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With over 4.89 billion users worldwide and an average user spending 151 minutes per day on these channels, social media has revolutionized the way businesses interact with their customers. With the ability to reach more potential customers than ever before, more and more businesses are turning to social media to grow their online presence and connect with current and future customers. Here we’ll explore how to use social media to grow your business and ways you can utilize it to engage with customers.
Before you make your first post, you should define your goals and identify your target audience. What are you trying to achieve with social media? Do you want to increase brand awareness? Maybe you’re trying to drive more traffic to your website or generate leads. Once you have defined your goals and who you’re trying to reach, you can tailor your social media strategy to achieve them.
Not all social media platforms are appropriate for every business. Depending on your target audience, you should pick which platform works best for your goals and aligns with the resources available to you. Facebook is the largest social media platform with 2.96 billion users and over 200 million business users. Instagram is great for businesses with visually appealing products or services. LinkedIn is a professional network great for B2B businesses. Research the social media platforms most used by your target audience and focus on those.
To create a social media presence, you’re going to need content. You want this to be interesting, engaging, and shareable as well as relevant and valuable to your target audience. Using a mix of videos, images, and text will keep your content fresh and prevent it from becoming repetitive. Providing content about your product or service will help get your name out there and create brand awareness. Read our content marketing post to learn how to create a content strategy.
Increasingly, businesses are also providing “behind the scenes” type content. This can be easily done by creating employee-made content sharing celebrations, showing packing videos, a timelapse of creating a new window display, or other things of that nature. This transparency helps customers develop a relationship with the brand. In fact, 53% of customers say they’re more likely to buy from a brand they feel is transparent on social media.
Social media opens the door for conversation with your customers. By responding to comments, messages, and mentions you connect with customers and, in turn, grow your business. Don’t be afraid to show some personality and exhibit your brand voice in your interactions to humanize your brand.
There are also some other ways to create a hype around your brand. Holding a contest or giveaway is also an excellent way to engage with your audience and gain new followers. Offer an additional entry for people who tag a friend or two in the comments for extra visibility.
Social media ads are incredibly powerful when it comes to growing your business. They allow you to zero in on your target audience by focusing on certain demographics, interests, behaviors, and locations. Experiment with different ad formats and targeting options to find the best combination for your business.
To ensure your social media strategy is working, monitor your social media performance. Use social media analytics tools to track engagement, identify reach, and measure conversions. Analyze your data regularly to identify trends, see where you’re succeeding, and identify areas that aren’t working. Use these insights to refine your social media strategy.
Social media is a powerful tool to grow your business and interact with customers. To succeed on social media be sure to know your goals, identify your target audience, choose the right platforms, create engaging content, use ads, and track your performance. With a solid social media strategy and some trial and error, you’ll be growing your business in no time.
