Murray Newlands — May 18, 2017 Modern society revolves around technology and mobile devices, so using social media to reach your audience is a great way to promote your business. However, there are still countless marketers and small business owners that are struggling to harness the power of social media.
Social media is an awesome, cost-effective way to market your company and build a relationship with your potential customers. It can (and should!) be used by virtually any business, regardless of its size or industry.
Although social media can bring a number of great benefits, using these platforms effectively can be a bit overwhelming. To help you, I’ve put together a list of 8 ways you can use social media to promote your company and build an enduring relationship with your audience.
Why Should You Use Social Media?
The emergence and widespread use of new technology have changed many aspects of modern culture, including our shopping habits. Consumers spend a huge amount of time on social media every day, and savvy companies are taking advantage of this. Aside from being cost-effective, promoting your company on social media has many advantages, some of which include:
- Giving your company personality
- Sharing your knowledge
- Becoming a thought leader in your industry
- Building brand awareness
- Generating more traffic for your website
- Improving SEO
- Increasing loyalty levels
Another great reason to use social media is the emotional aspect. Because social media is a source of entertainment and interactive leisure, consumers are more open-minded and receptive to your marketing efforts, contrary to traditional marketing channels.
Ways to Use Social Media to Promote Your Business
You can promote your company through social media in many different ways. That being said, you have to pay a lot of attention to your audience and your industry. Creating buyer personas, or fictional depictions of your perfect client, will help you set the right tone for your posts and the content you share.
Social media marketing campaigns can be very effective, especially if they are used as a part of a bigger marketing scheme, like an inbound marketing strategy. Here are some of the most effective ways to use social media as a stand-alone strategy or as part of a bigger scheme:
1- Use Multiple Social Media Platforms
Try not to focus all of your efforts on one social media platform. Instead, choose a set of two or three different platforms through which you can reach your audience. This doesn’t mean you should be using every available social media channel; instead, you should study your audience’s behavior and main demographic to figure out which platforms they use most and target these with customized campaigns.
2- Implement a Chatbot
Chatbots have changed the way businesses interact with their audiences, and thanks to chatbot tool platforms, you can create a bot in a matter of minutes without any coding knowledge.
Chatbots are awesome ways to promote your company because they reach audiences through their preferred devices and apps. Better yet, a chatbot can help you:
- Engage with your audience at a more personal level
- Launch tailored marketing campaigns
- Answer client questions around the clock
- Provide a self-serving option for customers
- Take orders directly through messages, posts, and comments
Remember that your bot will be a representative of your brand, so take your time building and optimizing it. Make the necessary adjustments to guarantee your bot is running smoothly and that it helps clients solve relevant issues.
3- Share Your Content
Creating valuable content is a great start, but you have to distribute it through the right channels in order to reach your audience. Use your social media platforms to share the content you create and bring more traffic to your website. You can increase your chances of engaging with your audience if you:
- Come up with creative titles
- Use eye-catching, relevant media in your posts
- Target specific groups or communities
- Identify the best times to share your posts
4- Run Promotions and Reward Programs
One of the main reasons consumers interact with a company’s social media page is because they know they can receive discounts or participate in a promotion of some sort. Make sure you reward your loyal followers by launching the occasional social media promotion. Better yet, set up a recurring rewards program where your clients can rack up points and cash them in for future discounts.
5- Show Some Personality
Remember that social media is about more than just sharing links, so mix it up by sharing different posts and give your company some personality. Roughly one out of every seven posts should be promotional, so use the other posts to engage with your audience and showcase your company’s personality.
6- Paid Social Ads
Paying to boost your posts is a great way to build your follower base while simultaneously engaging with more users. Because paid ads on social media appear in the news feed with other posts, they can reach broader audiences without causing major disruptions. Social media ad campaigns can also be tracked and optimized, so you will be able to make adjustments to cut costs and increase conversion rates.
7- Target Communities as a Whole
One thing all major social media platforms have in common is that they allow like-minded users to form groups and communities. You can target specific communities that fit your buyer personas in order to maximize the impact of your social media posts and stories.
You can also choose to create your own community of brand advocates. Although this can take significantly more time, you will build a loyal follower base that can enter your sales funnel, eventually becoming customers.
8- Experiment Responsibly
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for social media success. In order to find the best combination for your company, you have to experiment and change different elements of your posts. You can run A/B tests to work out the best tone of voice, wording, timing, and images you should use, among other features. Just remember to be careful – posting the wrong thing on social media could have adverse effects on your business.
Finally…
Social media platforms offer an awesome chance to promote your business and connect with your audience at a much deeper level. Use the tips outlined above to make the most out of your social media profiles and build a solid foundation for a long-lasting relationship with your customers, both current and future.
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