Understanding Social Media Marketing on The Sunshine Coast

There’s a lot more to social media than just posting your dog’s crazy antics! With millions of people logging into social media apps every day, it’s one of the best ways for businesses to reach potential customers.

Social media marketing on the Sunshine Coast is a very powerful way for local businesses to reach a national, even international audience. Even better, it’s interactive, which is shown to build stronger, lasting customer relationships.
Often referred to as SMM, social media marketing generally comprises organic and paid marketing to ensure the best results. Properly managed, it doesn’t require a huge budget; it does, however, require a researched social media marketing strategy. Without a plan, it can be all too easy to lose track of your spend.

2.77 Billion Social Media Users Around the World

Before we look at formulating your strategy, let’s throw a few statistics around to put this issue in context. For example, it is estimated that in 2019, there will be about 2.77 billion social media users around the world. That’s up from 2.46 billion in 2017.

Interestingly, a survey of millennials revealed that Facebook remains its social media platform of choice.
Just under 80% of Australians now use social media. That includes 99% of those aged 18-29, 96% of those in their 30s, and 86% of those in their 40s. In Australia, Facebook remains #1, with 15 million unique monthly visitors. The rest of the Top 5 comprise YouTube, Instagram, WordPress.com, and WhatsApp.

The most important statistic is probably this one: 64% of users say they trust business brands that engage with customers on social media. However, they do not want to be bombarded by adverts or fed overly commercial content; they want informative, entertaining, well-written posts and articles.

So, with all that in mind, how should you be shaping your social media marketing on the Sunshine Coast?

1. Decide what you want to achieve from your social media marketing. Is it more customers generally, or a particular demographic, or something different? Set realistic goals for your campaign and monitor the results.
2. Some important goals may be to increase your sales, boost brand awareness, create more followers, improve word-of-mouth marketing and achieve a higher quality of sales.
3. Research your audience. It’s crucial on social media to specify your demographic, or you could spend a lot of money reaching the wrong people. For example, on Facebook, the biggest group is women, at 89%. However, if you wish to reach more men, you might be better to use LinkedIn.
4. Understanding metrics is key to measuring your success and making appropriate changes. If this isn’t your area of expertise, you may be better hiring professionals to do your social media marketing on the Sunshine Coast. They will monitor things like Reach, Clicks, Engagement, Organic and paid likes.
5. Be responsive. It’s not enough to simply post something when you remember. If you’re going down this track you need to commit to an ongoing social media marketing campaign, and you need to be prepared for good and bad responses. You also need to respond to both positive and negative feedback. This will build credibility and stronger customer relationships.