Back to basics: Are you just starting a business? Wondering how to use social media to grow your existing business? Or maybe you’ve been using social media for a while now, but need a refresher on how to best optimize your time online.
The following list shares 5 different ways you can use social media to build and grow your business. You may decide to include all five or just one or two in your social media marketing plan.
The important points are to have a plan, set goals that are customized for your business, and then take action on a consistent basis.
1. Brand Recognition and Authority
Social media is a great tool for increasing brand recognition. Reaching out to new people (while sharing great content) can get your brand name in front of people you’d usually never reach.
Consistently sharing content that helps your customers (and peers) can build brand authority as you become a leading resource in your industry.
Actionable Tips:
(1) Set up content calendars so you maintain a consistent presence on all your social sites.
(2) Reach out to industry influencers: follow their accounts, periodically share their content, include links to their content in your posts.
(3) Find out the types of content your customers (and prospects) respond to online: do industry and competitor research; ask your customers for input.
2. Build a Community
Building a community where your customers can easily interact with you and each other is another way to use social media in your marketing strategy.
A Facebook Group could be the easiest way to start building a community if you have the resources available to manage it. Your Group can be connected to your Facebook business page, and you can designate Group admins/moderators to help as your community grows.
Note that with Facebook Groups, you can set the privacy of your Group so that membership is limited to paying customers only; and then membership in the Facebook Group itself becomes a benefit of being a customer.
3. Lead Generation
All businesses need leads, and social media offers a variety of options for generating qualified leads.
You can set up a landing page on your website, and then direct traffic to that page from your social media posts. Remember to make your posts something of value instead of pushy selling, and scatter your promotional posts among non-promotional posts (follow the 80/20 formula: 80% informational/educational, 20% promotional).
Start with your landing page and then create a series of posts and links (mix it up with text-only posts, images, and videos) to share on your social media sites.
Note: Set aside funds for an advertising budget on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn to promote your lead-generation posts.
4. Social Selling
There are also numerous ways to sell directly on social media. You may want to offer discounts or coupons to fans/followers, announce new product/service releases with a special offer, sell items or services with limited-time offers, just to name a few.
There are Apps like Shopify that allow you set up a “storefront” on your Facebook Page.
Pinterest Rich Pins are ideal for businesses selling products since they display a price, and will adjust the selling price on the Pin to reflect the current price on your website.
Note: Again, an advertising budget is advised to promote special offers and events to your target audience.
5. Customer Service
You may find that keeping in contact with customers through social media is a win-win for both you and your customers as it helps build a people-to-people relationship.
Even if you prefer not to handle customer questions or problems through your social site, you may not have a choice in today’s online world.
Social media has become a popular outlet for consumers to reach out to brands for customer service. And if you ignore (legitimate) negative reviews or comments, you may find yourself with a bigger problem.
While you may not have the staff and resources available to man a Twitter account 24/7 for customer service inquiries, you should be monitoring your social sites and responding quickly to customers.
Set up a customer service plan so your employees know ahead of time how to handle social media comments and questions.
If you are the sole employee, then putting a customer service plan down on paper still helps to prepare you for social service.
Integrate one (or all) of these goals into your social media strategy for online success!
Are you using social media in any other ways? Let us know; we’d love your input!
Need help creating a custom strategy for your business? Contact us (click here) for a free consultation to determine your next best steps.
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About Terry League