And: Is it better to do social media yourself or is it better to hire an agency?

In this article, you will find out why companies should use social media for their purposes, which social media channels are relevant and how they differ. 

There are many good reasons for small and medium-sized enterprises to be present on social media. Social media can help to raise the company's profile, build customer relationships or help to attract new employees. However, it is important to consider whether it makes sense to run social media yourself or to commission an agency to do so. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages.

On the one hand, it can be a good way to get in touch with your customers and receive feedback on your products or services if you use social media yourself. It's also a cost-effective way to promote your business. However, social media requires a lot of time and effort to be successful. Additionally, you needed knowledge on how to use the different platforms and tools. If you don't have the time or expertise to take care of social media yourself, it's better to hire an agency.

"The question is not whether social media necessarily brings a return on investment (ROI). The question is whether a company can afford not to be active on social media. Social media is a great way to connect with customers, get feedback on your products or services or attract new employees. It's also a cost-effective way to promote your business."

Luca Siebel, Digital Marketing Manager

The most important social media platforms for companies at a glance:

The importance of Facebook for companies

Facebook is one of the most popular social networks with over 2 billion users worldwide. On Facebook, companies can create a page where they can advertise their products or services. Facebook is a great way to connect with customers and build a community around your business.

Facebook Ads and Lead Ads are a great way to reach more customers on Facebook. Facebook ads allow companies to target specific audiences with their ads. The target groups can be defined very specifically on Facebook according to interests, demographic characteristics and behavior. This avoids wastage and unnecessary costs. Companies can also use lead ads to collect leads (contacts) directly on Facebook.

Facebook also offers Facebook Insights, which companies can use to track the performance of their Facebook page.

The importance of Instagram for companies

Instagram is a popular social network for sharing photos with over 800 million users. It is a great platform for businesses to share photos and videos of their products or services. Instagram Stories allows businesses to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. This is an extremely popular way to share behind-the-scenes content or promote special offers.

Instagram Ads are used to reach more potential customers at a manageable cost. Companies can address specific target groups with Instagram Ads.

Instagram lead ads are ads with an integrated contact form. They are used to acquire new contacts (leads) directly on the platform. You therefore do not need a landing page or a website for this.

To measure performance, Instagram offers Insights, which companies can use to track the performance of their Instagram account.

The importance of LinkedIn for companies

LinkedIn is a business social network with over 500 million users. The platform is a great way to connect with other professionals in your industry, find new leads and build relationships with potential customers. LinkedIn also gives companies the opportunity to create their own company page.

To reach a specific audience on the platform, you can run LinkedIn Ads. With LinkedIn Ads, you can target people according to their job title, company size or other factors. In addition, LinkedIn offers lead ads (ads with an integrated form) to generate contacts directly on the platform. There is therefore no need to redirect to a landing page or website.

LinkedIn offers a number of ways for companies to measure the performance of their LinkedIn page. These include LinkedIn Page Insights, which companies can use to track the performance of their LinkedIn page.

The importance of Twitter for companies

Twitter is a microblogging social network with over 300 million users. It's a great platform for businesses to share news and updates about their products or services. Twitter is a great way to connect with customers and build a community around your business.

Twitter also offers Twitter Ads. With Twitter Ads, companies can target their ads to specific target groups. These can be defined according to interests, demographic characteristics and behavior. Twitter also offers "Promoted Tweets", which companies can use to make their tweets accessible to a wider audience.

To measure the performance of your Twitter account, Twitter offers Twitter Analytics. This allows companies to track the engagement of their tweets as well as the number of impressions and clicks.

The importance of TikTok for companies

TikTok is a social video sharing network with over 500 million users. It is a great platform for businesses to share short videos about their products or services. TikTok also offers a range of features that businesses can use to reach a wider audience. These include hashtags, trending topics and duets. TikTok Duets are used to generate more reach.

TikTok Duets are two videos that are played side by side. One is the original video and the other is a video created by someone else in response to the original. For example, a company could publish a video about one of its products. Another user could then create a video with the same audio but with their own visuals. This would then be a duet.

To measure the performance of your TikTok account, TikTok offers TikTok Insights. This allows companies to track the number of views, likes and comments on their videos.

The importance of YouTube for companies

YouTube is a popular social network for sharing videos with over 1 billion users. It is a great platform for businesses to share videos about their products or services. YouTube also offers a range of features that businesses can use to reach a wider audience.

YouTube ads allow companies to define specific target groups and reach them on YouTube. For example, companies can target people according to their interests or demographic characteristics. YouTube also offers "TrueView" ads, which are skippable ads that appear before or during a video.

YouTube Insights allows companies to track the performance of their YouTube page. Insights provides information about the number of views, likes and comments on videos as well as the number of subscribers.

Conclusion:

Social media is a great way for companies to connect with customers and build a community around their products or services. It can also be used to generate leads and sales.

An agency can help you build a strong social media presence and give you expert advice on how to use social media. They can also give you expert advice on how to use social media to achieve your business goals.

Ultimately, the decision of whether to run social media yourself or hire an agency depends on your needs and resources. If you have the time and resources to run social media yourself, then you should do it. But if you don't have the time or expertise, you should hire an agency.

Our tip for companies that want to run social media professionally:

Concentrate your activities on one channel. Trying to be everywhere at once is not only costly but also ineffective. The platform you choose should be tailored to the company's target audience, sector and goals. For example, if you want to target businesses, you should focus on LinkedIn. The most important thing is to be where your target audience is and create content that is relevant to their audience.

Talk to a social media expert to get customized advice for your business.