SOCIAL MEDIA BLOG
Introduction and outline of social medias chosen:
Instagram Review:
For the next three and a half years I am going to be involved in a Digital Marketing course in Technological University Dublin Blanchardstown campus. This course takes us through all aspects of social media marketing, online & offline communications in business, photo shopping/ online advertising techniques, web design and much more. The course is based around improving our understanding of a constantly changing market and how to stay ahead of this change during our careers after college.
Within this series of blog posts, I will be discussing various Social Media Channels and how they hinder or benefit individuals or companies advertising, promoting and selling goods on their pages. The Social Media Platforms I will be discussing are Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I have chosen these platforms because I use them for my own personal use when looking online at what others are doing during their daily lives and so I am constantly targeted by ads or sponsored posts displaying goods for different products on all of these social media platforms.
These three sites all have things in common. Facebook and Instagram are sites on which individuals post what they are doing on a day to day basis, whether it’s eating, traveling or just with friends. These are presented through posts or stories which are captured through the lens of their camera and commentary. Twitter like Facebook gives a platform for people can voice their opinions on certain topics in sports, politics along with other areas of interest where opinions posted and subsequently agreed or disagreed with.
Tasks:
For this assignment we had a series of task, which each individual on the course carried out with the aim of improving the content of our blog pages. These tasks have been set with deadlines that put us under pressure to keep up with the ever-changing market, being able to keep you the reader up to date with new innovations within the chosen social media platforms and to expand our Website to the wider world.
If you want to follow these accounts to be notified when we post, follow me on:
FACEBOOK- http://www.facebook/DannyDelaneyMarketingMedia
INSTAGRAM- http://www.instagram/dannydelaneymarketingmedia
TWITTER-
Twitter Review:
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Twitter is an ideal place for start up companies and established companies to set up a relationship with potentially brand loyal customers aged 18-24 (https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100215/twitter-vs-facebook-vs-instagram-who-target-audience.asp). Having a target market at this age is idea on social media as the majority of this generation uses social media daily.
Instagram and twitter have the same target market but as they have completely different layouts. This is advantageous for both start up and established companies as they can keep their customers updated with products and advertisements on Instagram where as twitter will work on the informative aspect of the brand with things such as customer queries, promotional offers and information regarding the company. A successful company should use these two social media platforms hand in hand in order to keep their customers up to date.
From my use of Twitter in terms of the business aspect of the social media channel, I believe it is a close second to Instagram. This is due to Instagram’s ability to interact with the consumer in a more attractive way with product images and enticing advertisement videos. Twitter is laid out extremely easily allowing easy access to posts, updating of statuses, viewing other competitive brands along with their activity. Twitter is appealing to the younger generation because of its ease of use, particularly as majority of people on the platform are casual users.
Twitter is not a social media platform where advertisements and images are required. Twitter interacts with the customer on a more personal level, as anything the customer needs to know can be asked by tweeting the company and they generally respond within a few hours with an answer or solution to any problems faced. Twitter also have a retweet system which allows customers to share anything important they see on your page whether it be a promotional offer or an update about events such as the closure of your company as in the case of the recent outbreak of Covid-19.
Twitters business page is very useful as it constantly updates you with any global trends or updates on important topics. For example, with the Covid-19 pandemic Twitter has updated my business page with notifications on when there will be public announcements and important information shared online.
My experience trying to utilize Twitter to promote the sales of my service was not beneficial for my business as there are very limited amounts of paid advertisements on display on the social media channel. This is why I believe it should be used hand in hand with Instagram.
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Instagram is in my opinion the best social media platform to use for any company in order to market their product or service. My opinion is based around my use of the social media with my business account (http://www.instagram/dannydelaneymarketingmedia)
Instagram has captured the attention of a younger audience, a market of people aged from 15-35 (https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100215/twitter-vs-facebook-vs-instagram-who-target-audience.asp). In my opinion it is beneficial for companies to use Instagram in order to market their businesses to a younger audience which has the potential to be brand loyal for numerous years to come. Having a loyal customer base for any company is ideal for any as you know how to market your product to attract customers with the same interests. The best examples of this comes from clothing retailers on Instagram whether they are well known brands or start up companies reselling designer clothes.
https://www.instagram.com/boohoomanofficial/
https://www.instagram.com/luxstreet__/
Advertising on Instagram is made simple by the platform, the examples set by both Boohoo MAN and Luxstreet above display how advertising is made easy for the buyer.
