This document provides an overview of social media platforms for businesses including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, blogging and vlogging. It discusses the benefits each platform provides for marketing and promoting businesses as well as challenges faced in using each one. Key points covered include how social media helps build trust in brands, provides low-cost marketing, and gives customers behind-the-scenes access. The document concludes by outlining challenges all businesses face with social media usage and provides steps to create an effective social media strategy.

1. Social Media for business
A summary

2. What have we learnt so far?
● Facebook
● Twitter
● LinkedIn
● Pinterest
● Instagram
● Blogging and vlogging

3. How do businesses benefit from social media?
● Helps customers trust the brand
● Easy and (generally) free way to market the
business
● Enables small businesses and startups to
compete with the big guys
● Gives customers extra value e.g. behind the
scenes look

4. Facebook
Benefits of Facebook
● It’s the social network people tend to naturally spend
most of their time on
● No word/character limit (although shorter posts are
more successful)
● Brands on Facebook are seen as more trustworthy
● Easier to remove abusive comments
Challenges of Facebook
● Having to pay to reach your audience
● People don’t like being sold to on Facebook

5. Twitter
Benefits of Twitter
● Quick and simple to use
● You can send more than a couple of tweets a
day
● You don’t need to pay to be seen by your
current audience
Challenges of Twitter
● Tweets can be missed easily in a busy
timeline
● More problems with spam/trolls
● You can’t moderate what people are saying

6. Pinterest
Benefits of Pinterest
● Images are key in social media now, and
Pinterest is a great way to find them
● Great way to collect together groups of
content/images or look for inspiration
● Easy content
Challenges of Pinterest
● It can be a time suck (although you can now
schedule pins)
● It’s mainly aimed at women, so not ideal for
all markets

7. Instagram
Benefits of Instagram
● It’s where you guys are! More young people
follow brands on Instagram than any other
social network
● It’s an easy way to create quick content
● It gives customers a behind the scenes look
at your business
Challenges of Instagram
● Like all social networks, it needs to be
updated regularly to be effective

8. Blogging and Vlogging
Benefits of Blogging and Vlogging
● It’s a great way to create regular traffic to your
site (which is great for SEO - search engine
optimisation).
● It gives people an insight into your business
● It helps establish a reputation as a market
expert
Challenges of Blogging and Vlogging
● Time consuming
● It can be tricky to persuade someone to vlog
for your company

9. Challenges businesses face with social media
● Time
● Resources
● Skills
● Content ideas
● Making the wrong move - #susanalbumparty
● Not having a strategy

10. Creating a social media strategy
● Identify objectives
● Identify target customers
● Audit the competition
● Choose your social media accounts
● Create a content plan
● Get sharing!

11. Your task
In groups of 2-3, create a social media
strategy for Quest Professional for
June, using the document in the link
you’ll be sent.