Social media has become an unavoidable part of our lives, so it’s no surprise that businesses have jumped on the bandwagon, too. Many top brands have well-documented social media strategies, but not every business has one in place—or even knows where to start!
It can be tricky to know how to use social media to boost your business and what platforms to focus on first. We’ve got you covered with these 10 ways to use social media to boost your business!
1. Create Quality Posts
If you want your business’s social media presence to do more than just exist, post high-quality content—stuff that people actually want to read and share. Relevant, useful content helps establish your brand as a thought leader and gives you opportunities for promotion.
If you’re not sharing valuable stuff with your fans, why should they bother following you? You can also use social media as a way of promoting special offers and events if you build trust with your audience over time.
2. Engage with Influencers
Staying active on social media is a great way to communicate with current and potential customers, but it’s important not to overdo it. Once or twice a day is more than enough for most businesses.
You don’t want your posts getting lost in your followers’ feeds. If you aren’t seeing much engagement on your posts, consider dedicating more time each week to Facebook or Twitter posting. You can even hire someone to manage your accounts for you if necessary.
3. Don't Overdo It
When you post on Facebook or send out an email, it’s important to be mindful of your time investment. Try not to spend more than 20 minutes per social media outlet (for example, checking Twitter twice a day for 10 minutes each time is okay; posting 5 times per day is not).
By keeping your social media interactions manageable, you can stay engaged in conversations with customers without feeling overwhelmed by work. Remember: anything worth doing is worth doing well.
4. Be Consistent
Consistency is key to getting your business off the ground. If you make a commitment, be sure to fulfil it. Whether that means being available by phone or email within a reasonable time frame.
Delivering a product on time or even just following up with customers after an order is placed, do what you say you’re going to do and people will appreciate your reliability.
5. Collaborate with Friends
As social media continues to grow and play a bigger role in how we communicate, do business, and maintain relationships with others, it’s important that we use these tools effectively.
One of the best ways to use social media is to collaborate with others through posting collaborative blogs and commenting on others’ blogs. The more you participate in your niche community, the more people will be exposed to you and what you do.
6. Optimize Images
Social media may be a powerful way to market your business, but you need to keep your online presence professional. Uploading high-quality images is a quick and easy way to convey professionalism. Make sure your images are clear and crisp by optimizing them with a photo editing program before you upload them.
If you’re not well versed in Photoshop or GIMP, then invest in a suite of programs that will optimize images for social media postings, such as PicMonkey or Canva.
7. Get Insights From Google Analytics
It’s one thing to take your business online; it’s another to make it work for you. There are a lot of tools out there—some free, some paid—that can give you insights into how your website is working and what your customers want.
Google Analytics is an excellent place to start—it's both free and easy to use. We'll cover more on Google Analytics later in the book.
8. Learn From Other Brands
Pay attention to what other brands are doing with social media. Study your competitors’ social presence and look for ways that you can adapt their strategies for your own business.
What works for them might not work exactly for you, but chances are there will be at least a few tips that can improve your own social marketing efforts.
9. Maintain at Least One Constant Channel
In a world of information overload, it’s more important than ever for businesses to get their message out clearly and consistently. By maintaining at least one constant channel.
Whether it’s a website or business card or email signature, you make sure that your potential customers know who you are and how they can get in touch with you. And if they find your message across multiple platforms, they’re more likely to associate that messaging with your brand.
10.Track ROI
You can’t measure social media success if you don’t know what your goals are. Before you start posting, try to nail down whether your goal is leads, sales or brand awareness.
Once you know how much time and effort you can afford to invest, figure out how many leads or sales that should yield (based on past results). Finally, set a deadline for yourself; if results haven’t shown up by then, reevaluate and modify your strategy accordingly.
It's no longer a question of whether you should be using social media for your business, but rather how you should use it. It's not just an important part of your marketing strategy—it is your marketing strategy.
Why?
Because engaging with customers on social media builds customer loyalty. When they have questions, comments or complaints about your product or service, being responsive on social media makes them feel valued and can even build brand advocacy.
Let us know How Social Media proved to be a success booster for your Business, in the comments below!