Brands advertise their product in a manner which is attractive to the consumer using imagery which enhances the product. Using the best lighting and colour schemes for example giving the consumer an overall look of professionalism for the product and brand. These brands have shopping links on the photos that bring the customer to their website and the specific page which the article of clothing is present on. The customer then has the ability to purchase and check out instantly. Having the ability to check out in such as short amount of time entices the consumer to purchase the product there and then rather than pondering whether to buy the product or not. Instagram have done an excellent job at this and has given all companies on the platform the chance to avail of these innovations.
Since Instagram has put this in place it has given start-up companies an opportunity to become recognised to a global audience. Instagram also offers companies the opportunity to have a paid advertisement pop up on people’s home pages as they are scrolling through other people’s posts giving instant access to their company’s pages or website.
Being able to avail of opportunities like these make Instagram in my opinion the best social media platform for start up companies to advertise their product or service, especially if they are looking to interact with a younger audience.
As a start-up company myself I have tried to avail of these opportunities, develop my brand, expand my customer base and market my service globally.
Facebook Review:
Facebook is the most popular social media platform having the most active users per day. In 2018 they had a total of 1.49 billion daily active users out of a total of 2.735. (https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/facebook-statistics/)
For start-up companies having a business page is almost mandatory to achieve a social media presence. Opening up your business to a market as big as that of Facebook is any companies dream. The set up of such a page with Facebook is relatively easy and can be done in a matter of minutes. Here is an example of how to set up a Facebook business page from your mobile phone which I created during my first year in TUD: (https://bit.ly/2zUFrRl).
Facebook are very helpful when setting up a business account. They offer a checklist that you can follow to create a successful page which includes:
• Setting up a profile picture & cover photo
• Add shortcut links to a website or app
• Connect with other companies or start-up businesses
• Advertisements
I found Facebook more challenging to use than Instagram or Twitter in relation to my business page as they were constantly notifying me to finish the checklist they provided when I was happy with my page and had posted the content.
Advertising on Facebook works in the same way as Instagram, with paid advertisements showing up between posts or statuses posted by those you are connected with on the social media channel. Another form of advertisement I found Facebook using only recently was adding advertisements to videos which are over a certain length in time. This is mirroring how YouTube show their advertisements. Casual users on Facebook can be attracted to your product if the advertisement is appealing to them and you have given them the opportunity to link straight to your website.
The ability to sell goods through Facebook is also available. It works in the same manner as Instagram where consumers have the ability to be linked to your web page directly through a shopping icon located in the corner of the image or below the image. Facebook uses this to give start up companies and well-known businesses a way of promoting their products and websites through social media.
My experience using Facebook as a business was ideal for my start-up company but in comparison to Instagram and Twitter, I do not believe it is as effective in reaching a younger market. Although Facebook is needed to gain a well-recognised social media presence for your company, I believe that Facebook remains a social media platform for an older audience of 25-34 whereas, Instagram and Twitter avail of a younger audience who will be brand loyal for years to come (https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100215/twitter-vs-facebook-vs-instagram-who-target-audience.asp).
From my use of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook I have found Instagram to be the most beneficial platform in terms of a business page.
Instagram includes all aspects of what a business needs within their social media accounts, advertising, attractive display of product, promotional offering and easy to use short cuts. Instagram can also be used hand in hand with either Facebook or Twitter to further increase their online presence.
Instagram also has a growing user base which can be exploited by any business setting up on Instagram who are looking to have a brand loyal customer base for years to come. Instagram having a majority of younger generation user could mean the social media platform will pass Facebook in popularity in a couple of years.
Twitter was my second favourite social media platform to use based on its ease of use and ease of interaction with customers. Twitter like Instagram has a growing popularity of a younger generation aged between 18-24 which again would enable companies to have loyal customers for years to come.
If Twitter were to improve on its advertisements on the platform and improve its reliability on information and include pictures rather than information alone, I believe that Twitter would be the best platform to market your business from. As of this moment you would need another social media to go hand in hand to gain a presence on the platform, therefore I believe that it is second to Instagram.
Facebook in my opinion was the worst out of the three because of the constant requirement to update your profile, the cluster of information in each screen and the fact it has the oldest users compared to Instagram and Twitter who are gaining more and more users from the younger generation.
Facebook is an essential social media platform to have set up for your business as it is the most popular social media channel with 2.375 billion users as of 2018. But Facebook are implementing their systems into Instagram and the younger generation are staying on that social media platform rather than coming across to Facebook. I believe that Facebook will be passed as the most popular social media channel by Instagram in the coming years.
These opinions are based on my understanding and how I think they would hinder or give your start-up company or established business a wider expansion into the social media marketing place.