Social media has transformed the way we live our everyday lives, for most people it’s the first thing they do when they wake up and the last thing they look at before they go to bed. Businesses can be faced with a number of challenges and hurdles to overcome. Most people in the business world now recognise how social media marketing can have a huge influence on their company and how significant it can actually be. Social media has become an essential marketing and communications network that a startup or reputable company can’t afford not to get on board with.
Why focus on social media
Social media allows you to link with your audience on a friendly level but at the same time, you are spreading knowledge of your brand, increasing brand authority and answering customer questions and queries. Despite the tremendous potential of social media lots of new companies often fail to successfully use it to expand their reach and grow sales. Irrespective of the size of your establishment you can use social media marketing as a low-cost and strong marketing tool by following simple practices. Social media can increase website traffic significantly, whether you prefer to tweet, or post messages on Facebook, or share an image or inspirational quote on Instagram, you can use all of these to build traffic from your social media platforms to your website. Research has found that 72% of small companies find that going social raises website traffic.
Build a personality for your business
Advertisements don’t give you much time or space to tell people about the company. At the most, you get to tell potential customers about your products or services that are on offer. With social media, it’s possible to create a likeable personality for your business. This will attract more people as they will feel like they are getting to know the business and will also help build trust. Social media does more than just help you find potential customers. It can also help you connect with other industries and entrepreneurs. The most used platform for these types of connections is LinkedIn, this is because it permits you to connect with businesses and professionals. Making those connections early on could benefit your business in the future.
Capitalise on what’s trending
Facebook and Twitter offer you ample insights about the top trends on social media. Keep an eye on all the latest trends – post a tweet or status about one if it’s relevant to your company or something that you think your potential customers would be interested in looking at. You could use hashtags that are always on trend or you can make your own personalised hashtags to promote your social media and company. If you post about #valentinesday or #christmasday the post will come up on the newsfeed to reach more people that don’t already follow you.
Use social media to improve customer service
There are many well-established brands with a history of customer service issues. Customers buy from companies they trust and like, social media is a great way for them to contact the company if they have issues with products due to the fast and easy response that it enables you to give. Customers may not always directly complain and may post it on your page or newsfeed, responding publicly back to the comment will prove that the customer’s complaint or concern is serious to you. If other customers see that you reply rapidly to a criticism and try to resolve the problem to the customer’s gratification your audience will see you as a business that cares and values their customers.
Identify the best timings to post
It is important to understand that there is not a specific time to post content. Obviously around lunchtime 12-13:00 most people do tend to be on their phones, but it’s best to vary the times you publish posts. If you are constantly posting at the same time this can come across to customers that you aren’t putting much thought into the posts and have them on an automated scheduling system. Some social media platforms do offer built-in analytics that allows you to understand the preferences of your audience and when they’re online which you should use to your advantage.
Follow the top businesses in your niche
It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on your competitors. Following the top accounts from the niche you are in will allow you to understand your strengths and weaknesses, this will help you establish the ways you could improve. By following industry influencers, you will have a clear image of your competitors.
Stay active
Remaining quiet on social media won’t benefit your account at all. You may lose out on valuable customers. It would be wise to remain active on the social media accounts that you’ve created for your business, as customers will see that you haven’t posted and will lose trust in the company and will not follow the account. You don’t have to post every day but at least 3-4 times a week just to keep your presence and to make sure your customers aren’t getting bored.
Be certain to keep faithful customers engaged. Here are a few ideas:
Offer promotion codes and discounts through social media to get to your clients – make it creative and fun for them.
Ask open-ended questions that permit your audience to answer or have their say.
Give away low-cost things such as stickers, pens, lanyards these will make a long-lasting impression and will spread your brand through word of mouth.
Increased engagement means that your content is appealing to your audience. A study found that people find visuals and videos the most engaging. Another way that you can get people’s attention would be by simply adding questions, a fill in the blank or stimulating challenges. Branch out and interact creatively with your customers.
We understand that social media marketing can be a bit tricky at the beginning for startups but with perseverance, you will begin to see the benefits it will have on your business.
