Between a product review on a company’s website and the one on Facebook from your friends, which one would you trust? It’s definitely your friend’s. This shows the importance of social networks in the business world. A Sprout Social study reveals that 50% of consumers will follow brands on social media to learn about new products and services.
It’s the main reason why many companies today are turning to social media marketing firms to provide professional social media management services. In this post, we provide some tips to help you manage your business on social media. Let’s dive in.
- Set Clear Goals
Developing a social media presence is not just about creating a social account with your company logo as profile picture. It’s much more than that. Don’t do it just do it because every other business is doing it.
First, ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Is it brand awareness? Are you looking to promote a product you just launched the other day? Do you want to offer better customer service? Such questions will help you come up with a working social media marketing strategy.
You can even have a time-frame for achieving certain objectives. For example, you might want to increase your Twitter followers by 800 in one month in order to increase reach. And remember, the goals need to be realistic and measurable. They should be guided by the insights you gain as you use the social media platform. Once you achieve one, you can move on to the next.
- Leverage Your Brand Voice
Brand voice is used to describe the personality you display while selling your products. Often, business owners struggle to achieve this because there is little explanation about brand voice. Marketing professionals throw this word around, and that is it.
You need to identify your brand voice and try to bring it out on social networks. Scrutinize your qualities, especially the ones you think are likely to attract new customers. Focus on the habits you display unconsciously regardless of the surrounding.
Let’s say you’re creative or outgoing. These qualities should show as you interact with your audience online. Brand voice will help you stand out from the crowd.
- Focus on Visual Content
Social media marketers agree about the huge benefits of visual content. People are visual. When they see, they remember more. You plan should be to produce more visual content. Be it high quality pictures, short and impactful videos or interesting infographics. In some cases, they’re usually more efficient that written content.
With time, you can learn to create great visuals. But not everyone has the talent for this. If your skills are short you can always hire a photographer to take photos for your Instagram or Pinterest, or an expert to create engaging videos for Facebook.
Note that visuals can also be used to promote your brand. Use your company’s colours in your visuals. Create them in a way that would make people know it’s your company once they see it.
- Be Consistent in Your Posting
Are you the kind of company that tweets once month and disappears? Or one that only post on Facebook after a product launch? Well, that’s an unhealthy marketing practice because a dormant profile is equal to zero social media presence.
In other words, you will put off customers who may want to connect with you or follow you. Have you noticed that big brands are active on social media? That’s one way they stay ahead of the curve.
Make a content schedule to ensure you stay active on social media. As you create content, ensure it is concise, and easy to read. You can use social media management tools like Coschedule to make your work less stressful. Further, diversify your content and try different content pieces. For example, you can update your YouTube channel weekly and answer a question on Quora twice a month.
- Engage Your Customers
I don’t know who your target audience is, what I know is that they want to stop talking AT them and start talking TO them. You could go on and on about how superior you products are but when consumers get the slightest hint that you’re ignoring them, they’ll stay away from you. You don’t want that.
Instead, grab this chance and showcase professionalism and quality customer service. For example, post content tailored to your customers’ needs and engage them. Basically, show that you’re paying attention.
Remember, social media equips you to provide exemplary customer service. Many customers today will turn to social media when they have a query or when they have a complaint. Show that you care and strive to answer all the questions without appearing rude or unconcerned. I think we all agree that we love brands that offer good customer service on social platforms.
- The Fewer The Platforms, The Better
There is always that social network that works best for every type of business. Pick that platform and build a good following. Don’t get it wrong; you’re still going to use other platforms to promote your business.
Most businesses make the mistake of joining too many platforms. Focusing on one or two when starting out would be a great idea as you can focus your energy there. Only when you’ve made progress should you move to the next platform.
With the above tips, you can effectively manage your business on social media. However, if you want to avoid the trouble of doing that, there are various social media marketing firms that are willing to offer social media management services.
Author’s Bio:
Working with various social media marketing firms in the past, this made me realize that I love learning and sharing. From marketing data, trends and insights, I always get a rush when learning new things. Also, I share a lot of photos of my dog on social media, so maybe that’s anothe reason 😉
