We speak plain language about social media marketing and the agencies.

What is social media and how do social networks work?
Put simply, through user-generated content – ​​users for users. The network offers only one platform. Until 2010 it was the specialist portals and forums, today it is mostly social networks with open or closed groups. If the users are not active, the network dies out. Social media is much more than a trend, namely a worldwide communication interface without any real restrictions. What is important is social interaction, which has come under criticism, especially in the last few months, due to hatred, hatred and hostility.

Social media - share and importance in the marketing mix

Again and again, almost every day, we receive (re)questions about the topic: presence in social networks. But more than 80% are not even aware of the task and the extent, because correct marketing via the appropriate networks and forums often requires half a job or a full job! The agency fee should look accordingly - but it usually doesn't! But let's start at the beginning...

Marketing is about selling services and products. A social network is used for exchange between natural persons in the private and sometimes also in the business area. So how is this conflict of interest to be resolved? Providers of portals have quickly introduced company pages and business profiles, but just a mere presence with a few contributions is of course far from enough to arouse interest and bring about the above-mentioned sale in order to generate sales.

The “ignorant” quickly access advertisements with CPC (cost per click) or CPI (cost per impression). But the basic problem remains - the user wants to be entertained, talk or get information and socialize and NOT buy something or transact business.

For these reasons, the topic is also in 2013/2014 Content Marketing and storytelling emerged. Build an idea, something interesting or something personal around a product and turn the rational product/service and price into an emotional story = story. The "what" stays the same, but the "why" finds an answer = the ball starts rolling.

Always ask yourself:

• What do I want to market?
• How can I market it?
• Why should I market it or why should anyone care?

Align your post, image and link with this and think of emotions!

Plan for your activities at least 4-5 hours per week and do it yourself and only get advice and help, because social means social and can only come from the company itself. Often one does half to full position only for serious social media marketing sense.

!!! MAJOR changes January 2018 by Facebook and Instagram for companies (Pages on Facebook). Even fewer posts are displayed in the subscribers' news feed = less reach! If call-to-actions are used, visibility drops again! So far one of the biggest changes, announced by Mark Zuckerberg himself. !!! More information about this here . A detailed one contribution to the algorithm.

Social media agency and corresponding agency services

But what does a social media agency actually do and what are the agency services? Often in strategy, advice and help through to preparation. The information, content and the ultimate Content must come from the company itself.

The agency monitors, creates an editorial plan and, if necessary, schedules postings including evaluation and keywording. The social media agency itself can only act as well as the customer processes it and is social. Companies that work little publicly, are hardly visible or want to be visible are wrong in social networks. Managing directors without a network profile, board members and management positions without a social presence are NOT suitable for serious marketing via social channels.

Employees and entrepreneurs must work hand in hand openly and ideally report from everyday life, life and tasks/projects and "tell a story".

The Social Media Strategy – Social Media Marketing Definition

We often read about “the perfect social media strategy”. What nonsense, because every company is different and, above all, people are different. If I pay attention to the relevant target group, I can hardly make comparisons, let alone act in the same way.

The social media strategy starts with a goal broken down into milestones. Put simply: What do I want to achieve by when? Only when this has been clarified and defined can the target group be determined and an actual strategy developed.

At this point we would like to refer to the detailed article on Social media strategy planning with checklist and infographics. RECOMMENDATION for all those who are serious and want to use and build up social media: You can download a very understandable and yet in-depth online course as an audio book by Calvin Hollywood download here.

Social media advertising (purchase of advertising space)

Once we have defined the target group, the orientation and the channels, we then address users via paid advertising in social networks and portals. Social ads are not direct sales ads, but arouse interest, lead to interesting information or offer real added value. How so?

Social networks have received a lot of information about each profile. means social profiling Interests, geographic factors, possible acquaintances through to information that can be limited in terms of time and location are linked with the user and coordinated with one another.

Needs-based advertising expresses this complex topic quite simply and makes it clear what is at stake. But please don't forget the platform. Just because a woman likes to party, likes to wear high heels and is interested in fashion does not mean that she buys expensive brand name shoes, she needs access to a dating portal and is looking for a job as an event manager! BUT the assumption is close.

Important change in 2018: Facebook and thus also Instagram, have the beginning of 2018 again algorithm changed and show even fewer advertisements in the private area. That means: Exclusive placements = exclusively high prices. If you compare the click prices of the last 2 years, we are sometimes three times as high.

Conclusion: Social ads for acquisition often do not achieve such high conversions (contacts, sales, execution of campaigns) as Google Shopping, for example, but are an ideal channel for image building, efficient remarketing or for collecting user data.

Social media platforms and channels – the currently most well-known networks

• Facebook
  The world's largest social network has been suitable for private and commercial use for years and is increasingly becoming an advertising channel in B2C. Particularly targeted Remarketing can be implemented very well here. However, the benefit without advertising is demonstrably lower and private users are increasingly distancing themselves from the network or active use.
• Instagram
  Another product of facebook is Instagram. The pure image network is becoming more and more popular and is an interesting market for serious B2C, especially for companies with direct sales (online shopping). Stories, which are also possible on facebook, help to actively interact with interested parties and authentically point out campaigns and news.
• Twitter
  Often mentioned but never used, twitter is a network for editors, short messages and sharing links. The added value is manageable for companies and almost impossible to measure in B2C because it is too small. The possibility of uploading images and more text does not really improve the distribution and active user approach.
• Pinterest
  One of the largest image portals with user-generated Content is still not widespread in German-speaking countries. Only in B2C can sales be generated through the strict use of pins and parts. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether the effort and benefit are in relation.
  
