{"id":27975,"date":"2020-06-12T07:37:33","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T14:37:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paladinpointofsale.com\/retailscience\/?p=27975"},"modified":"2025-09-22T15:18:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T22:18:17","slug":"social-media-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paladinpointofsale.com\/retailscience\/home\/social-media-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Social Media Marketing Work for You"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_post_title meta=”off” featured_placement=”background” _builder_version=”4.16″ title_font=”|700||on|||||” title_text_color=”#FFFFFF” title_font_size=”30px” background_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0)” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”0px||” custom_padding=”15%||15%” title_text_shadow_style=”preset2″ text_shadow_style=”preset2″ parallax_effect=”on” module_bg_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0)” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_post_title][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.18.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

It\u2019s safe to say that\u00a0<\/span>the lessons learned from the global health and economic crisis ha<\/span>ve<\/span>\u00a0taught\u00a0<\/span>society that social media is much deeper\u00a0<\/span>and more important than cute cat videos, \u201cliking\u201d a friend\u2019s latest post, or\u00a0<\/span>discovering what the \u201cinfluencers\u201d have to say. When our\u00a0<\/span>world\u00a0<\/span>shut down to prevent\u00a0<\/span>the spread of the novel coronavirus, people\u00a0<\/span>everywhere\u00a0<\/span>turned to social media and the internet to learn, shop<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>communicate<\/span>\u00a0with friends<\/span>, and i<\/span>n doing so demonstrated how important social media marketing can be to any business.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When\u00a0<\/span>societies\u00a0<\/span>shut down, people worked from home, avoided public interaction<\/span>, and chatted with friends on their smartphones rather than in person, social media\u00a0<\/span>filled the void.<\/span>\u00a0The U<\/span>.<\/span>S<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Social Media Us<\/span>age report from\u00a0<\/span>eMarketer<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>shows that the average U.S. citizen increased their time on social media by 7 minutes per day<\/span>\u00a0and the time spent mobile messaging will grow\u00a0<\/span>this year\u00a0<\/span>to 24 minutes per day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>That\u2019s an increasingly large captive audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post-pandemic Retail ” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Socially Acceptable\u00a0<\/h2>\n

\u201cWith social media, a lot of it can be very broad<\/span>–<\/span>reaching a wide audience. But a lot of it can be very specific and targeted,\u201d says\u00a0<\/span>Elty<\/span>\u00a0McMillan,\u00a0<\/span>digital marketing specialist at Paladin Data Corporation, a leading provider of retail technology to independent businesses. \u201cUnderstanding how each platform is used is going to give you a leg up\u00a0<\/span>on how you use and present your content.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Approximately 3.5 billion people in the world use social media in some form. And for those of you who think it\u2019s a young person\u2019s platform, 48% of those people are\u00a0<\/span>Baby Boomers \u2013 those born between 1946 and 1964<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Facebook is the boomers\u2019 platform of choice<\/span>\u00a0in this demographic with Pinterest, a good place to post photos of children or grandchildren, a distant second.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne rule of thumb when considering social media marketing is \u2018Follow the baby pictures,\u2019\u201d McMillan says. \u201cPeople will always follow wherever the baby pictures are.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook and Instagram are the top two choices for\u00a0<\/span>Generation X \u2013 born between 1965 and 1980 \u2013 a<\/span>nd millennials \u2013 born between 1981 and 1996.<\/span>\u00a0These numbers show the power of Facebook and how many people the platform can reach.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Millennials\u00a0<\/span>in April 2020 passed Baby Boomers as the largest generation by population making them the\u00a0<\/span>top target of advertising and marketing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"AHow to Use Social Media\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the unique aspects of social media is that it can be used, essentially at no cost, to<\/span>\u00a0market your business.<\/span>\u00a0All social media platforms have\u00a0<\/span>simple<\/span>\u00a0instructions to follow to set up pages and accounts. How you use them is\u00a0<\/span>up to the individual owners.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

McMillan says businesses can use their social media sites to post content\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>\u00a0grow a community of followers \u2013\u00a0<\/span>\u201cshoppers\u201d or \u201ccustomers\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u2013<\/span>\u00a0and it can be used like any other media\u00a0<\/span>platform\u00a0<\/span>by posting paid advertisements\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0are targeted at increasing sales and brand awareness.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Digital Marketing Institute says content should include anything that attracts attention. It should en<\/span>tice<\/span>\u00a0followers to\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>like,<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0comment\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>share content from your\u00a0<\/span>p<\/span>age<\/span>s<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n