70% every year.
True View allows marketers to advertise affordably. You can also check YouTube statistics and improve your content to satisfy your audience.
Development of your subscribers
Video is the most attractive medium for Internet users and appeals to young and old alike. YouTube allows you to reach a younger audience. According to a recent study, young people watch an average of 40 minutes of video per day on their mobile devices. This number increases every year. When you reach a younger audience, you expand your community and they can become brand ambassadors by sharing your videos.
Better search engine optimization
YouTube is also a search engine that any business can use for their website and social media to increase their visibility and traffic. By creating and growing your own YouTube page, you can significantly improve your SEO and rank higher in Google.
The platform also offers a range of tools that businesses can use to optimize their traffic using natural links. Businesses can add hashtags and keywords to their videos that link directly to search engines. They can also add their own keywords in the video description.
YouTube channels have become an integral part of our company's video marketing strategy. A real breakthrough in video distribution, but YouTube channels need a specific strategy to reach their target audience.
You may have heard of it, but you may be wondering what it is for Instagram. It is a smartphone application that works on iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices.
What is Instagram? First, a brief description of the tool. It is a social network, one of the largest in the world. It currently has over 700 million users.
It is available in 25 languages, including French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Italian, as well as Chinese, Japanese and Korean. It is a photo and video sharing network. The app, launched in 2010, has grown steadily and was named Apple's App of the Year in 2011. Due to its rapid growth, Facebook decided to acquire the social network in 2012 to a billion dollars.
Let's take a look at the true purpose of Instagram
It's a social network where you can share photos and short (one minute) videos, which is great, but what exactly is Instagram for? Its strength and advantage lie in the quality of the filters it offers. Its use is very simple: take a photo, apply a filter and upload it.
But the main difference lies in the unprecedented quality of its filters. There are many apps that make it easy to use filters, but none of them can compare to Instagram. With just a few clicks, an ordinary photo turns into a masterpiece.
What are the benefits of Instagram for businesses?
Instagram makes it easier for you to reach your target audience than other social media platforms. It also offers many opportunities to promote your products or services. However, be careful not to overdo it, as it may cloud your image. It is therefore important to create a marketing strategy that includes the imagery you want to create for your business on Instagram.
You can start with a post consisting of a photo or video and a short caption (no longer than a minute). You can also include your location in the message, which is especially useful for local events. Storytelling is another important use case. It is a short and ephemeral format that disappears after 24 hours. It's about creating a story (as the name suggests) from a series of photos and videos. Stories also allow for more spontaneous sharing; for example, you can share behind-the-scenes information about an event to build a close relationship with your community.
This format is popular because it has a wider reach than traditional information. Instagram also offers a live streaming feature. It's a great way to keep viewers informed and improve communication. One of the biggest benefits of Instagram for businesses is that they can directly promote their products by buying sponsored posts or collaborating with influencers on this platform.
Since 2018, you can also add product listings to your Instagram posts: users will be redirected to your website where they can easily buy your products.
Pinterest is a visual search engine where you can find recipe ideas, home inspirations, photos and more.
There are billions of ideas on Pinterest, so you can always find inspiration. When you find a tip you like, you can save it to bulletin boards to make it easier to collect and organize ideas. You can pin your ideas and share them with other Pinterest users.
Browse Pinterest from its page
On the home page, you can search for Pins, users, and businesses that you might be interested in based on recent posts. You are also shown any pins, users, or forums you've joined.
You can search for Pins by typing keywords in the search bar. For example, if you type the word "birthday" into the search box, you can find decorations, party recipes, and gift ideas.
Search for ideas
Use the search bar to find ideas, people and trends. Search by theme or find your own. On the search page, click "Profiles" to find the creators, people, and brands you're looking for. Use the camera to search for relevant photos and narrow your results by skin tone or hair type.
The benefits of Pinterest for your business
In 2020, Pinterest surpassed 400 million monthly users worldwide, a 39% increase in just one year. It overtook Twitter with 326 million users.
This growth is driven by new subscribers such as millennials (25-35) and Gen Z (under 25), who grew by 36% and 50% respectively last year.
Another important trend is the growing interest of men in spaces previously reserved for women. While women still represent 70% of users, men are the second largest group (48%).
