There are a lot of tools available to help you start and run a business. From online logo creators to affordable website platforms, you can get a business up and running in less than a day. Then, once you have it running, you can use a myriad of other tools to help you grow it into what you want it to be. Social media is one of those tools that every business should be taking advantage of to help them grow and achieve success.
Facebook has over two billion active monthly users, and it and other social media sites are only continuing to grow, making it more important than ever for your company to get on social media and get where your target audience is. Of those social media users, 95 percent say they are likely to follow a brand via a social network site, and 96 percent of people will discuss different brands online—even if they don’t follow that brand’s page—reaffirming how important it is that your company has a social media presence and is on top of what people are saying.
Whether you are just getting started and haven’t launched your social pages yet, or have been running pages on a few sites for a while but haven’t started to see the results you thought you might see, here are tips that will help you take control of and use social media to help you boost your business:
Post Only Relevant, Quality Content
It may seem like a no-brainer, but with all of the fluff floating around out there, it’s easy to get sidetracked and post stuff that isn’t relevant to your business or your customers. Posting only high-quality content should be a no-brainer too, yet low-quality images and content that isn’t very compelling are still being put out by brands all over social media. It’s important to ensure that the content you post—whether visual or written—be relevant and high-quality. Relevant, quality content builds up trust and establishes your reputation as a brand.
Include Calls to Action
Calls to action are extremely important—if you want someone to look at your post then follow a link to your website, you need to tell them so. If you want them to shop your newest collection, invite them to do so. Just posting a photo with a funny caption won’t necessarily render comments—tell people that you want them to share their thoughts. Including a call to action with each post will encourage your followers to interact with you and your posts more often and can help you develop a better relationship with them as well as build your business.
Post Consistently
Consistency is extremely important. It establishes trust and reliability between you and your followers, and it helps you stay fresh in their feed. Whether you post once a day, a few times a day, or a few times a week, be consistent and make sure that you don’t forget. If you’re going to be out of town, you can always schedule posts in advance to ensure that they go out consistently as normal.
Take Advantage of Paid Ads and Other Features
Social media has tons of cool features that are available to businesses. For example, you can pay to boost certain posts to make sure that it reaches as many people as possible. You can also take advantage of paid ads and the targeting options that social media sites offer so that you can reach people who are specifically interested in what you’re selling.
In addition to that, there are newer features that are available to everyone like Facebook Live and Instagram and Facebook stories that you can use to your advantage as well. Going live and posting to your story gives you yet another way to connect with your audience and may even help you get more personal with your customers.
Focus on the Consumer
Social media is usually focused on the individual users. On your personal page, you post stuff that you like and that your friends might like, too. When it comes to your business, though, you shouldn’t be posting the things that you think are great. You need to be posting things that your customers are wanting. While what your consumers want to see and what you want to publish may overlap sometimes, that’s not always the case. It’s important that you focus more on what your consumers want instead of simply publishing the things that you feel like publishing.
Keep Your Posts Balanced
It might be tempting to post only about your business, your latest deals, and use social media as a way to promote, promote, promote. The problem with that, though, is that you’ll wear your followers out fast and you might start losing them faster than you can blink. While you can and should definitely use social media as a way to promote your business every now and then, it’s important to keep things balanced and post other content as well. If you’re not sure what to post that won’t blatantly promote your business, try sharing your favorite way to use one of your products, posting a review from a customer, highlighting an employee, etc.
Set Goals
Goals are important if you want your business to move forward. Just like with other aspects of business, you can set social media goals as well. Whether you want to get 100 new followers by the end of the month or want to switch from posting only three times a week to posting every day, making, setting, and working towards goals will help you really leverage social media to grow your business.
Final Thoughts
Social media is a powerful tool that can really help you boost and grow your business. Whether you already have a few pages set up or are just getting started, it’s important to devote some time and attention to your social efforts so that you can make the most of what it has to offer. Which social media platforms are you/will you be focusing on most?
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