Social Media Marketing
Your Guide to Social Media for Small Businesses
If you talk to anyone about marketing and communication in small business today, one of the first questions you will probably hear is “Are you on social media?” or “Are you on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn?” Social media is huge. If you are not taking advantage of the many benefits these sites can bring your business, you are missing the opportunity to connect with your customers, market your product to a worldwide audience and be a part of something much bigger than you or your business. While there is plenty of high-level information available out there about social media (check out the resource list below), this simple guide can help your small business get involved in the exciting world of social media.
What is Social Media?
Social media is nearly any website or mobile function that allows you to communicate with or share content with other people. Even your own website can be a social media site if you use a blog, forum or other tool These websites or programs can be used for any number of purposes, including marketing for your small business. Some of the biggest social media networks include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest, but new networks are being launched every day, and as mentioned before even your own blog can be a social media tool.
Finding the Right Social Media Sites for Your Small Business
While Facebook may be the biggest social media website, does that mean that it is necessarily the site you should put all of your time into? Not necessarily. Look at the details behind the websites. LinkedIn is a more business and “job” oriented website while Pinterest seems to attract browsers who are looking for cooking, crafts and how-tos. Facebook offers many tools for marketing, but Twitter makes it easy for you to interact with your followers with only investing a few minutes a day. Explore the features and see where you think your customer base would spend the most time—this may be the right place to set up shop—to start.
Profile Creation Ideas
One of the keys to success in social media is creating a profile that gets you noticed. Each platform has different profile creation tools, but generally you will have a section where you can provide information about your company, a profile picture (perhaps a logo or photo of your business) and other details. Make sure you include a link to your websites and blog—these are free backlinks and help make it easier for customers to find further information. Additionally, if your business has a physical location, look at options for including maps or directions to your store or office.
What You Need to Know About Social Media Updates
When your customers follow your page (become followers, fans or connections depending on the site), they will subscribe to your updates. This means that each time you post on the social media site that your connections will get an “update” or “notification.” Updating regularly is very important if you want to stay in touch with your customers. Obviously, there is a point where updates can become annoying—it is up to you to determine where this point hits. Quantity is not everything, quality is very important. Make sure you are sharing useful and/or interesting information. If you add a new blog post, provide a link. Post photos of what is happening behind the scenes at your office, or maybe link to funny industry-specific cartoons or memes. Just think about what will get your customers talking.
Further Reading
Remember, these tips are only the beginning. Here are a few other resources for more in-depth information.
- Social Media Examiner
- Hubspot
- Mashable
With social media, it’s important to just stay a part of the process. Get involved, comment, share and engage with your customers and your followers. By doing this, you will get a feel for the social networks and realize that they are essentially living, breathing online ecosystems. Social media is unique in that it can be an excellent marketing tool, but it is also a networking tool, a publicity tool, communications hub and quite honestly a lot of fun. Take the time to spend a few minutes engaging on one of your favorite social media platforms today. Who knows what the connections you make today could do to help you grow your business tomorrow.
1 comments
We are living in a world where 6 out of 10 people used to purchase products online. The post helps me to create the best impression for our customers and make them purchase on my site. Great work!
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