Social Media sites are now a part of the daily lives of each individual. One couldn’t go a day without it. It’s our source of information, news, entertainment and communication. Another known use of social media is for marketing of businesses. If you are one of the millions of business owners who use social media to market their brand, you have to know the platforms that most of your customers use. That will allow you to better plan your marketing strategy in order to target the right audiences.
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On this article, let’s get to know the top Social Networking Site that most Australians use. The data are from SocialMediaNews.com.au and the Sensis Social Media Report. Get your notepad up and start taking down notes.

1. Facebook
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This is no surprise. Facebook is widely used because it allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and videos, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Also, the site is available in 37 different languages and it includes a ton of useful features. That said, it’s not surprising that it actually get to have around 17,000,000 monthly unique Australian visitors.

Did you know that there are about two billion Facebook users worldwide making it the most well-known social media site? From that two billion, around 17 million are Australians. That is more than 70% of the Australian population.
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In addition Facebook is the most popular social media site for businesses, with between 79% and 89% of Australian businesses having a Facebook account. That is very practical because 95% of Australians who use social media sites have an active account on Facebook. 

2. YouTube
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The most popular social media video platform is YouTube and in Australia alone, it has 15,100,000 monthly visitors and that is more than half of the population. Videos are highly engaging and that is why business owners are taking advantage of this chance to get their brand message and value across to their consumers.
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Around 41% of large businesses have YouTube accounts featuring their own branded content. They utilize the power of YouTube videos to hold the attention of people in order to engage them into buying their brand.

3. WordPress.com
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Australians love following their favorite bloggers and discovering new contents. How else can they get access to all these? Well, WordPress is one platform to turn to. The site hosts 5,100,000 monthly visitors from Australia. Because of this it’s no doubt that business owners turn to WordPress to  publish more in-depth information about their brand. This is a perfect place to thoroughly discuss information about their product and services. This is user-friendly and free. Thus making it perfect for those who are just starting small businesses.

One in five people has an Instagram account and it’s undeniably the most well-known image sharing site. With 5,000,000 monthly active visitors it’s truly loved by Australians! Instagram is most used by younger people aged 18-29.
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This is mostly useful for businesses that target the younger generation and those that need to show their products through images such those who are managing social media for restaurants. People are more convinced if they see the actual image of the product that they will buy. It also serves as an assurance of what they will get.

5. Snapchat
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 If there is a social media app that became an instant star that would be Snapchat. With 4,000,000 daily visitors in Australia, it is considered the fastest growing social media app. It gained from 15% to 22% new user from last year. One in six people use the app every day. With these numbers, Facebook supposedly offered to buy the start-up for $3 billion but Snapchat declined. This app is useful to share visual content that disintegrates shortly after viewing.

6. LinkedIn
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The more professional side of social media is represented by LinkedIn. According to Sensis, more than half of medium and large sized businesses use LinkedIn. With its features to allow you to keep in touch with former colleagues, build business networks and share industry updates, the site earns about 4,000,000 monthly visitors in Australia and that is steadily increasing. This is a perfect site to build networks and connections. You can also use it in finding best influencers for your business.

7. Tumblr
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Tumbler is a micro-blogging site that is very popular to the younger public. Is has about 3,900,000 Australian visitors monthly. This site is particularly helpful in targeting audiences who needs more information but not too much. With its unique style of blogging, it appeals to more youngsters. It’s best for businesses that target this age group.

8. WhatsApp
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The nest app is ‘in’ for those who use social media for communication and keeping in touch. WhatsApp is an instant messenger with 3,100,000 active users in Australia. With this record though, it still isn’t at par with the number of users of Facebook Messenger although it has been recorded to be bought by Facebook for $22 billion in 2014.

