Overview
This lecture reviews major social media platforms and their unique benefits for inbound marketing, explaining how each one works and offering tips for business use.
Facebook
- Facebook has over two billion users and is vital for most social strategies.
- Businesses must use Facebook Business Pages instead of personal pages to comply with policy.
- Business Pages support unlimited followers, analytics ("Insights"), detailed company info, and reviews.
- Facebook advertising allows hypertargeting of audiences, including custom lists.
- Facebook ads can also appear on Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
- Content types include text, photos, carousels, videos, live streams, and Stories (24-hour content).
- Adding a Facebook pixel enables website visitor retargeting.
YouTube
- YouTube is the second largest social network and search engine, with 1.3 billion users.
- Over 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute; 5 billion videos are viewed daily.
- YouTube outperforms TV for reaching US audiences aged 18-49.
- Videos enhance SEO and have high referral and conversion rates.
- Content options include original shows, syndication, and pre-roll (interstitial) ads.
- Strong video content is needed, as 20% of viewers leave within 10 seconds.
Instagram
- Instagram, owned by Facebook, is rapidly growing and photo/video-centric.
- It has a largely young audience (90% under 35) but that is changing.
- Instagram Stories lets users post temporary, creative content.
- Business profiles allow for contact info and a shop button; requires a Facebook Business Page.
- Instagram boasts deep engagement: brand interactions are up to 84 times higher than Twitter.
- Best for visual content and connecting with engaged fans.
Twitter
- Twitter is a fast-paced microblogging site (280-character "tweets") for real-time news and trends.
- Over 500 million tweets are sent daily.
- Businesses should post frequently and regularly engage with audiences.
- 80% of social customer service requests to advertisers happen on Twitter.
- Twitter offers various ad formats and strong opportunities for organic networking.
- Periscope, owned by Twitter, enables live video streaming.
LinkedIn
- LinkedIn is essential for B2B marketing, networking, news sharing, and thought leadership.
- Users can now share status updates and rich media.
- Useful for researching prospects, building professional connections, joining groups, and driving website traffic.
Pinterest
- Pinterest uses boards to share and "pin" images, videos, and links, offering a long content lifespan.
- Referral traffic from pins often leads to leads and sales, boosting SEO.
- Audience now includes more men (40% of new users).
- Useful for showcasing products, blogs, company culture, and thought leadership.
Snapchat
- Snapchat remains popular with younger users (ages 12-24), though some audience lost to Instagram Stories.
- Stories and content disappear after 24 hours.
- Augmented reality and filters make content more dynamic.
- Brands can advertise with more engaging, longer-lasting stories.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Inbound Marketing — attracting customers through relevant content and interactions.
- Facebook Pixel — code added to a website to track and retarget visitors with Facebook ads.
- Insights — Facebook’s analytics for Business Pages.
- Story/Stories — temporary content available for 24 hours on various platforms.
- Pins/Pinning — sharing content on Pinterest boards.
- Tweet — a Twitter post limited to 280 characters.
- Interstitial Advertising — short video ads before YouTube videos.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Choose one or two platforms to test based on your audience.
- Create business profiles as needed (especially on Facebook and Instagram).
- Experiment with content formats (video, Stories, pins, tweets).
- Review each platform’s analytics to gauge effectiveness.
- Consider homework/research to identify key demographics for your business.