Which Social Media Sites do your marine industry clients frequent?

Social Media sites are popping up almost daily and it is impossible for you to post to all of them. How do you decide which ones to use?

Firstly, you need to define your market. Sometimes it is easier to do this by drawing your customer and building a picture. Where do they hang out? What type of friends do they have? Are they mainly men? How old are they? What are they interested in? Where do they live?

Building a profile for 3 or 4 types of customers you already attract and want to attract. You might uncover a new market. When you have these profiles, add to each one the social media sites you think they might be active on by using the guide here:

• Facebook users are more or less equal gender-wise. Although the largest numbers fall into the 20 – 29 age bracket, the majority of users are between 20 and 49. However, with approximately 75% of people who are online registered on Facebook, I would suggest that most of your customers will be Facebook users. Over 1 billion people log on daily and the average user will check their timeline up to 14 times a day. If you are selling to individuals rather than businesses, you need to have a Facebook page.

• Twitter is like marmite, you either love it or hate it, but with 320 million active users it is not to be ignored. The marine industry and particularly the yachting world are well represented on Twitter. News and tips can be quickly distributed to the masses. Slightly more Twitter users are women and the average active user will check their account at least twice a day.

• Linkedin represents the business world and the average user will earn more than twice that of the average Facebook user and will more likely be over 35 years old. If you are selling to other businesses or offer services such as vocational training you need to be here.

• Youtube – If you have video content, you should have a youtube account. Even if you do not have video content, you could develop your own niche channel around a particular subject which would attract subscribers. The yachting industry, in particular, produces a vast amount of superb video content.

• Pinterest is for ideas and creativity. 80% of users are female looking for ideas for baking, decorating, holidays and much more. If your product or services are linked to maintenance, DIY, how to guides or interior design you might consider Pinterest.

• Instagram, this is no longer the site solely for the youth, although the majority of its users are under 35. It is one of the fastest growing channels and is owned by Facebook. I would not underestimate the marketing potential here and would suggest that if you have good imagery to share regularly, you should have an account. How many of you wish you had jumped on the Facebook bandwagon early and benefited from growing a huge following without spending money on ads? Well, it is not too late with Instagram.

As you know there are many more social media sites but these are the ones I would consider for the marine industry. Most small to medium sized businesses do not have the time to dedicate to all these channels, therefore I would suggest doing 3 or 4 really well rather than being inconsistent with all of them. It is also important to tailor your content to meet the requirements of the users on each channel.

SPC Marine Marketing can help with your social media management or coach you to do it much more effectively. We offer a FREE initial telephone consultation so don't be afraid to give us a call and ask all those questions you need to be answered.