9. Twitter

In Australia, 19% of social media users visit Twitter regularly. It has 3,000,000 monthly active users. With this stats though, it is already becoming less popular in the country compared to its growth over the past two years – up from 2.8m in mid-2015.
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This site is more popular among businesses with 43% of medium-sized companies and 61% of large businesses maintaining accounts. Also, 21% of Australian Twitter users follow a brand or business making it a great avenue to advertise brands.

​This trusted site is a host to 2,600,000 monthly visitors in Australia. It is known for great information and tips for those who love to travel. It’s also used check out local businesses. This is trusted because of its organic reviews from users. This is extremely useful for small businesses that has locations found on tourists spots.

​With all these information on what social media sites are loved by Australians, business owners should make a plan on what they would be using as a platform to promote their business. They need to make sure their content marketing strategy can effectively cover all these relevant bases for their target audience.

​In order to ace targeting these audiences in their respective niche, make sure to seek help from skilled social media promoter. They know very well how to handle your target audience.

Facebook being the most widely used social media platform, it’s no doubt that many consumers utilize it to make purchasing decisions. It’s in fact on top of Social Networking Site that most Australians use. As a result, many business owners also utilize it to influence their followers’ buying behavior. So, is your business getting the best results with the use of Facebook’s key features for marketers?
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​If you think, you are still using Facebook for its superficial features; this article will surely be a revelation for you. Read on and discover the secret Facebook features that you will impress you!

​If you are using Facebook to promote your business, you probably have already created a Facebook page by now. Here are the features for Facebook page management:

​You just got to access your list of fans to get to know who the real followers are and who the bots are. To manage your fan list, just go to your page settings, click on “Banned Users” on the left sidebar. Then, click on the menu that says “Banned" to reveal the dropdown menu. Click on “People Who Like This”.

​Notifications are there for a reason. Without it, you might miss important comments or shares that require your attention and response. However, you’ve surely felt it’s overwhelming sometimes most especially if you are managing many pages or if you are running campaign ads. Thus, it’s essential to mark your notification as read. All you need to do is go to your page settings and click on “Mark all notifications as read” on the top right corner!

Post Attribution Settings
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​Personal or as page admin? Regardless if you’re new in social media management or you are a pro, you surely have had posted, commented or liked with the wrong identity. Here is where Page Attribution settings come in. You have to assign what identity will be used as default on each of your device. To set it up go to your Page settings, click on “Post Attribution” on the left sidebar. Then simply choose your preferred default identity.

Filter Page Posts
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​Perhaps at one time, you wanted to retrieve something you have posted in the past. You probably know that you can find it Activity Log but digging into it is too much of an effort and time to be wasted. Well, worry no more because to help you find that post, you can filter the posts based on the type of post you are looking for. The ability to filter your Page Posts by post type will save you a ton of time and effort. You can filter page posts as Image posts, Video posts, Posts marked as spam, Your posts, Comments, Posts by others, Questions, Notes, Events or Offers. To do it, simply click on “Activity Log” on the left sidebar of your Page settings and choose the appropriate post type.

You are doing social media management right if you are also using it for ad management. Facebook ads are one of the greatest ways to reach your target market. Of course, there are also Facebook key features in ad management that you should know.

​There are page managers who don’t want to settle with clearing notifications but instead, they want it all stopped or they want some of the notifications stopped. If you are one of them, there is a way to set that up. First, go to Facebook ads manager and click on “Settings” in the left sidebar. Next, scroll down to the Ads Emails Notifications section. You can choose which notifications you want to receive or if you don’t want to receive them all just don’t tick all the options. 

Have you noticed the Relevance score under the ad analytic tool? The visibility of these figures should help you ensure ads are delivered to the right audiences and it serves as a tool for you to improve ROI. Relevance scores also let you pilot test new ad creatives giving you a leeway to see if it’s worth the budget. Finally, Relevance score can improve your ad visibility in the future compared to others. That means lowering the cost of reaching to your audiences. To see if you already have this feature, go to Ads Manager and click on “Campaigns” on the left sidebar. Click on your Campaign name and go into the ad set and look at the 5th column from the right.

