Social media isn’t just a trend it’s now a crucial part of business marketing that’s too big to be ignored.
If you’re not involved in social media yet you may as well retire…but if you’re involved but missing out on great marketing opportunities you may be wasting your time.
There are dozens if not hundreds of channels to utilize when it comes to social media. Every business should be involved in some way or another but it’s important not to overextend your marketing efforts, either.
In general it’s a good idea to stick to 2-3 mediums you know you can commit to and leave the rest alone. Being spread too thin to make any impressions isn’t helping your business or your followers.
Here are a few social media marketing opportunities you may be missing out on:
LinkedIn as a marketing tool
LinkedIn used to be small peanuts compared to Facebook and Twitter but globally there are now over 200,000,000 LinkedIn users, 35% of whom visit the site every day.
LinkedIn is so much more than a place to post your resume – there are “Groups” for like-minded professionals, “Endorsements” for a skill or trade and many more features some users don’t know exist.
Posting content (think white papers or blog posts) within LinkedIn Groups is a great way to build an audience – over 81% of all users belong to at least one group. Never before has it been so easy to connect to a community of potential clients and partners.
Facebook as a communications hub
The biggest mistake small business owners make when using Facebook is to simply post information without engaging.
Facebook is unique in that you can directly talk to your customers! It’s important to post content, yes, but be sure you’re engaging as well. “Like” other business pages, add to others’ walls, even comment on pictures and articles!
The more active you are on Facebook the more transparent your brand will seem and transparency is golden in the new millennium.
And don’t be scared of angry Facebook posts. If your customers have a grievance, you want to know about it.
Twitter as an audience funnel
Content is king when it comes to social media and Twitter is the perfect tool for dissemating content and building an audience. One great way to use the service is to promote relevant, sharable content using Twitter and hashtags.
For example, if you sell laundry supplies write a blog post about the ways people could be saving money on their detergent. Make it interesting!
Share the content using Twitter and some creative hashtags (i.e. “#money”) and see your readership number soar. Do this regularly and you’ll build up an audience.
There are so many ways to use social media’s best programs to market your business.
The key is to think just slightly outside the box of the ways in which others are using the medium – and also to provide interesting, relevant content! Have something interesting to say and people will listen.