Gift Focus - Sep/Oct 2019 (Issue 115)

78 WEB WATCH Gift Focus is at the heart of the online gift community. Here’s a quick update on what’s been happening… @giftfocus @giftfocusmag @gift_focus Social status Michael Richards, marketing manager for Gift Focus magazine, explains the importance of social media for your business. Company name: KD Media Publishing, parent company of Gift Focus magazine Follow me: @giftfocusmag In your opinion, why is social media imperative from a business perspective? Social media offers your clients and customers a quick and easy way to engage with you, your business and its brands, products or services. The engagement it offers can follow the announcement of a new product or service or modifications/ enhancements to an existing product or service. For us, it’s a great way to shout about and share what is happening with the latest issue of the magazine, as well as the current news affecting the industry. With a variety of platforms available, you’re making yourself accessible to your audience in a way that wasn’t possible 15 years ago. What are the best social media platforms, and why? For us, it’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Twitter for its immediacy – it’s a quick and easy way to share what’s happening right now. Instagram allows us to post a collection of images reflecting the ever-impressive work being produced by businesses around the UK and worldwide. I really like Instagram stories – these short posts disappear after 24 hours and can work wonders for product visibility! In what ways can businesses use social media to their advantage? Each platform operates slightly differently, so making it work to your advantage is the key. What can have good engagement on Twitter may not on Facebook and vice versa. Regular posts builds an audience, and the next challenge is to maintain that audience. You’ll need to engage with them to achieve this, and ultimately that’s what social media is all about for businesses. Keep your followers in the loop with what’s going on with you and your business. THIS MONTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA, WE’VE BEEN: • Showcasing brand-new products to market • Shouting out about the myriad of wonderful trade shows happening • Requoting the fabulous business advice provided by our wonderful magazine contributors Are there any online tools or help for those new to or uncomfortable with posting via social media? At Gift Focus HQ, we use Social Report. We use this because we’re also publishers of additional B2B and B2C magazines, so this really works for us. There are number of great tools available, and most I’ve used come with free trial periods. Use these to find out whether the programs you’re using fit in with your business – consider them as an additional employee in that regard. If you’re new to social media, don’t be put off by slow growth to any pages/platforms you’re working on. Be consistent with the posts you make, and you’ll see the numbers and engagement increase. How formal/informal should a social media post be? I like to see businesses showing a human side to their posts. Ultimately, you’re probably looking to use social media to drive sales within your business. However, a balance can be struck. It’s a case of finding this in your business. I’d say that if it doesn’t come naturally, don’t force an informal post. One way of achieving an informal aspect to your posts would be to use emojis. These are often bright in colour and give off an informal vibe. Where do you see the future of social media going, and how can it continue to drive brands forward? Videos are going to be to become an even more critical part of social media. If a picture paints a thousand words, then what must a video do! Using social media to increase the image of your business and brand will be a continued focus. Getting the attention of your target audience will always be the challenge – creating a social media campaign will help you achieve this goal. Any top tips on getting the most out of social media? On Facebook, it helps to have a username. It’s much easier to be tagged in posts with one. Also, any offline marketing you do, you’ll have something catchy to include in your adverts, brochures or flyers. Try to adopt a unified username across all platforms – this can enforce your brand, and you become accessible via online searches for you name/brand. Time: This is the big one. Invest time into your socials, and you will reap rewards. However, be prepared for this to be a long- term investment – there are few shortcuts. Include links to your social media channels on your website. A good place for this is above the navigation bar on your website.