Social Media Business Success

Emily M. Fata
Director of Communications at Statement Strategies

Social media, on the surface, might seem simple to do. After all, communication is natural and the process of posting is too. Yet conducting the process at a higher level and experiencing encouraging or exciting results and success is another question. That is not quite as easy.

Emily Fata, the director of communications at Toronto-based Statement Strategies, Ltd., wanted to offer insights and recommendations about social media effectiveness and she does in this Communication Intelligence Q&A feature below.

What can many solopreneurs or organizations do that is relatively simple with a high payoff that they aren't likely doing right now, or doing well?

Many folks recognize the importance and gravity of a powerful social media account, but not so many are able to plan and execute posts that garner the traction that they are hoping for. While the different algorithms of each social media platform may seem daunting and even confusing, there are definitely some simpler tactics solopreneurs and organizations alike can use that can have a high payoff resulting in purchases, sign-ups, account acquisition, and so on.

For one, following social trends is a small-but-significant strategy that can be used to make your mark.

Spend about a half-hour each day scrolling through social media to discover trending sounds, filters, and challenges that other people are using or taking part in and try to jump on the bandwagon sooner, rather than later. A Google search can also help with this, though I personally find that seeing the videos themselves is helpful in formulating how to best tackle the trend from a personal perspective, or personalized for the clients that I advise.

What should people know about particular communication styles that work best on different social media platforms?

When posting on social media, or deciding which platforms to target, consider their individual demographics.

Facebook and Instagram largely cater to people aged 25 to 34, while TikTok is predominantly used by young people aged 10 to 19. Naturally, there will be folks both younger and older using these platforms, but having a good idea of who is using a given social media site is important to keep in mind, especially when it comes to communication styles being implemented.

Using TikTok as a specific example, since that's a platform drastically growing in popularity over the past few years, a study conducted by SproutSocial found that nearly 40% of Gen Z'ers say that they are directly influenced by the products that they see on the platform. TikTok is frequented by 61% female users and 39% male users. Unfortunately, they had no data on use by other genders, meaning that the language and communication styles used can be tweaked even further to align with your ideal consumer.

Are you targeting consumers aged 10 to 19? You definitely want to get in on the latest trends and use them to your advantage. Is your perfect client someone aged 25 to 34 who uses Facebook? Follow the lead of other successful businesses in your niche while still making your posts your own, with your unique flair and voice adding to the conversation.

After all, as a solopreneur or organization making a difference, you know that you can change people's lives. Now is your opportunity to let your audience know that you can, too.

And remember, as with any marketing strategy, continually defining and redefining your target audience is always a good idea.

For what goals is social media maybe not the ideal tool?

As much as I would love to say that social media is a magic wand capable of making all of your business dreams a reality, this, unfortunately, isn't the case. There are some things that social media isn't necessarily the most ideal for. 

Some key examples: If you're a business that caters specifically to seniors, while their caregivers and family may use social media, chances are, your target audience of people aged 65 and up does not. Therefore, targeting a majority of your time and advertising efforts on social media in hopes of making a significant impact on your sales is likely not realistic.

Likewise, if your return of interest (ROI) overall does not balance out by allocating a significant amount of time to social media, regardless of the niche that you are in, dedicating excessive amounts of time on social media, only for it not to pay off, can be detrimental to your company in the long-run. However, keep in mind that in some cases, lacking ROI can be due to poorly executed planning; hiring external help can change this around for you.

Of course, some people simply don't understand how to work or use social media, or have absolutely no interest in running social media accounts. If they're not willing to hire external help, such as a marketing and PR firm like Statement Strategies, then social media may not be the best option for them. Media advertising, press coverage, and word-of-mouth, among other options, might instead be their best bet.

What objectives can certainly achieved through social media?

Social media really is an incredible place to reach your target audience. It can even help uncover demographics interested in your products or services that you may not have realized were relevant to your business.

The objectives that your company can achieve through social media are also dependent on what it is that you're offering. For services, you can entice people both with short-and-long-lead times, depending on what point they are at in their needs for your service, by offering quick and free advice and building up a sense of trust.

When selling products, you can achieve the same by showing your products in action and making their benefits obvious. With platforms like Instagram, people can even tap on the video or image to be taken to your online shop to make a direct purchase.

Videos and reels have grown in popularity, which is a great way to capture your audience's attention while making them do minimal work; they don't even have to read, they just watch and are influenced.

However, pictures with captions are also still relevant and can influence your target demographic, especially when longer captions are used sparingly. Achieving your objectives are more likely to be met when you stay consistent and on-topic, asserting yourself as an expert in your particular field and a source of knowledge. The algorithms pick up on this and will divert your content to the right eyes.

That said, there's also power in the sharing of content. A particular brand may not necessarily land on your ‘suggested’ or ‘For You’ pages on social media, but it very well may land on your friend's.

If a friend finds it interesting, they can send the post over to you, and it has now reached yet another person organically. This is especially relevant for social media accounts that are following trending topics, sound clips, and so forth, as users — especially younger folks frequenting TikTok and Instagram — love following these trends.

The bottom line is to help people recognize how much better their lives would be by purchasing from your business and, frankly, how they wouldn't be able to recreate the same results on their own.

Can people, with some effective learning and practice, do their social media fairly successfully on their own, accomplishing favorable results or should they seek out someone to do that work for them?

Whether you're a solopreneur, an organization, or just an average person looking to make a mark on social media, you can, in time, achieve it. However, the truth is that you may not get the results that you're hoping for right off the bat. This is why hiring someone who specializes in social media is often a valuable investment.

For example, the team I work with has been working in this field for years and knows the ins and outs of monitoring trends, creating global campaigns and movements, and can effortlessly hone in on what your target demographic is looking for, including how to land on their ‘suggested’ and ‘For You’ pages.

I'm at the point where I can confidently, organically grow a previously unheard-of business to thousands of followers within a year. I've done that with my own travel account pre-pandemic, bringing it from a hundred or so followers when it was just a personal place to share my travels, to over 35,000 followers within a year after deciding to monetize it and turn my passion into a small side business.

This interview was slightly edited for clarity and length