Social media is one of the fundamental components of a comprehensive online marketing strategy. It’s a way to share helpful information, spread brand awareness, and even make a sale.
However, there are many things to consider when it comes to social media marketing, and it can often overwhelm business owners. That’s understandable, because it’s almost impossible to achieve marketing success solely by making posts on social media profiles. An excellent social media presence requires a well-planned, cohesive, and perfectly-executed approach.
Below are seven ways for you to be successful in improving your business’ social media presence.
1. Use Tools For Social Media Management
Improving your business’ social media presence does not only mean posting on social media often, but also doing it at the optimal times. However, unless you’re hiring a social media manager, you don’t have enough time to be logging in to your social media accounts and posting all day. This is where social media management (SMM) tools come in and offer substantial help.
Using tools for social media management saves you time while allowing you to stay active online. A social media management tool enables coordination of all accounts in one place, scheduling posts weeks in advance, posting at preferred times when more people will see them, and analyzing how well posts are doing.
Note that there are many SMM tools available for you to choose from, so it’s best to check out a social media management tools comparison article to find the most suitable solution.
2. Let People Know About Your Social Media Profiles
Prospective and existing customers won’t know about your business’ social media accounts unless you tell them. Your audience will be more willing to like or follow your social media profiles if you make it easy for them to take action.
Don’t forget to take advantage of physical interactions with your customers and prospects to promote your social media accounts and ask them to connect with you on your profiles.
Other things you can do to promote your social media accounts include:
– Adding social media icons to your website
– Adding your social media feeds to your site’s sidebar
– Telling people to follow your social media profiles at the end of every blog post
Some businesses even use other digital marketing strategies like email marketing to promote their social media profiles. That’s because the bigger audience you have, the more significant your social media presence will be.
3. Choose The Best Possible Image For Each Of Your Business’ Social Media Accounts
Keep in mind that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all image for your social media networks. It’s important to be familiar with the correct image size and format for each network, so that your branding is consistent, recognizable, and professional.
It’s also vital to think about how your chosen images appear in other places. For instance, you have to know how your profile picture will look in the comments section as you reply to your audience. Keep these things in mind and choose the best possible image for each network.
4. Share As Much Detail In Your Social Media Profiles As Possible
Social media networks allow users to provide information to their followers. Make sure to take advantage of it by filling up every field you can for anyone visiting your profile to know your brand identity, the products and services your business offers, and what customers can expect from you. You can even share the values your business believes in, particularly if your brand is built around an ethos with a strong emotional pull.
Some of the details you should share in social media are location of your headquarters, your business contact details, what your company does, the industry your business operates in, and a call-to-action (CTA) for your visitors.
Remember that when any changes are made to your brand or business, update your information immediately.
5. Message Your Audience Strategically
What consumers want on social media is to have an experience, not necessarily to be sold something. That’s why you have to remember that your brand is more than its product or service. If you want to communicate your story effectively, your message should be tailored across different platforms strategically.
Note that LinkedIn is commonly used to generate leads because it facilitates a powerful pitch for your business’ products and services. Twitter can be more effective when used as a medium for your customers and prospects to access news and discover information about your brand. Facebook, Instagram, and others also have their own specialized purposes.
When you consider strategic messaging, it’s also a good idea to identify hashtags your brand can participate in, partner with industry publications, and monitor who’s currently sharing your posts and amplifying your brand. Every message you deliver should be consistent, and it should resonate with your audience to help build your brand.
6. Develop A Social Media Content Strategy
A clear strategy is one of the things that you need if you want to succeed in improving your business’ social media presence. A great content strategy for social media covers how frequently you’ll make updates and the type of posts you’ll publish.
The social media marketing goals of your business should be the basis of the kind of posts that are published on your profiles. Possible goals include bringing traffic to your website, improving brand awareness, generating new leads, and making sales.
7. Focus More On Customer Service
Chances are you’ve already heard that social media networks are the new customer service platforms. Many customers turn to social media for help nowadays. They prefer social media messaging channels over calling a company or waiting a long time for a business to respond to an email. It’s a good thing that chatbots now exist, as they’re able to answer common customer questions and redirect enquiries when you’re not around. When customers trust that your brand will help solve their issues quickly, they become more willing to purchase from you.
Final Thoughts
Using social media for engaging customers and prospects doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Following the tips above will not only get you more likes and follows; you’ll also gain more loyal customers. And, yes, you guessed it right – an improved social media presence also translates into more sales.
