GB Marketing Enterprise believes that social media is either misused or underused in business, and offers insight into creating a valuable marketing tool.

Social media is a valuable marketing tool when used correctly. A platform to create exposure and encourage customer engagement in a single space should never be overlooked, believes GB Marketing Enterprise. A lack of understanding appears to be the main issue, and with all marketing strategies, tailoring is required to suit a campaign or business model.

It is important for businesses to identify all social media platforms and their specific markets that they attract. For example, a LinkedIn network would not use the same approach as a Facebook strategy but both hold advantages for business use. Factors to consider when targeting a specific platform include:

• Age of active platform users – For example the strongest category for this site is adults aged 18–29, as 87% of this age group use Facebook.
• Location demographics – Understanding platform dominance in a location is crucial for budget allocation.
• Income demographics – One important thing to consider is the income level of various segment targets.
• Gender demographics –Which platform holds gender dominance? Twitter holds a dominance on male foot flow over social media platforms. 24% of adult men use Twitter.

GB Marketing Enterprise believes that all SMEs can benefit from using social media to assist customer engagement. With the increasing need for the consumer to feel heard, and feel included in the brands they select, it is an effective tool for marketers. By understanding both the consumer and the platform it can be an essential tool to take a business to the next level. The data required to select the correct platform or to achieve optimal results is available online for all to use.