Anyone who runs a business knows that nowadays it’s not enough to get a great website up and running – you not only have to keep your site current, but you have to make sure your social media is killing it everyday. Read on for some things you should know about social media for your business.
It Doesn’t Have To Take a Lot of Time
Once you get a social media strategy in place, you can use social media scheduling tools to do the rest of the work for you. These tools let you spend some time one day a week putting together your posts, and then you can schedule them to publish throughout the week (or month).
There Are Different Platforms
If you are new to social media, the information you need just to get started may be making your head spin. You probably know about Facebook and Twitter, but there are even more to consider; the number of platforms seems to be growing everyday. So which platform is right for you and your business? To help you get started, take a hard look at who your audience is and what you want to gain from social media. Consider these 10 key points.
Once you narrow down what you want social media to accomplish, you can start trying to decide which platforms can help you achieve your goals. There are 10 categories of social media:
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Shared economy, where goods and services can be traded, such as Airbnb and Uber. These sites are great for connecting your business with those who are looking for just what you are offering.
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Anonymous social networks, which probably won’t be of much benefit to a business
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Interest-based, such as Goodreads (for readers) or Last.fm (for music lovers). These can be a great way to zero in on customers with a shared interest (hopefully involving your product or service).
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Discussion forums, where information and opinions are shared. These can be helpful for market research.
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Consumer review, such as Yelp and TripAdvisor. Positive reviews on these sites can gain business, and these sites are your chance to resolve any complaints unhappy customers may have. Responding in a timely and effective manner to complaints also gives potential customers the opportunity to see that you do care about your customers’ happiness.
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Blogging and publishing, such as WordPress. These sites are used for content marketing, which is yet another way to engage customers. The right content can also help you to get a reputation as a thought leader in your industry.
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Shopping, such as Etsy
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Content curation, such as Pinterest. These sites can help you to discover what is new and trending. They are also great for customer engagement, driving brand awareness, and increasing website traffic.
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Social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. There are many uses for this type of social media: customer service, to promote awareness of your brand, to generate leads, and to build relationships with customers.
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Media sharing networks, such as Instagram and YouTube
The important thing to remember is to not jump into more platforms than you can manage.
It’s Not Just About Socializing
Social media is great for building relationships with customers and potential customers. But you can also use it to find potential business partners and to find out what your customers are talking about, worrying about, and buying. You can also use ads on social media to reach a specific target audience. And, through posts and advertising, you can keep track of what information your audience is finding helpful by seeing which posts are popular and which ones are not.
There Are Guidelines for How Often To Post
You should post on social media as often as you can, but there are different rules for different platforms. Experts say that once per day for Facebook is optimal, but you should post at least three times a week. For Pinterest, the minimum is three per day, with a maximum of 30 per day. For Instagram, experts suggest once per day minimum and no more than three times per day. On Twitter, some businesses post an amazing 100 times a day, but three to 30 times a day is just as effective. Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is to post quality content, and do it consistently.
Social media is inexpensive, fast, and a great way to interact with customers, build your brand, and build customer loyalty. Once you make a few key decisions about when, how often, and where to post, it can be an invaluable tool to build your business!