You understand why Pinterest is a real source of opportunity, especially for start-ups led by women.
But even if you're a B2B brand selling services or your business is geared towards men, don't be afraid of Pinterest — you can use it!
Here is some data from a 2017 Pinterest study to convince you:
– 78% of users find Pinterest content useful;
– 72% of respondents said the platform gives them shopping ideas, even if they are not currently looking for something in particular.
– 90% said it helped them in their purchasing decisions;
– 66% of people bought a product or service after seeing viral content.
Another area of expression for your brand
Although Pinterest has features that can help you sell your products, you need to remember that Pinterest is your first contact with consumers who don't know you yet.
Therefore, you need to start with engaging and interesting content that tells your story or that of your brand.
– Create a list of products on your website: present them to Internet users on a single page. Naturally, you'll want to include product photos with links to their descriptions. Add links to products so users can save them to their wall or buy them.
Once you have decided on the content you want to publish, the most important thing is to group the pins into thematic panels. This will allow you to present new collections and new products and will make browsing more fluid for your prospects.
Increase the visibility of your business with quality
Pinterest can help you build brand awareness, attract users and therefore increase traffic to your website.
Pins are shared on average 100 times more frequently than Twitter posts, and their lifespan is 1 times longer than Facebook posts.
Pinterest is different from other social networks: its success does not depend on the number of followers.
The platform works like a search engine, so even if you have a small number of fans, your content can reach a large audience.
Regularly post attractive images and optimize post titles and descriptions to make them easy for users to find.
Just like Google search, Pinterest needs the right keywords to make your content relevant to search and show up in search results. This increases the visibility of your linked page and encourages engagement (clicks, shares, pins, etc.).
Be sure to include a link to your website or product listing in each image to drive visitors to your store.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a mobile application developed in 2011 that allows you to send short messages of up to 10 seconds, usually accompanied by a photo or video. What sets Snapchat apart from other social networking sites is that the content instantly disappears when viewed.
As Evan Spiegel, one of the creators of the application, explains, Snapchat was designed to reduce the stress caused by posts that remain archived on other social networks such as Facebook. Therefore, content posted on the platform should be authentic and not aim for perfection or aesthetics.
Snapchat language
Snap: This term refers to any message containing text, photos or video that is automatically destroyed when viewed by the recipient.
Snap Stories: Unlike elsewhere, Snap Stories are only available for 24 hours and the recipient can view them as many times as they wish.
Chat: You can send photos, videos or text directly to a friend. The content is only visible to that person. All content (including text messages) sent in a conversation disappears from Snapchat immediately after sending or 24 hours later, depending on your settings.
Spotlight: This section brings together the best public content created by Snap users. Posted videos must be no longer than 60 seconds, which meets Snap Inc.'s requirements.
The advantages of Snapchat
Snapchat is a social network with around 82 million active users worldwide. The app allows users to share photos and videos for a period of time, after which the content is immediately deleted. Snapchat is used by more and more companies, but what is its main purpose?
Promote your business and reach your target audience
Snapchat mainly targets young people between the ages of 13 and 25. It is a communication tool used by companies. It is a social network that allows them to easily connect with consumers and promote their brands and products.
The content of the photos lasts about 10 seconds, which encourages young people to focus on specific subjects. However, instead of targeting young people, some brands use Snapchat to promote their business to a wider audience.
There are many ways to bring consumers closer to your business or brand. There are also many useful functions such as different filters, texts and emoticons. The goal is to grab attention as quickly as possible. So you can use it according to your needs.
Pay attention to the quality of content
Snapchat is also a way to deliver content to your audience and allows you to promote products in a personalized way. For example, you can post business photos, including outings with co-workers, photos from work, or live broadcasts.
So you can use advertising to increase sales. Snapchat is mainly used by young people. This is the best way to follow content that interests them.
You can also ask your employees questions they can answer right on Snapchat. This can help your audience expand their knowledge of your business. The more information you share, the better you know your audience and the more loyal they will be to you.
Finally
As you know, social media is now an integral part of any communication plan. To take advantage of the benefits they offer, it is important to develop a solid social media strategy. To do this, you first need to choose the right social media channels to target.
When choosing a social network, you should consider the characteristics mentioned above as well as staff, time and financial capabilities.