​Getting at par or even better than your competitors is another great use of Facebook key features. Get to know how you can use them to improve performance and be on top of the game.

Monitoring your closest competitor’s content has never been so convenient. You can see top posts from pages you watch within Facebook Insights. To do this, go to Facebook Insights and click on the “Posts” tab. Next, click on “Top Posts from Pages You Watch". You should be able to find it there.

​Did you know that you can actually download your whole Facebook History to analyze your business? This allows you to review all the posts, photos, and videos you’ve shared, recover your messages and chat conversations, get past info from the About section of your profile, see all the ads you’ve clicked on, find historical data, like the IP addresses recorded when you log into and out of Facebook, and Pull up facial recognition data. There are enormous things you can do with these data and it’s easy to do. First, go to your settings. Then, click on “Download a copy”. Just wait for an email when your archive is ready to download.

Did you know that you can actually download your whole Facebook History to analyze your business? This allows you to review all the posts, photos, and videos you’ve shared, recover your messages and chat conversations, get past info from the About section of your profile, see all the ads you’ve clicked on, find historical data, like the IP addresses recorded when you log into and out of Facebook, and Pull up facial recognition data. There are enormous things you can do with these data and it’s easy to do. First, go to your settings. Then, click on “Download a copy”. Just wait for an email when your archive is ready to download.

These are only few of the simple Facebook key features that are extremely useful in getting greater ROI but are not often used. This is actually how you can start making sales from your social media account. Make sure to use them moving forward to ensure easier Facebook management and profit earning!

If you want a guaranteed success in the Facebook space, make sure to contact a social media management specialist to do the job while you try to familiarize yourself with it!

Tight competition. Diverse audiences. Varied platforms. These are only few of the challenges you have to face if you are using social media for your marketing strategies. However, with all the benefits social media can bring to businesses, this couldn’t just be disregarded if you want your business to thrive. Now if you want to succeed within the social space, you have to be guided with these golden rules.

1. Know Your Purpose and Focus on It

You have to make sure that you know what you want to achieve when starting your social media marketing. Is it to introduce your business to the public? Is it to get more loyal customers? Is it to send new messages and establish new image? You have to determine your purpose and design your social media marketing strategy based on your purpose.

You have to make sure that you follow this strategy and keep in mind your purpose regardless of what may come your way. With the consistent changes in this medium, new things and trends come every time. That doesn’t mean that you have to use and follow these trends. Ignore them if it won’t help you achieve your purpose.

2. Only Publish Quality Content and Regularly Update It

“Content is King” is an overrated phrase in the social media world. However, as common as it sounds, it’s also that important. What you post on your social media pages is what people will perceive about your brand. It takes good research and well-thought-of writing strategy for this. Without quality content, your strategy will never be a success.

You also need to know the 80/20 rule wherein what you are writing and posting should not be recognized as marketing posts. 80% of your posts should not be promotional. Write about trivia, motivational messages and entertainments.

Aside from writing quality content, you have to make sure that you also post regularly. Varied quality contents will assure you that your followers will see your posts and in that way, you will be able to give your message and achieve your purpose.

3. Connect and Link

Although there is competition in social media, you need to know how to connect with influencers. Choosing the right influencers and those of the same purpose as you are, is the key to more followers who will likely turn to loyal customers. If you have successfully connected with these influencers, you will thrive in your social media marketing.

You also need to link to relevant articles that would add to your quality content. You don’t need to own all the contents of your social media pages. You are always allowed to share contents from others. That would also build connections to influencers and other followers.

4. Give Due Credit
Since we mentioned that you can share other’s work, let’s not forget to give credit to the author of the content. Giving proper attribution could be done by tagging the writer or linking back to the article. You don’t want to be involved into law cases just because you copied content without authorization or crediting.

