SOCIAL SAVVY

Advice on how companies can leverage social media and why it matters in an increasingly digital world.

Social media has skyrocketed as one of the main ways we communicate. For businesses, social media has become an unmatched tool for connecting with clients and building brand awareness with minimal to no advertising costs.

In 2019, Statista found that more than 70 percent of adults in the U.S. use at least one social media platform. As of 2021, Backlinko found that over 4.48 billion people worldwide are using social media, with the average user on 6.6 platforms monthly.

The opportunity for connection between people on socials is continuing to grow as more platforms, in the form of apps, are released, adopted and used. Here’s how rental companies can make the most of it.

Pick The Right Places

According to Backlinko, Facebook is the leading social network at 2.9 billion monthly active users. Facebook may be the most recognizable and universally adopted platform on the web today, but that doesn’t make it the most important. Trends in socials ebb and flow, and platform popularity can spike when something new comes on the market.

For example, TikTok, released in 2018, has blown up as users, content creators and businesses find use amid its quick form videos and simple searching hashtags. In September of 2021, TikTok hit 1 billion in active global users. Could this be a place for your business? If you like making short form videos, it could be. For longer content like commercials and video podcasts, YouTube is your best bet. TikTok is unique in that its algorithm is hit or miss. It’s extremely possible for one video, out of hundreds you post, to gain traction and go “viral” overnight, with zero promotion.

On the flipside, Facebook is often used by businesses in the same way a website is. Through the business suite, which also connects to Meta (Facebook)-owned Instagram, you can set up a full business page complete with phone numbers, web links, addresses and more. Quicker than with a website-housed blog, you can share information on closings or delays or highlight new products and company changes, all while connecting with clients through comments, likes and messages. It’s the “one-stop shop” as far as social media goes, and that’s why it’s often the first one taken advantage of by businesses.

Instagram and Twitter are much more nuanced. Instagram is a quick scroll of pictures that catch the eye— if you’re highlighting a product or project, it’s great for this. The connection between Facebook and Instagram makes it easy to cross-post without an added integration software solution, and, although they only allow one link, there are additional free hosting sites, such as LinkTree, that give you one central, easy mobile spot for links to anywhere and everywhere you want to take your viewers. Twitter, like Facebook, is a sharing of words—but at a capped character length of 280, which can be self-limiting.

One special thing about Twitter is that it uses hashtags to tag tweets to a specific topic, and those tweets can be found by virtually anyone. Therefore, the potential for business-to-business connection is huge, specifically smaller businesses to larger corporations that may “retweet” something they find pertinent, useful or interesting.

LinkedIn is truly the Facebook of business. It is a platform for professionals and companies to market themselves to other professionals and companies. Most people share thoughts and ideas from a business perspective, and that creates a unique space to brand yourself. Connecting on this platform, like Twitter, is very vast and can put you face to face with big names in the industry. It’s a great tool to make an e-rolodex of sorts.

Having a presence on all these major platforms can enhance your business. They are all free, easy to use and can make your business seem full scale even if it’s small. When you have a host of profiles like this and link them on your website, it creates a polished, interconnected brand image. Additionally, social media can act as a free marketing and advertising tool that is often as simple as typing something out, snapping a quick picture and hitting send. But be wise— business platforms should remain business related and not feature personal content, unless marketing yourself as an expert through your personal LinkedIn profile. Mixing your personal and business pages can deter clients and potential connections. Maintaining a fine line between business content and relatable lighthearted posts is key to building a brand image that feels personal without getting too personal.

Why Social Media Matters

The boom of social networking has proven to be a permanent fixture in our lives today. In just six years, social media use has seen an increase in users of 115.59 percent, according to Backlinko. Renolon estimates that approximately 30.57 million businesses in the U.S. alone are on these platforms.

Additionally, Renolon found that of those businesses using social media, 59 percent say it’s mostly for customer service and communications, 44 percent use it for brand awareness and 41 percent say they use social media to drive revenue. The multiuse of social networking can act as the backbone to your business by garnering customers, feedback and revenue.

With social media, businesses and customers alike have the same chance to share content on any given platform, for free. The awareness that comes with this kind of reach is vast, and the specialized yet diverse offerings in the rental industry give way to strategies in which social media can be leveraged and conquered. @Irina