Social media has become an integral part of many businesses’ marketing strategies, and it’s easy to see why. With over 2 billion people using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites to connect with one another, businesses can reach out to customers, potential customers, and influencers in a way that was once unimaginable. These 10 ways social media marketing can help grow your business will help you to put your marketing plan into action and start seeing the results you want right away!
1) Build your personal brand
The majority of people in business want to grow their brand, but aren’t sure how to go about it. With social media marketing, you can help strengthen your own personal brand by building a large following on social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. When you have thousands of followers on these sites, it’s easy for your content to be shared around and for people who don’t know you yet to discover your professional expertise.
2) Promote your events
Making use of social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter, for event promotion can be hugely beneficial for both businesses and customers. Use your brand’s social profiles to announce what you’re doing in an eye-catching way that will spark interest from potential clients—and also encourage people to bring their friends along too. And remember: They say every person has one good friend; so, if you want 50 guests at your event, get 50 people invited on Facebook!
3) Share on the go
If you’re a business owner, social media is probably one of your top priorities—not just because it helps you connect with customers, but also because marketing on platforms like Facebook and Twitter can help you grow a customer base that wouldn’t otherwise have been available to you. Of course, since many people use their phones as their primary means of connecting to social media, it only makes sense to optimize for mobile devices.
4) Create your own industry news
Your product or service will get noticed when you break news. Making your own industry news can be risky, but it’s a great way to get customers talking about what you do. Keep in mind that not all news is created equal; if you make an announcement with little substance behind it, people will be quick to dismiss your efforts as nothing more than a marketing ploy.
5) Test what works
There’s no shortage of opinions and theories on social media marketing, but that doesn’t mean you should trust them all. Test your strategies to see what works best for your audience. If a tactic starts to get stale, try something new—you’ll never know what success looks like until you do.
6) Know when to experiment and when to stick with tried and true strategies
Experimenting with social media might be exciting and fun, but it’s important to remember that not every channel is right for every business. Take a realistic look at how much time you have to invest in your social media strategy and what kind of ROI you can expect from each channel before deciding which ones work best for your business. Remember: Some experimentation may lead to disappointing results—that’s normal!
7) Make sure you are staying compliant with all rules and regulations
No matter how small your business, you still have to keep up with all relevant local, state and federal rules and regulations. The most obvious place to start is taxes—you need to know what (and when) you’re required to pay Uncle Sam each year. After that, consider setting up a retirement account for yourself or your employees—if applicable—and learn about policies on workplace discrimination and health care coverage for your company.
8) Use analytics as a tool, not an end goal.
Before starting any campaigns, you should know what you’re trying to accomplish. You may want to increase your Facebook fans by 15 percent over a six-month period or get more retweets than your competitors on Twitter. Make sure that whatever goal you have in mind is measurable—so it can help determine whether your campaign was successful or not. Once you’ve set up a tracking system, use social media analytics tools like Bitly, Google Analytics and others to see how well your campaign is doing.
9) Brand consistency will increase traffic.
One of your top goals as a business owner should be to create and maintain brand consistency. Consistency helps your customers become accustomed to certain elements of your branding, including logos, colors, fonts and design styles. When they visit your website or view a social media post, they immediately recognize that it’s a part of your brand. This familiarity increases trust in your business and encourages customers to engage with you more frequently.
10) Checklists save time!
Social media has quickly become one of, if not THE biggest tool in marketing. There are dozens and dozens of platforms to choose from, but which ones do you use? For most businesses a simple checklist can help save time and ensure you’re getting maximum exposure on all your platforms. Using a social media management tool such as Buffer or Hootsuite makes it even easier to keep track of all your accounts without going overboard.