5. Observe, Research and Be Patient

If you are starting your social media marketing, it is really important to observe how things are done and what the effective strategies are. You have to pay attention to your customers and observe their behaviors. You have to pay attention to competitors to know their strengths and weaknesses. You have to pay attention to the platform you are using. Doing this step gives you data to work on.

You have to make a thorough research on what you have observed. The data you’ve gathered is important to know how you can strategize your own social media marketing strategy. This won’t be easy and quick so you also need to have patience. You will be required to give more time and effort. Just be patient and continue the work.

6. Cross Promote

​Your target audiences are found not in just a single social media platform but on across all these social media spaces. You have to share your content across multiple channels. In doing this strategy, you have to make sure that your content is appropriate to the platform you are using. You have to understand that what is a great content in Facebook may not necessarily elicit the same response on Twitter. You have to make sure that while you are targeting more audiences across social media platforms, you are also sharing the right content.

7. Utilize Hashtags properly

Hashtags has been used to reach a broader audience who are looking for that tag or keyword. This is also a way to make your post appear on trending topics. Just as important as using Hashtags is not overusing it. Limit your Hashtags to a number that is needed to include relevant keywords. You can check the Hashtags used by competitors to see what tags are working for them.

8. Ask Questions and Host Contest

Get more participation on your page by getting people involved on answering questions and joining contests. This is not just to get followers engaged but also it lets you hear their opinions on your business. This allows you to establish a meaningful connection with them. Knowing how to host a social media contest is an exciting way to get more followers by having them share it with their friends.

9. Check and Monitor

Make sure that you have set a way to monitor your social media channels. There are varied tools and software that you can download and use. You have to monitor what contents are appealing to your followers so that you will know what kind of content to focus on in the future. This also includes making sure to respond to comments, messages and questions. It would also help to have regular reports of how many followers you have gained to check if this actually resulted to better sales.

10. There is No Single Rule That Applies to All

With the constant change in social media and marketing itself, it’s important to understand that there is no single rule to follow. What works for one business will definitely not work to all other businesses. As a business, you have to figure out what is best for your own business and what sells to your customers. You need to keep in mind that you can’t work on social media marketing overnight. It’s a long term process so you need to discover what would work for you.

Now, you are equipped with the rules to successful social media marketing, you now need to know when to follow and when to bend the rules. If you want to make sure you are doing it right, a versed social media management team can surely help you.

Since our younger years, we’ve been exposed to different brand contests in TV, radio, newspapers and magazines. With the new era of the web, it’s undeniably a new way to introduce new brands and engage old customers to brands and businesses. With the popularity of social media, it’s one popular platform that fuels these contests. Keep in mind though that conducting a contest through social media is more than just posting and drawing a winner?
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Before launching a contest, you need to know why a social media expert is necessary to consult. They can discuss some things with you first before you take any step. After that, you will understand more the things that make a social media contest successful.

​Why are you going to conduct this contest?

Of course, you first have to determine your purpose of launching the contest or else you might just be giving away prizes with nothing to gain. You may come up with one or two goals for the contest and then pattern your contest around these goals.

Since you will be using social media to conduct your contest, you have to be amenable to follow their Terms of Service. Considering the different forms of social media, you have to know that there are certain terms of service for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others! Not knowing their rules might result to your contest being taking down even before it has done its purpose.

​After you have set your goal and studied the terms on the platform that you will use, it’s time to decide what kind of contest to run. Consider what type of contest will help you achieve the goal best and what will not go against the terms of the social media platform. Make sure that you research if the kind of contest you will run had been successful in the past in achieving the same purpose.

It is important to establish what to do on particular dates and schedule every step that will be taken in launching your contest. Mark deadlines! When will be the announcement of the contest? When will the contest start? When will be the announcement of winners? All these must be marked on the calendar.
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This will attract more participants as they would know what are the dates to look forward to. This will also give a sense of urgency to participate on your contest. Make sure to use scheduling tools to post your contests on ‘high time’.

