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.
Thank you for this blog post. I agree 100% with you. I am always working towards building true connections with people thru social media for both myself and my clients. People do business with people that they truly like – and there is someone for everyone.
Couldn’t agree more with you Prajith, the real power behind social media is relationship and engaging with the readers/clients. People actually want to see real you and the interaction is crucial here.
Thanks Prajith, appreciate your comment.
Excellent post, Ryan. Because there are so many social-media sites to choose from, I think it’s important to take the time to figure out which are best for your business. FB, for instance, I have found to be generally good for B to C.
Yes FB is can be great. In my experience the term “social media” is too often associated with viral, which can raise expectations to an unobtainable level. The important thing to remember is to be genuine (especially in B to C), and develop an audience over time.
I actually just joined Facebook and it has dramatically increased my communication and connectivity with those I care about. I can see how this type of engagement can relate to businesses as well. Great post!
I’m glad to hear that Karen. When used the right way social media can really drive the business.
Thanks Karen for stopping by.
Facebook has a lot of perks and I think this is great tool for increasing not only your connections and connectivity, but also exposing your business online with targeted audience. You are using Facebook for launching, promoting, and advertising any thing.
I agree, Facebook is a powerful marketing tool for targeted visitors. I see a lot of businesses take advantage of it by publishing some interesting and also funny informations, images and videos related to their products/services. In this way more people are engaged instead of the dry and boring technical details.
Thanks Narda, appreciate your comment.