How to Social Media Correctly
Every day the average person spends approximately two or more hours on social media, making it an excellent platform to market your business. If used correctly, social media advertising can elevate your business to new heights of popularity and draw in a larger customer base. However, if you are not familiar with the fast-paced world of social media, you might not know where to start, or how to conduct yourself on such sites. In order for social media marketing to be successful and productive, you need to learn how to properly engage with your customers and keep people interested in your business.
Today I will be outlining a handful of tips to get you started on social media, and how to proceed when your business hopefully gains popularity online.
Where to Start
Choosing a Social Media Platform
To begin, you simply need to find which social media sites will be most helpful for your business. Depending on what kind of services your business provides, some sites might present better opportunities for marketing and outreach than others. A few common social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; but there are many more options available (See post about different types of social media platforms). Not all of them are as effective as one another, so it is helpful to base your choice on your business’s individual marketing needs.
An Important Thing to Remember…
A good way to start is by connecting to customers you have already had, in order to establish a better, ongoing relationship with these customers. Social media marketing centers around connecting and listening to existing customers; because, if you make an effort to connect with people that have appreciated your business’s services, they will recognize that, and spread praise of your business. This is the primary way social media marketing can help draw in new customers.
Connecting to past and present customers is also a good way to get feedback about your business. It’s important to listen to what your customers have to say about your services, and whether or not they were happy with what you provided. The good reviews will help establish a good reputation of your business; while responding to, and attempting to remedy, bad reviews can help show that you care about your customers, and are willing to fix things if they are upset.
Posting Content
What to Post
Once you have your pages setup on the specific social media platforms that you have chosen to use, with all of your business info and possibly photos or videos, it is time to start posting! This can oftentimes be the most difficult task in social media marketing. Here are some ideas of where to begin when posting content:
- Special offers: Posting promotional offers is a really good way to draw in new and past customers. These posts should usually be simple, to the point, and mostly just informational.
- Questions: Ask your customers questions! This is an easy way to get your customers engaged and speaking directly with your business. Again, it can’t be said enough, receiving feedback from your customers can be extremely helpful for improving your business and showing them that you care.
- Business and Personal History/Stories: Posting facts and stories about yourself and your business’s history, or recent activities of your business, can make people more interested in your business on a more personal level.
- Polls/Surveys: Like questions, this is a good way to receive direct feedback from customers.
When to Post
The best time to make posts is usually in the middle of the day and early evening. It is smart to make a plan for when you will post, and what each one will be about, so you always are ready with something new to provide. There are even services that can help you manage multiple different platforms at once, provide helpful analytic data of your pages, and make the whole process smoother overall.
Summing Up Social Media
Social media marketing is a great way to establish an online presence and get customers more interested in your business. Listening to what customers say is by far the most important aspect of establishing your business on social media, while also being the most helpful. If you stay consistent with your content and schedule, it will pay off, and your customers will notice. All it takes is a little time and effort for social media marketing to become natural, then it pays dividends for your business’s growth.