For business owners who are new to the world of social media, the very notion of creating and maintaining such a presence online can seem daunting. Creating a page or an account for your company is the obvious first step, but then what? Some companies hire a social media manager, but if your budget won’t allow for that, you need to learn how to grow your presence by yourself.
Luckily, making your company known on social media isn’t as hard as you might imagine. By starting with a personal page, you can get to know the ins and outs of how social media works. Connect with friends, post pictures and thoughts, and get a general idea of how to communicate in this ever-evolving medium. Once you’ve got a handle on the basics, create a page or account for your company. This article should give you a few ideas to get started with.
1. Aim for Brand Recognition
When you create your company’s social media page, make sure viewers will recognize it as belonging to you. Use your logo, color scheme, and photos of your products. Post videos that feature familiar faces from other forms of advertising. When writing content, choose a “voice” and stick with it. Doing so fosters trust and customer loyalty, which can help you increase sales.
2. Post Pertinent Information
Business pages allow you to post your hours, contact information, driving directions, and more. Go above and beyond the basics, and give potential customers as much information as possible. For example, a restaurant could post menus, or a dog groomer could post a list of services and fees. Make sure that any changes in your prices are updated on your website, at your physical place of business, and on your social media pages, to avoid discrepancies.
3. Make Friends and Followers
Creating social media pages for your business won’t do you any good unless people see it. In order to maximize the impact, you will need to connect with the public. The idea behind social media is to build relationships with people, and the best way to do this is to get them to like and follow you. Initially, you can ask your real-life friends and family members to like and follow your business. Another way to get followers is to like and follow other companies, and hope that they reciprocate.
4. Add Fresh Content Frequently
People love to peruse their social media feeds. New posts are fun to look at, read, and share. By adding fresh content daily your followers will see your company’s name and products often, and may be more likely to buy what you’re selling. Keep in mind that posts don’t need to be long. One or two thoughtful sentences is usually enough, as long as the information is relevant to your product. Be sure to add photos as well, to grab the reader’s attention. A healthy food producer, hamptoncreek, adds new recipes and other ideas to their social media pages regularly.
5. Announce Special Events
Social media is a terrific way to announce sales, contests, and charity events. If your company has an annual or seasonal event that customers love, use your company’s page to promote it. Followers can also be invited to attend. Friends of those who are attending will be notified, which might encourage them to attend as well. In this way, a sense of community is built, and people will look forward to future events.
6. Be Responsive
In order to stay current with your social media pages, you can set up alerts on your smart phone or computer. When people respond to your posts, you will receive a notification, which allows you to respond back to them. By being responsive to your customers, they will feel like you care about them. This is an excellent way to build trust, and foster a long-term business relationship.
7. Track Your Results
Tracking results is a standard part of any advertising campaign. While social media isn’t exactly a campaign, you still need to monitor what works and what doesn’t. Most social media platforms have built-trackers that will show you which posts are being clicked on, liked, and shared. Keeping track of effective methods of communicating can help you reach your customers better.
Using social media for your business is a smart way to stay current in the marketplace. Customers today expect to find you online, not only as a website but as an entity they can connect with.