• Snapchat
  "Video and away" describes the network best. Sustainability equal to zero and quickly throwing some information is everyday life here. Probably not the best combination for companies.
• Xing – business network
  If you want to make contacts in B2B, you should take action here. I am looking for and I offer help to assess the user before contacting them. Groups, insights and forum posts are fine, but cannot be compared to specialist forums. A lot is about link placement (often nofollow) and less about actual help. If Xing, then premium and then also seriously with 2-3 hours per week for the network. Also read: Content marketing at Xing
• LinkedIn
  International business network, which is not quite as widespread in Europe but has been growing rapidly since 2019. Advertising in the B2B area in particular is very promising.
• houzz.de – thematic network for everything to do with houses, interiors, life and design
  This network is a must for architects, trades involved in building houses and real estate. However, pay attention to high-quality pictures and clear and detailed descriptions. That's the only way it'll do anything. The "just do it" is similar to Xing not a good solution. If houzz.de, then also seriously with at least 1 hour per week.

Which social networks and social media platforms are there? = We will not go into other platforms in this article.

Social media monitoring

As with a website or an online shop, tracking should ALWAYS take place here. Most portals offer simple monitoring for business profiles. Similar to a CRM system, you would ideally like to know which user groups are interested in you when, where and why, so that you also know whether your strategy is successful and not just simply sales or sales Conversion evaluate! Free to paid programs for social monitoring help to develop the orientation and adjust it if necessary. We will not go into detail about monitoring at this point, as this only makes sense with a complete strategy, networking and seamless integration of a funnel.

Recent changes for companies in social networks

It all started everywhere with sorting by publication date. In 2015, facbeook started adapting the social stream individually to the user according to interest and orientation. A manipulation was and is to this day as good as impossible. The network determines when what is displayed where. This arose out of necessity, as more and more content was published due to increasing use and users no longer had a clear view!

This advantage for social interaction and the collection of "news" had a huge advantage for the private user but fatal consequences for companies, because the contributions and advertisements were also significantly fewer, reduced and displayed in a different place. Severe losses in visibility were and are the result. This condition continues to this day and has spread to almost all portals and networks.

In plain language, the apparently better target accuracy increases click and impression prices, decreases the ad frequency and Conversion decrease in most cases. But in remarketing, this algorithm helps enormously, since the already narrowly defined target group is addressed even more precisely (specifically).

Social media advertising is less interesting for acquiring new customers, but is ideally suited as a remarketing channel in the marketing mix!

Buying likes, followers - yes, no and what's the point

The topic of buying likes on Facebook and Instagram followers comes up again and again and more often. Often the answer is that it doesn't make sense in your case, but that's not always true. If the goal is mainly to build up an image and get a strong image effect right from the start, a purchase makes perfect sense. However, it should be noted that a regional expansion of reach is usually only possible in the long term. The organic reach often goes down sharply, since the purchased profiles often do not come from Germany and the DACH area. One of the largest providers for buying Instagram followers with the best selection can be found here: Buy Instagram followers

Alternatives and (better) ways for successful social media marketing (best practice)

Think about what you actually want to achieve. Define goals and target group. Only then do you choose a strategy, the portals and start coming up with ideas. Always make sure that the simple user can always answer the question "why" compellingly. Always, always keep the promise you make to the user on the social network through a post or an ad. Empty promises and hidden clauses are wrong here! Be social with the medium!

More information will follow soon...

How to properly use and deploy hashtags on Instagram

Read more here: https://onlinemarketing.de/news/instagram-hashtag-guide-2018

The most frequently asked questions about social media answered briefly and concisely

How many people use social media?
https://de.statista.com/themen/1842/soziale-netzwerke/

How many companies use social media?
https://de.statista.com/themen/2124/social-media-in-unternehmen/

Why Social Media for Business?
Depending on the size and focus, you can easily provide insights into your company and use it for marketing. When it comes to products, you also have a strong marketplace in social networks. The more honest, authentic and transparent it is, the better it is to use social media for oneself and thus generate sales.

Why Social Media (is important)?
It's hard to find a general answer here. So much to say that it should not be forgotten. However, 80% of the companies have more important construction sites.

Why Social Media Guidelines?
A uniform appearance is extremely important. This is especially true for social media!

Which social media platform is most important for companies?
Facebook and Instagram are must-haves, Xing is also suitable for networking and making contacts (if you are active). is international LinkedIn to be mentioned if necessary.

Social media: when to post?
Goal = B2C private customers: evenings from 17-21 p.m. and especially on Sundays (several times are welcome)
Goal = B2B business customers: Midday between 11 a.m. and 13 p.m. However, leave out Monday and send everything else in the afternoon.

What does social media cost?
Expect it to cost 3 to 5 times what you imagined. With the right care and strategy, the amount of work should not be underestimated and the prices for advertising and reach (visibility) increase almost monthly.

How do social networks make their money?
In 95% of cases, this is done by placing advertisements in the visible area. This can be integrated via advertising marketplaces such as Google AdSense and is usually commissioned and monetized per click. Likewise, the large portals usually have their own marketplace for booking ads = social media advertising.

CONCLUSION: Social media marketing, automation and agencies

Owing to algorithm-Adaptations, changes to the portals and changed ranges, targeted remarketing strategies remain on the rise and are becoming more and more established. Acquiring unknown (new) profiles is becoming more and more expensive, exclusive and difficult. Depending on the industry and orientation, Instagram is a little better suited for this than Facebook. If you look at the entire market of social networks, it remains exciting and the support for us as an agency is becoming more and more extensive and the fee has to increase as a result.

Own maintenance by the company is desirable and advisable, but only under guidance with the right handling and knowledge.
Online courses, webinars or seminars on social media can help here (as linked in the article).

SEO and SEA are and remain the most important point in the online marketing mix, because everyone googles, binges, geask, yahoot etc. 😉

Any questions? We certainly have the answers: