Social media marketing is a highly effective tool for promoting businesses, building brands, and business networking. Social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin, provide a free platform for getting your message across to customers, potential customers, and other business contacts. Utilizing social media as part of your marketing campaign can bring great rewards. Here are 5 social media marketing tips for promoting your small business.
1. Don’t spread yourself too thin
Choose one primary social media platform to focus your marketing efforts on. Trying to maintain an active social media presence on all of the social networking sites takes a great deal of time and commitment, and is better left to paid professionals. So, unless you can afford to pay a social media expert to take care of your online marketing, it is always best to choose one main platform to focus on. You can still set up profiles on the other social media sites, but your main marketing efforts should be concentrated in one place.
2. Keep it real
Users of social networking sites want to interact with real people, not company directors and marketing experts. Let your personality come across through your social media presence, and don’t be afraid to disclose a few personal facts to your followers. If you like to spend your weekends walking in the countryside, tell your followers a little bit about it. This will help to make you more of a “real” person, rather than just a business owner.
3. Take time designing your profile page
First impressions really do count. Your profile page is the first contact you will have with other social media users. The impression that you give should fit in with the style of your business. Make sure that your profile, tagline, avatar, and other content convey the right message about your business. Think carefully about which colours, patterns, and images to use on your profile page, as these can have a significant impact on how other users will see you.
4. Get the timing right
Updating your status or uploading content too often can annoy your followers. On the other hand, leaving too long between your updates can be just as detrimental to your social media marketing efforts. The optimum amount of time between updates will vary, depending on the type of business you run. For example, if you manufacture toothpaste, you may only need to post updates twice a week. However, if you run a news website, you may need to post several updates every day.
5. Get involved
Social media sites are full of campaigns and charitable schemes that you can get involved with. Choose a cause that is relevant to your business, and discreetly let your followers know that you are actively seeking a change for the better. It doesn’t have to cost you anything to support a charitable cause; there are plenty of other ways that you can help. Getting involved with the social media community in this way will help to solidify your presence in the world of social networking.