The lack of a strategy is the easiest way to fail with your online business. Social media is a powerful tool that all business owners need to take advantage of to succeed.
It is a low-cost, low-maintenance solution to online marketing. Social media can reach entirely new audiences in exceptional time-frames. Your followers will share your content and spread the word through their networks.
Getting your business involved in social media can not only get you in front of a wider audience, but you are bringing in clients that you would not normally reach via search engines.
Use these tips to make sure that your are using social media to its fullest.
- Always make sure that any social media accounts you have contain up to date information, and that your profiles contain all the information they should so potential customers know exactly who they are dealing with.
- Search for your own business online and print off the first two pages of results, then do the same for your competitors and see if they appear on any social networking sites that you are not involved with. If you find any, then get an account setup with them.
- If you have a blog then make sure it is linked via plugins to your social media accounts so that when you update the blog, these sites are updated as well.
- Cross promote your own social media pages to build up a network.
- Never purchase followers as the majority of them are just bots and are totally useless to your business.
- Use email to notify people of your social media pages.
- Always use Google Analytics to track your social media presence.
- If you have your own site then make sure it includes social sharing buttons on every single page.
- Make your social media accounts look professional and be sure to brand your business across all social media sites.
- Plenty of apps are now available to enable you to quickly update you social media accounts, no matter where you are.
- Always promote everything you do through social media, but do not just try and sell something every time. It's important that you are providing value and a lot of helpful information to keep people subscribed.
- Always follow competitors and share their valuable information. You want your readers to know that following you means they can get the best and most up-to-date information in the market whether it comes from you or not.
Remember that social media can help you to brand your business and allow you to become a market leader in your niche. The more value you provide, the more people you can help and the more people will be apt to stay connected.