How to create an online strategy?
Social networks are booming and continue to evolve. It is not surprising, therefore, that more and more companies are making social efforts within the online marketing strategy. However, there is still a lot of uncertainty about social networks for companies. What does this mean exactly? How to buy Instagram likes? Why do social networks offer many opportunities for entrepreneurs and how can these opportunities be better exploited? In this article, we will guide you through the world of social networks.

What are social networks?
According to the definition, social media is a collective term for online platforms where the user places the content with little or no intervention from a professional editor. Examples of these platforms are weblogs, forums and social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. In addition, social media platforms are characterized by the terms "interactive", "transparency", "integration", "exchange" and "dialogue".

Why social networks?
Throughout the world, presence on social networks is enormous. When you look only at Facebook, the size becomes immediately apparent. According to Facebook statistics, they have an average of 1.23 billion active users every day.

Research shows that WhatsApp returns to be the best in 2017 with no less than 10.9 million users, of which 7.8 million use the application every day. A neck-to-neck race with Facebook, which currently has 10.4 million users, of which 7.5 million scrolls daily through their feed.

These figures are, of course, impressive, but why would you use the social media business? We are going to talk about 'user-generated content.' This form of content arises within the so-called 'online consumer communities' and, on occasion, has a surprising influence. In this way, the channels of social networks and influential people can stimulate the behavior and choices of their (potential) clients. That is why it is essential that companies are present on social media and participate in the rise of social media. The reach of the consumer has become much more extensive in social networks.

10 reasons to use social networks
In summary, there are 10 reasons for companies to use social networks:

• Increase brand recognition: by using social networks, your company's online presence increases. By increasing the reach of your brand or product, consumers will recognize your brand or product name faster, and the name remains the most important.

• Online reputation management: for companies, it is effortless to monitor on the Internet what customers think of their brand. There are several tools to help you. This part is crucial for reputation management. By monitoring social networks, you can quickly respond to (potential) customer reactions and track negative comments. It is also advisable to observe and learn from the competition in your industry.

• Inactivity is decay: the arrival of social networks has changed marketing forever. The Internet is subject to constant changes. That's why it's vital that your company stays up to date. Social networks are now developing, so you can no longer ignore it. Not to mention the massive presence of your target group.

• Influence on purchase behavior: the social media network of consumers has a considerable impact on purchasing behavior. Consumers who follow brands on social networks often buy these products and order from these brands regularly.

• Expert status: the profile your company has on Instagram is an excellent opportunity for the consumer to label it as the expert. Through a profile, you can keep consumers informed of the latest news about your company, but also news related to the sector. When relevant news articles are regularly shared, the consumer sees your company as a professional.

• Generate traffic on the website: it is good to add a link to your site in posted messages whenever possible. By publishing regular updates with a link on, for example, Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, you can generate additional traffic on the corporate website through "clicks." Inbound links are also a critical factor in search engine marketing.

• Influence on search engine rankings: many social networking websites use no-follow links. This means that search engines do not follow them. However, social networking websites often have a very high score in the search engines. The tests show that sites with a social part in the link profile (that is, no-follow links) are ranked better than websites without no-follow links. This emphasizes the importance of a so-called "natural" link profile. If people talk about your site (and link through social networks), this is a natural process. Search engines give great value to websites with a natural link profile.

• Niche and local marketing: with the advent of social networks, niche marketing has become even more accessible. Companies can search social platforms, for example, demographic characteristics and interests. Social media also lends itself perfectly to services linked to location. These 'Location Based Services' are particularly suitable for companies that want to inform their clients about the specific possibilities in the area where the client is at that moment.

• Recruiting new talent: recent research shows that most companies already use at least 3 different social media sites to recruit. More than 85% of respondents use social networks for "employer brand." " 60% of respondents, for example, apply vacancies on LinkedIn.

• Development of the input product: through the monitoring of social network channels, you can also obtain information about the customer's wishes. This entry is advantageous to innovate your products. Although many social media platforms are free, it takes time and energy to establish a successful plan to define the target group, find out where this target group is and analyze the feedback.

But how do you use social networks?

So social networks offer many opportunities. The first step is to create a well thought-out social media strategy. Determine what you want to achieve and define the objectives. You’re going to want to work in a goal-oriented manner, we recommend Instagram since it is the most intuitive social media available. So make sure you have a good plan, and you will realize that social networks also have a lot to offer for your company!