The importance and effectiveness of social media as a mainstream marketing tool is no longer news to us. HubSpot's latest research shows that the amount of time consumers spend on social media has increased by 250 per cent in the past two years. Even small and medium-sized retailers have recognized the importance of social media as an efficient and cost-effective marketing tool. But there are still misconceptions about how social media can be used properly as part of a marketing plan, and they are hurting brands.

Is your company also a victim of these persistent misunderstandings/misuses? Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you use consistent, easily identifiable brand images and styles to attract and maintain your fans across all social media channels?

Amazon, Square, GoDaddy and other social media leaders have wrapped social media interactions in art form as storytelling techniques. You can learn a few hands from them. Target and Skittles also present their brand stories in a visual and memorable way through their Facebook homepages.

2. Do you use social media to make your brand more human?

Take a look at unilever's approach to promoting its AXE-branded men's wash products on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In Unilever's view, AXE is "not only a leading male wash product, it represents a way of life that touches a lifestyle brand within men through their unique experiences of life, work and play." "

The Converse brand builds its social media network through the daily use of its products by consumers, much of it from people who admire the brand and are willing to interact with it. Perhaps the best thing to do is Nutella, which uses excellent timeline links to set it apart from many brands in its original and impressive way. Many brands humanize their brands by bringing them into their production processes. Posting on social media channels to ask interesting or even bizarre questions, interact with your audience, and maintain a sense of humor can quickly become part of your brand promise.

3. Is your "voice" on social media consistent? Keep pace with better brand management?

Developing and delivering a unified social media brand voice is not an easy errand. At this point, there is no difference between large businesses with a dedicated social media division and small businesses with a total of less than 10 people who take turns maintaining social media. It's easy to give social media monitoring and feedback to younger employees who are more likely to voice their voices on social media. But all employees should have a good understanding of the company's vision, mission, and spirit to ensure that they represent the company in public. Voices on social media deserve attention. Is social media content consistent across channels in style, language, style, and delivery? If the answer is no, making a style sheet should be on the agenda.

4. Does your business target social media strategies for people between the ages of 18 and 34?

If your answer is yes, you may lose some of the important social media crowd: the elderly. According to the Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, the number of people over 65 on social media is rising rapidly. Laura Carstensen, director of Stanford University's Longevity Research Center, said in a November 2013 interview with National Public Radio that more than half of people 65 and older use the Internet and that "older people are becoming more skilled at using the Internet." "Most of these 65-year-olds were born during the baby boom, richer than any generation before them - they have a high level of technical awareness and are younger. You have to make sure your social media messages don't forget this group. The style and content of your posts determine your audience. If you're not sure where your social media branding is, you're in a hurry.

5. Are you timely and self-protective when dealing with consumer complaints and dissatisfied consumer reviews on social media?

Reply to the fans with sincere care and throw away the defensive stance. It's an asset to let your fans know that you care about them and their experience with your product/brand. The best companies can quickly transfer consumer complaints offline (processing), but remain open and sincere in public, leaving consumers with a long-term satisfaction. Most importantly, don't delete bad reviews anyway - someone must have seen them and they're interested in seeing how you respond.

6. Is your social media content linked to your company and product pages?

You should avoid over-selling on social media, but you can keep your fans interested and interactive with your brand. Has your company taken environmental action? Has the company recently received any honors? Or do you have an interesting blog? Brands that show genuine enthusiasm for their products and their users can easily piqu consumer interest. You can try to impress your fans by advertising your site on the front page of social media or by designing a set of images on social media that include your URL. These not only increase your website traffic, but also direct fans to different products and content pages.

7. Post too much, or too little?

There are so few posts that it's hard for fans to interact. Posting too much can also be annoying. For posting frequency, although there is no ideal formula for your reference, but like your other marketing channels, monitoring results is necessary. You cannot manage a project without measuring the results. Social media can't be seen as a new marketing technology or a substitute for other marketing methods, but it should still be a central part of your public strategy. You need to use it wisely to support your marketing efforts. Make sure that your social media managers, teams, or information-gathering groups keep pace with the way they approach, talk, volume, and attitudes on social media, so you can quickly become a star in social media marketing.

From: 199IT