Social media strategy: As sites throttle pageviews to gain more advertising, social media savvy is more important than ever

Many business owners rely on social media to promote their goods and services. Whether it's a special discount available only to Twitter followers, or a video of a hamster eating a carrot shared on Facebook in the hopes of receiving more "likes," businesses are creating and reposting content to draw in consumers.

Many businesses, particularly small ones, do not have dedicated marketing specialists and have a very limited budget, so their social media efforts may not have the effect they want them to, especially since various social media platforms have started throttling the pageviews in an effort to gain more advertising dollars.

Less than two years ago, a significant percentage of a page's fan base would see a given post, according to Dana Thomas, owner of BOLD Marketing in Cape Girardeau.

"If your business page had 1,000 fans with good engagement, a regular unpaid post would reach an average of 700 of those potential customers," Thomas said in an email. "Now, an unpaid post will reach an average of 100 or less, unless your organic engagement is above the norm."

PAY TO PLAY

In this May 18, 2012, file photo, a man surfs the Facebook site on his mobile phone in Mumbai, India. (AP Photo/ Rajanish Kakade)

Though social media can no longer be used as effective free promotion, it continues to be a vital and important venue for marketing and advertising, and experts believe room should be made for it in the budget. Jamie Barnwell, project manager at rustmedia in Cape Girardeau, said posts can be targeted to social media users so directly -- beyond reaching people of a specific age, sex and location, and actually targeting specific interests -- that even a small budget is worthwhile. A business can see the reach even $10 of advertising has. And if, in addition to the reach, a sale is made, the advertising paid off, Barnwell says.

"With behavioral and connection-based targeting methods, social media has the upper hand, increasing your ad's relevance to your users and providing personalization not achieved by any other marketing channel," adds Thomas.

BUILDING AN AUDIENCE

Targeted marketing can create a meaningful audience on a business' social media page. But once a meaningful audience is acquired -- an audience of any number of actual potential customers -- it's up to business owners to post content in a way that will retain them and persuade them to patronize a business.

"Social media advertising is more than just getting the most views or clicks. Having 5,000 page likes is not going to do your business any good if only 700 of those likes are part of your actual target audience," Thomas says.

In this Dec. 13, 2011, file photo, a sign with Facebook's "Like" logo is posted at Facebook headquarters near the office for the company's User Operations Safety Team in Menlo Park, California.Paul Sakuma, File ~ Associated Press

Barnwell recommends an 80/20 approach when it comes to posting. Twenty percent of a business's social media posts should focus on self-promotion. The other 80 percent should engage the reader, or provide them with an incentive to patronize a business. She says the most shared posts are those with a local focus that showcase employees or clients. Quizzes and videos also do well.

Though Facebook seems to be the most popular of social media as far as advertising goes, business owners have other options to consider when it comes to self-promotion.

"If you're a small boutique, or you are someone who has a very visually appealing product, I think you absolutely need to be on Instagram and Pinterest," Barnwell says. "Now, through Facebook, you can split part of your budget to Instagram. It's all through the same platform."

Wes Wade of Wise Dog Marketing echoes the sentiment. A home decor company, he says, would do well to promote itself on Pinterest and Instagram. An event coordinator, on the other hand, would find the demographic controls and awaiting audience of Facebook more appealing.

PITFALLS

"Because social media marketing is so easy to do, it's really easy to do it poorly," Wade says. If not done well, "it's an expensive way to grow your business."

But social media marketing goes beyond the initial connection, the initial view and potential share. Marketing experts encourage businesses to have someone dedicated to social media outreach, both creating new content and connecting to their audience. But if a dedicated marketer is not feasible, business owners should consider social media training for the person who will be handling the accounts.

"If you have a budget for social media promotion, it's highly advisable to spend some money to get schooled on the best way to do it," Wade says. The average business owner, he says, is often too busy running a business to focus on the social media aspects of a business. "It's important to get guidance," he says.

TIPS

Posts to social media should be meaningful. A video of a cat playing piano with no context and no explanation of how it relates to a business may get a response, but not necessarily one that will reach a target audience. Marketing experts like Thomas suggest including a call to action, or a reason for the audience to engage with a post.

What a business does on social media needs to elicit a response from users, which is why Wade suggests rather than paying to promote a specific page, businesses should focus on promoting specific, meaningful posts. This kind of promotion will bring attention to the message the business is trying to relay and will likely result in meaningful page follows as well.

Barnwell stresses the need for interaction with customers.

"You can't let anything go unnoticed on social media," she says. If a customer complains, people will see it. If a business does not respond to the complaint, even if it's just an effort to take the conversation offline, people will notice that, too. "You always want to let everyone else know you are making the effort to respond," Barnwell says.