In this weeks series of daily videos, Nicola covers the answers to some of the biggest questions she gets asked about social media marketing for business. From why you should be thinking about social media marketing in the first place, through to how to tell if your social media marketing is working.

Clicks And Leads is a "tongue in cheek" digital marketing Vzine by entrepreneur, author, podcaster, speaker, Nicola Cairncross.

Mentioned In The Vzine

Stoupa

Own It! The Podcast

NicolaCairncross.com/blog

On the blog

Core Needs

When Email Dies

Different Buckets

Core Values

Go To Give

Your Emergency Fund

Kolbe A Index

Own It! 210 | Replacing Your Trusted VA

Own It! 209 | 2019: Planning for a New Year

Vzine 84 | Living With Uncertainty

Vzine 83 | Self Awareness

Prefer to read?

Hi, Nicola here and I just wanted to show you that I was back in Stoupa and what the beach looks like with no sunbeds at all. It's all very strangely empty. But it's lovely and sunny, it's the middle of January and I've just spent the whole last hour or so sitting outside in the sunshine, which is why I'm probably looking a bit pink.

But anyway I wanted to welcome you back and let's get on with the show, shall we.

The first question that I see a lot is what is social media marketing?

It's a way of getting closer to your customers. It's a way of building a relationship with your customers or your potential future customers indeed. It's a way of people getting to know, like and trust you, over your competition. And it's a way of attracting people to you that like your style. It's a way of sharing information about your business that makes your business more relatable, less business-like, more personable.

In conclusion, social media marketing is a lot of different things, but essentially it's a way of creating a relationship with your potential future customers. It's a way of maintaining your relationship with your existing customers and it's a way of hopefully attracting back your previous customers.

Why use social media marketing at all?

The Millennial generation are growing up without having any interest in using email whatsoever. So you've got to find a way to get in front of that huge potential market, before they get to the age where they're the main buyers. And that's only a few years away.

If they don't use email, and they don't respond to advertising and they don't look at magazines, and if they get all their news from YouTube and Facebook, you've got to find a way of getting your business in front of them in a natural, non-pushy way.

So as you can see, it's really crucial that you learn how to use social media marketing, so that when your potential future market reaches the age when they become the biggest buying group, your business isn't invisible to them. And there are lots of easy, inexpensive, fun ways of doing that. You've just got to get your head around it.

People ask me, which social media platform should I use?

It all depends on which social media platform you use yourself. It depends on which social media platform your potential future customers will use. And it depends which one lends itself better to the kind of social media marketing you're going to be doing.

You've got to keep flexible and you've got to keep trying the new platforms as they come out. Some will resonate with your more than others. I concentrated much more on Facebook and on YouTube, never been really into Pinterest, so I think you've got to actually be using some of these platforms yourself as a human being, but don't discount a social media platform just because you don't like using it, if you hear about other people using it.

You don't want to be left behind, do you.

What format should you use?

Should you be using pictures, should you be using long form written format, should you be using video? The whole world seems to be going video crazy right now.