5 Tips for Leveraging Social Media to Promote Your Local Business
Are you a company owner in search of expansion opportunities? Is it your goal to increase your business’s number of prospective customers, or have you just heard about Social Media Marketing and decided to give it a shot?
As a company owner, you’re up against a number of obstacles, such as a lack of funds, an absence of a dedicated support team, and an overwhelming workload. So, how can you expand your company’s customer base without draining resources on costly forms of promotion?
The utilization of modern technological methods, of course! You may raise the visibility of your work-from-home company and boost the number of leads you get by using the tools and strategies made available to you by Web 2.0. One of these tools is the social media. Everything a company owner needs to know to start boosting sales using social media is right here.
In other words, describe social media.
When it comes to the internet, “social media” refers to the many platforms where users may engage in activities such as commenting, sharing, networking, and bookmarking with one another. Sites like this include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, and MySpace.
Internet advertising in the age of social media: what’s it all about?
Advertising on social media sites is a great way to introduce your business to a wider audience and raise awareness about your product. The goal of Social Media Marketing is to increase the credibility of an advertisement by having it circulated within a group of people who are already interested in the product.
Which Social Networking Sites Have the Most Followers?
After Facebook and Twitter, other major social media include YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+.
Why should I care about Social Media Marketing?
You should rethink your stance if you are uninterested in this kind of marketing. Small company owners may get a wide variety of advantages by using these platforms. Consider these benefits of using social media for your company.
Your interactions with other people are the lifeblood of your small company, so it makes sense that you would want to maximize your exposure via network marketing. In essence, this is what we mean when we talk about social media. Contrarily, millions of individuals may be reached via social media platforms. When you use this novel kind of advertising, you won’t only attract customers in your immediate area, but in places all over the world.
While other forms of advertising would be prohibitively costly, this strategy may be used for little to no expense. It’s a fantastic low-cost option for spreading the word.
Having a stronger online presence is one benefit of participating in prominent social media sites. More social media buzz means a higher ranking in Google, Yahoo, and Bing search results for keywords related to your company.
Prospective clients may be contacted directly via these channels. You’ll be able to speak with them privately and get insight into their wants and needs.
You may make your marketing campaign go viral by using this method. Consider this. You’ve uploaded a promotional video on YouTube. If 10 people enjoy it, 5 of them will forward it to their friends, who will forward it to another 20 people. There’s a term for this strategy: “viral marketing,” and it may be a powerful tool for expanding your customer base.
When using social media, it’s important to have a strategy in place.
You may accomplish your social media marketing goals with the aid of a social media game plan, which consists of a few easy stages. It’s easy to become lost in the vastness of the social media landscape if you don’t know the ground rules. There is a lot of rivalry, so you’ll need a well-defined strategy to rise above the din and get attention.
Methods that will most effectively use social media
The following are the four components of a standard business strategy.
- Create a support system for yourself
- Get your name out there
- Keep an Eye on the Connection
connect with people:
The first thing to do is to look for people on the internet who you believe could be a part of your target audience, and then to add them to your network. An individual note attached to a request to add people to your network is always appreciated. The internet makes it easy to find and join specialized online communities for just about any field of interest.
As an example, a company peddling health beverages and other wellness wares might do well to join discussion forums dedicated to similar issues. People in these communities are a potential customer base for your goods. Remember to contribute to the group and provide value wherever possible. Assuming you are asked a question that you can answer, take part in the conversation, provide value where you can, and avoid overtly “pushing” your goods.
propagate:
Next, you must let everyone know that you are active on social media. Links in your website’s footer, email signature, and newsletter (if you have one) may all help spread the word about your social media profiles. Your company is active in the world; make the world aware of it!
Maintain your links:
The third phase involves maintaining relationships with supporters and fellow members. Although launching a social media marketing campaign couldn’t be simpler, keeping it going would need some work. As with many forms of networking, the payoff takes time. Get the OK to send emails from everyone in the group and everyone else on the network. After that, you may send the appropriate material by email to the individuals in your social network.
What’s important is not to send an advertising for your goods or services, but rather relevant, value-added material. If your firm sells health drinks and you’re also involved in the diet and nutrition industry, you could send out links like “10 Best Anti-Oxidant Rich Fruits” with an accompanying graphic and a call to action for interested customers to get in contact. This strategy will be more well-received than just sending the prospects a product-focused email flier.
Things You Should and Should Not Do
While social networking is really about people talking to other people, there are certain guidelines that might be helpful.
