Engage, Don’t Broadcast
The goal of social media marketing is to start conversations and generate brand awareness—and, more businesses are starting to use social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to provide customer service, as well. The key is to engage your audience, meaning listening, responding and asking questions. If the only thing you do on social media is broadcast your content without ever interacting with users, you won’t grow your connections or make an impact.
Take Advantage of Platform Tools
Many social networks offer tools designed to help businesses generate brand awareness. Facebook, for instance, allows businesses to create offers, such as discounts on products and services. When users accept an offer, it’s shared with their contacts, leading to more exposure for your business. Other examples of platform-specific marketing features include:
- Google+ Hangouts
- Facebook Events
- Facebook Promoted Posts
- Twitter Sponsored Posts
- Connect with Relevant Users
Social media is a two-way street. Follow other thought leaders and relevant users and communicate with like-minded people to get the conversation flowing. You’ll make valuable connections with users who can help share your content.
Capitalize on Multi-Media
Social status updates that include images capture attention and result in more clicks than text-only messages. So take advantage of the rich media features offered by many of today’s social networks, and incorporate images and videos into your status updates and content when possible.
Use a Multi-Platform Approach
There are so many social networks out there, it’s impossible to manage an active presence on every one. But using more than one social platform reaches a broader audience. The most popular social networks include:
- Google+
- YouTube
In addition to these primary platforms, there are second-tier networks that aren’t as widely used but are useful for targeting more precise demographics. Examples include:
- Quora
- StumbleUpon
- Yelp
- Tumblr
Start by creating a brand page or profile for your business on each platform. This alone will help customers find you and boost your search engine rankings. Start joining in on the conversation and watch your brand recognition grow.
Tie in Your Email Marketing Campaign
Cross-promotion is one of the best ways to maximize your exposure online. Tying in your other marketing efforts, such as email marketing, by letting your subscribers know when you’ve posted an offer to Facebook or are hosting a Hangout on Google+, helps boost your follower counts and engage users.
There are dozens of ways to use social media to market your small business. It all starts with a presence across the social web. Combine your marketing efforts across multiple channels and actively engage your audience for the best results.
