Social media has proven to be a viable marketing tool for many products, service, and individuals. It can be used as form of customer service, promotion, and branding. The best way to get started in social media is to simply get started. Here are five social media marketing tips to help get the social ball rolling.
- Create a Facebook Page: Facebook is the world’s largest social network with more than 625 million active users. Facebook was designed for individual users to interact with one another like they would in the real world. Facebook still favors the individuals on their site, but offers businesses the opportunity to create a business Page. Pages are different from a personal profile on Facebook. Pages are where a business can upload photos, post updates, create events, and provide useful resources. Instead of gathering friends with a Page, businesses collect “likes” or “fans.” Once a Facebook user likes a Page, they will continue to receive updates in their newsfeeds on that Page. This is a great way for a business to have ongoing communication with their audience and build a community.
- Set up a Twitter Account: Messages on Twitter are limited to 140 characters and can be great branding tool. Twitterers (people who use Twitter) follow other users’ Tweets (short messages.) This is a great way to push out information about a business and also to listen to thought leaders or industry news.
- Build a LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn is the first social networking site that is dedicated to business professionals. Here a user can post their full resume and give snapshots of career successes and highlights. People make connections with their sphere of influence and request introductions to connections of connections. Also, there are thousands of discussion groups on LinkedIn that target niche topics. This is a great way to stay on top of industry-related news and trends. Also, by getting involved in the discussions and business can position itself as an expert and gain business opportunities.
- Be Conversational: Social media is all about being social. It is best to keep the audience in mind when communicating and avoid broadcasting commercials. Getting involved in social media a way for a business to demonstrate that it has personality and cares what others are talking about. Creating an engaging approach instead of blasting commercial messages can build relationships.
- Have a Plan: Once a business gets started with a social media initiative, it is important to keep the conversation moving. Determining goals for social media is as important as with any other marketing efforts. It will be useful for a business to create a realistic plan that they can maintain. Keep it simple and see what is working and not working. Having a content calendar can help a business keep accountable with social media efforts.
Just by following these five basic steps, businesses can find success through social media, just by engaging customers on the networks they use the most, rather than trying to make customers find them.
