Social media can be a great way of helping you connect to your customers, but only if you know how to do it. Here’s how to really use social media to market your business.
It’s not good being on social media sites simply because everyone is doing it, you need to have a specific goal in mind. Are you trying to raise awareness to your brand? Do you want to get feedback from customers? Do you want to drive more traffic to your website? Do you want to promote new products?
- Understand what you need to do
Jordan stone, head of social media at Vodafone UK, says: Be clear about what you are using social media sites for. There is no single way, but you need to have a clear understand of what you want to use social media for and then focus on a plan.
There is no shortage of things you can use social media for – a like, a retweet, a reaction, an engagement rate – but if you are not clear on your goals and what you want to achieve, you could end up measuring the wrong thing.
- Take time to understand how each social media platform works
Every social media sites works differently – so observe them closely before jumping in and take advantage of the tools and advice they offer for businesses like yours.
- Listen as well as talk
Social media conversation, not a monologue. Make sure you really notice the people you are connecting and engaging with. Acknowledge people’s interactions, and respond quickly and carefully to each question or complaint.
- Don’t spread yourself thin
Don’t try to be in everywhere at once – Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and LinkedIn all offer great opportunities, depending on what business you have. Master one or two that are for your audience before joining more. If you try to be everywhere at once, you will water down your resources and end up achieving nothing.
- Get the right pace
You still need to maintain a regular presence, but one great post a day can be far more effective than endless posts.
Social media is all about quality rather than quantity. The number of times you post a day matters less than what you are posting and who you are targeting it at. Even a single tweet needs to be carefully crafted in the right brand tone of voice.
- Make things visual
The best way to make your post stand out is to make it look good, either with high quality photos or by using video. Be very creative when it comes to your post and recognize that all platforms are prioritizing image and video.
- Get targeting
You can generate a lot of value by paying for targeted post – where you ask Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to use their data to make sure your post are seen by specific people who might be interested in your products or services.