Social media is one of the easiest marketing channels for a company to start, but it's one of the hardest to maintain. If your edtech company isn't on social media, it's ok. Despite its popularity and ease of use, it is challenging to see a return on investment (ROI) from social media. Let's explore some considerations people often overlook when they set up company social media accounts.
Customer's usage of social media
Around seven in ten Americans use social media, so it's likely your customers are on social media in some way. But which platforms do they use, and how do they use them?
There are a couple of ways you can find out how customers use social media. The first is to just ask! If you have a monthly newsletter, include a survey asking your customers about their social media preferences. Find out which platforms they are on, how often they access them, and if they use them for personal or work-related use. If you don't have a way to survey your customers, look online for general social media usage statistics related to your target audience. For example, if you're selling to K-12 schools, Medium and LinkedIn are the most common social media platforms among teachers, principals, and superintendents.
Resources available for social media
One of the most common misconceptions in social media is the time it takes to manage it. To generate ROI, you need to produce content regularly and build a community. You will need someone to come up with ideas for helpful content so that people will be motivated to click through and share. In most cases, this means you'll need to post about more than just your product. You'll also need someone who can write and design content using tools like Canva or Photoshop.
Building a community is the essence of social media. It's your company's outlet to be "human" and interact with people. You'll need a community manager to follow and engage with other accounts, respond to customer service questions, and participate in related conversations.
Cost of social media
The biggest myth in social media is that it is free. As we just outlined, you need people on the team who are regularly fueling your social media. On top of that, you might need to put money into promoting your content. Do you know that only around 5% of a company's Facebook fans see their posts? Across all social media platforms, you are at the mercy of algorithms to get your content in front of people. The algorithms change regularly and are not published because the platforms want you to pay them so that they can make money.
If you're wondering if your company should get started on social media, or you're using social media and not seeing the results you had hoped, it's ok. Consider your customers, your resources, and the cost of social media. If they don't align, ditch social media and find other marketing channels that will work better for your company.
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