What you need to do
Make your connections more valuable: Your connections should always benefit from your interactions with them. Always! Give them advice they can use and intriguing knowledge they can put to good use. Jane, who runs a successful online health drink and weight loss product company out of her house, is just one example. She should thus provide her readers engaging content on the subject of weight reduction.
Maintain regular internet activity; this requires more than just a one-time commitment. It’s about getting to know one another, and that takes time.
Maintain a regular social media presence and presence of mind. Make sure you update your social media at least once a day with anything worth reading. Occasionally, many daily posts might be even more effective, but always remember guideline No. 1: offer value. Your blog entries shouldn’t read like spam or musings.
Listen carefully to the conversation. Engage in the conversations that matter to you in the group(s) or forum(s) you’ve joined. Put your specialized skills to good use and aid others around you. Add your thoughts to the conversation to make it more complete.
As was previously established, connections are the lifeblood of social media marketing. Conversation is the key to establishing trust with your leads and closing the deal. Make sure the dialogue between you and your target audience is two-way. Show genuine curiosity in their feedback by investigating any questions or concerns raised.
Familiarize yourself completely with the topic at hand: Make yourself known as a go-to resource on these sites. But be sure you’re not spewing nonsense. If you aren’t sure about anything, you should look into it. Make a mistake on one of these sites, and word will spread like wildfire, hurting your company’s image.
It’s best practice to tailor your communication to each individual in your audience. Like their vacation photos on Facebook or ask them about anything they put on their Wall, like a recent trip.
Demonstrate your uniqueness. Small company owners have an edge over giant businesses since they are more manageable in size and haven’t lost their human touch. Introduce yourself and your company to your audience. Introduce some humanity into your conversations.
Get back to unhappy consumers as soon as possible: Did you know that 88% of consumers think they are less likely to return to a company if their concerns posted on social media go unanswered? It’s terrible to delete consumer concerns, however.
Immediately address any concerns raised by customers on your social media pages. Even if you’re unable to help, at least acknowledge the person’s concerns and let them know they’ve been heard. In other words, admit guilt for everything.
Mention your participation on social media and promote your accounts. Include social media profile links in all of your marketing products, including your website, blog, emails, and printed pieces. Websites and blogs benefit greatly from the incorporation of Facebook and Twitter widgets, which display a real-time feed of your Facebook and Twitter activity directly on your website or blog. Encourage people to follow you on social media by offering them incentives or valuable content, such white papers or articles.
Keep an eye on your online profiles and take appropriate action if necessary. Locate mentions of your name on the internet and learn more about how it has been used. There are a number of free online tools that may help you keep tabs on your internet reputation, but a Google alert is the quickest and easiest option. Make sure you’re in command of your online profiles. Take the time to peruse the comments and posts of your followers.
Sharing your work across many social media platforms is a time-saver. As a result, why not leverage the material you already possess? Feel free to share and repurpose your material across several platforms. Transform a blog entry into a link and share it on Facebook. Make a video and share it on Facebook and YouTube; create a presentation and upload it on SlideShare. The aim is to have as many people as possible see your material.
What To Avoid
Avoid blatantly promoting your goods and services: The term “social media” refers to a place one goes to produce value via interpersonal connections. This is NOT a place to place ads. Your Viewers will avoid you like the plague if you constantly promote your products. Consider whether you would chat to your loved ones regarding and family about the wonderful items you sell? Certainly not! If that’s the case, you should avoid treating your media audience on social networks any special treatment.
Do not bombard your contacts with irrelevant news: OK, so you’ve expanded your offerings to include two new goods. Though it’s wonderful to spread the word, you shouldn’t inundate your friends and family with promotional messages. Post a link to the new product line, keep track of who’s showing interest, and just tell them what they need to know.
DON’T make mistakes in grammar and spelling: You’re a startup trying to make a big splash. Spelling and grammatical mistakes will ruin it. Use a spell checker and grammar checker, but don’t depend on them exclusively. Before publishing anything online, make sure it’s error-free. Have someone else edit your work before sending it out if spelling and punctuation are not your strong points.
DON’T ignore pleas for assistance if it falls within your area of expertise: Don’t miss out on any chance to show off your knowledge and skills while participating in a group or online forum. Get involved in the conversation and stop sitting on the sidelines.
DON’T allow your profile go stale; instead, keep it fresh by adding new information often. It’s common for company owners to set up social media accounts but then ignore them. You can’t expect to see results from your social media work until you keep at it.
DON’T let yourself be sidetracked by all the fun stuff you may find on the internet, particularly on social networking sites. Games, quizzes, forums, and live chats are all fun ways to engage potential customers, but it’s important to remember why you’re doing this. You risk wasting time and resources on things that don’t benefit your company if you don’t.
