Despite something that is seen as a myth, social media has been here for a very long time. It is the usage of social media as a powerful marketing tool for new businesses that is a fairly recent concept. The opportunity to spread your company message on the Internet will always be growing and improving; however, you should still adhere to some basic ideas.
Use lists as much as possible. People love lists because they are easy to read and easy to pass on to their friends. When you produce blogs or articles with lists, those who find the information you provide usefully are more likely to pass the link onto others via Facebook, Twitter, or another social networking site.
Friends, family, existing customers, and anyone else you know should be invited to your social sites when you establish them. Contrary to popular belief, your network does not have to be comprised solely of customers and people within your niche. You can invite a wide range of people to join your network.
Use Facebook to get some very low-cost marketing opportunities. Make a professional business account or create a business fan page. Take some time to look up your competitors on Facebook to see how much of a presence they have, and what they did to get that. Do not copy what they did, but use their page as an example of what is working or what is not.
Be prepared to make mistakes in your social media marketing. Mistakes happen, and you need to view the mistakes you make as learning experiences. There could be a post that offends some niche group, or a typo that sheds a negative light on your company. Handle the mistakes professionally and quickly and learn from them.
Make an effort to engage with your customers and facilitate a two-way flow cf information. In some circumstances, it may be helpful to comment on their blog posting or current Facebook status. However, don’t jump into someone else’s conversation. You should only enter into communication if they’re directly discussing a topic relative to the services or products you offer.
Use a hashtag whenever you post information or links on your Twitter account. Certain subscribers are updated if you use tags. Choose your tags wisely and look for groups that your target audience would be likely to subscribe to.
To spark feedback and activity in your social media marketing, run polls with interesting questions. Facebook has a good feature for this. Polls often go a little viral within social media but also serve as good conversation starters with your subscribers and followers. It can also yield treasure troves of statistics you can use to target your demographics better.
Keep your Facebook posts regular and consistent. People will look for new content from you when they check in on their Facebook page. If they don’t see it regularly, they’re likely to forget about you quickly. There are many businesses out there who do post regularly and those businesses are getting the attention of consumers. Make your business one of them.
Create a business account, using your business’s name, on both Twitter and Facebook. This will keep others from operating social media with the name of your business. It’s all right if you are not set up to make use of the account — but it’s important to save the right to use your name.
If you are looking to use Twitter as a social media marketing method, make sure that you choose a username that displays well and is easy to remember. This username should get the point of your company across, but should also be easy to remember. Don’t choose usernames like TommyXo1009. No one will remember it and it is likely irrelevant to your company’s name.
Learn to make fun of headlines for your social media blogs. Headlines are like the front of your business. You can come across boring and run down, or new and exciting. Think of interesting ways to lure people into your blog. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the headlines on your page.
If you need to establish an email mailing list, using a social media site is a great way to do it. Get your followers and fans to provide an email address to you for future mailings in exchange for an entry into a contest where prizes and discounts will be given away.
Link your social media blog to Facebook for marketing success. Make it simple for fans of your blog to share posts with their friends. Include a share button at the top of your posts, and a like button at the top of your page. This will bring interest and traffic to your blog without additional work.
LinkedIn is an excellent tie into the blog you maintain on social media. One quick way to do this is to simply add a “share” button for LinkedIn users to click. Place it is a spot where it will be prominent and easy to find. Every person that shares your blog increases your potential audience by hundreds of people. This can pay off in a big way since there are 100 million people on the website.
Before diving into social media, you need to have a plan. Creating unique and accurate content will help you gain more followers. After reading this article, you now have a better idea of how to market your business. Using social media, you can have a company that can interact with others on a global level.
PS: The traditional way of doing business will never be the same, which means that those who truly want to live differently and take advantage of the digital economy will have an opportunity to do so in the quickly expanding and evolving world of eCommerce and online business…