What it is that attracts participants on your contest? Definitely the PRIZES! Make sure that the prizes you will be giving are appealing to your target market. No matter how well you have thought of the mechanics of the contest, if the prizes are not worth it, who will take time to join?
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Give a little more than just the grand prize. Adding consolation prizes are also great way to attract more participants. Making them feel that there is a higher chance of getting something other than the grand prize is worth it.

The most common way to promote your contest is to make social media posters and images. Make sure to have an excellent combination of pictures and content. Make it interesting and catchy. Do a good research on how to make this.

Using a Hashtag that relates to your contest and brand would also be useful to make it known on the chosen platform. Use the power of Hashtags! This is used to attract more attention and make your contest trending.
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Above all these promotions of the contest make sure that your BRAND is known. Include your logo on the images and your brand name on the Hashtags. This will ensure that your brand is getting the exposure while your contest gets famous.

Make it Easy to Join
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It should be easy to join your contest. Do not require too much fields to fill in or too many pages to complete. If possible, limit the steps of joining to 5 steps!
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A part of making it easy to join in is to make it visible to mobile users. That means getting the page mobile-friendly. We can’t deny that most people browse social media through mobile.

Customer Experience
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​This will likely determine if the contest participant will be continuing making business with you even after the contest. This is a great avenue for you to show how you treat customers and how quickly respond to queries.

Countdown
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This is one effective way to attract more participants to your contest. It makes them feel that the contest will soon end and if they don’t join now, they might miss the great prizes that you are offering. 

Measure!
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After the contest, make sure that you have the numbers. You should have the statistics of how many joined and if you really achieved the target goal. Were you able to gain the number of followers you want? Were you able to make the number of sales you targeted? This is the way to determine if your contest was actually a success. You have to find out what are the things that went well and what are the opportunities of the first one. 

Use these numbers are your basis for your next contests. After your first contest, you should earn more customers and you should be able to engage your existing customers. You surely would have discovered more about your market which is essential for your other marketing strategies. Loyal customers also mean that by the power of word of mouth, you will get free marketing from them.
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Keep in mind that a contest is a great social marketing strategy but you have to do it properly. You still need to apply the Golden Rules to Successful Social Media Marketing. If you need a hand in doing it make sure to keep in touch with a trained social media management guru.

Social Media Management is the most influential option for the modern consumers for the process of purchase-decision-making. The importance of that process is increasing globally day by day. We can call it the new era, the smartphone era. The new trendy and innovative features of smartphones are altering steadily and slowly the choices and habits of the consumers in every single day. 

​Social media management is a new bee of the corporate world but it is too much important to enhance the brand value of a company or a product. You may be the best in your market, may be your products are also the best but how will the world know about that? The answer is media. You need to promote your brand on various media. In these days, most powerful media is, of course, the social media. Our generation is social media addicted and they spent most of their time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube etc and it is the most trusted and bigger platform to promote a brand.

​To plan the social media marketing strategies, every entrepreneur needs to hire a professional from quality but Affordable Social Media Agency. They will guide you to get the right traffic for your offline or online business.  It is more than obvious now to hire them but it is difficult to find out the best Social Media Management Agency in Sydney as there are a lot of options. 

​While you are hiring a social media agency for your brand the first thing you need to consider is the service rate or charge of the agency. So here are some procedures, you can practice before hiring that. 

​Campaigning on social media and getting the prospective client from that is not an easy task actually. If you are not experienced, you need the experts to assist you. But the rate for the job will depend on the service genres they provide. So at first make a lay out of your necessity and ask for the quote from the Social Media Management Agency in Sydney. Every good agency comes with the available quotes online or offline. So you can compare the rate with others before having it. ​

Go For Demo Consultancy
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​Most of the renowned Affordable Social Media Agency Offers a demo consultancy session for their clients, free of cost. This is to understand their work techniques, policies, strategies and the budget for the particular project also. With this process, one can understand that how much pocket-friendly is their social media marketing agency and they can also compare the cost with other agencies of the market.