This current situation has, forced people and businesses to adapt. How are some businesses still able to sustain themselves? If that question is still baffling you, you’re not the only one.
Fortunately, this problem has a solution:
Social media marketing.
And, with this in mind, it’s important to know how to use social media to demonstrate your business’s presence to your trusted followers and new potential customers.
Increase your social presence
Many people are still social distancing in their homes. With all this extra time time, more and more people are are spending a large amount of time on social networks each day. You can easily use this as an opportunity for your business to reach out to your community; leave a message, whether of awareness or solidarity, and create valuable and helpful content. During this period, you should also try to increase the frequency of your posts to show that you are still there for your customers.
Using social media for your business can also bring many benefits that extend beyond the current crisis situation, so, it’s important to put a social marketing strategy in place for your business now.
What is social media marketing?
Social media marketing refers to using social media networks and platforms as a tool to advertise a company, feature or product. It can also involve building your brand’s awareness and driving website traffic.
Companies and brands produce content on the same platforms used by people, in the hope that customers interact or share their content, thereby increasing the probability that someone decides to make a purchase from their business. These page are often a person’s first port of a call when looking for information about a business.
Simply put, the most obvious reason for using social media platforms to advertise is that these networks are where the people are. And, social media marketing has a lot of advantages:
1. It's free
If you think about it, online marketing doesn’t require much effort. You don’t need big bucks or a lot of resources. Opening a Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn Company page has no costs and having a free tool that brings benefits should not be missed.
2. Reports and statistics
You can get an idea of who visits your page and better understand who your audience is.
3. Greater visibility on the web
If you have a page with the right content, you can appear in someone's search results.
4. Support for your customers
Thanks to the possibility of being able to communicate via Messenger, you can manage questions or concerns from your customers quickly.
5. Quality content
You can use social media to publish free posts or videos about your products, services and deals.
6. SEO Rankings
With the speed of social media and new weight being added to information shared through social channels, being on these platforms filled with rich content relevant to your business can help you boost your search engine rankings.
6. Quick Updates
The important thing to remember is that finding a way to regularly update your social networks will allow you to ensure good communication with your customers, and also to broaden your audience. Using social media is a great way to educate your customers about simple changes, such as changes to opening hours and when your ready to reopen face- to face.
Which channel?
Different channels work best for different companies.
Facebook Business Page
Doing something simply because your competition is doing it isn't a good enough reason. But, when it comes to social media, not having a Facebook page or a presence on other social networks can cost you opportunities—especially if your competition is using social media and using it well. Many of your customers are looking for this kind of social interaction, so if you aren't engaging them, you can bet your competitors will.
LinkedIn Profile
Consider your LinkedIn account as an extension of your website and establish a strong brand presence there or you will lose out. It's the difference between looking like a professional or a mere newbie that your prospective customers/clients will not take seriously. Everyone has a personal brand whether they focus on it or not, so wouldn’t you like to decide how you’re represented and the impact you make?
If you are already on LinkedIn, chances are that you’re not using it to its full potential. It’s a great place to find new customers, build business partnerships and promote your website content – especially Blogs (LinkedIn Articles). In fact, in many cases, it can even send more website traffic than Twitter and Facebook.
LinkedIn Company Page
LinkedIn offers businesses of any size to have a presence in an environment that is targeted, credible and genuine. Branding your LinkedIn Company Page is a great way to share content, while also giving your business credibility, and exposure.
When your followers engage with your updates, it spreads your message to their networks and provides you even greater reach. Updates can be seen by your followers not just on your Company Page, but also on their newsfeed + across all devices.
Businesses have found Twitter to be a gold mine for getting their messages to the masses and interacting with customers. Twitter is a force to be reckoned with and a social media channel that can work effectively for any business so it's important that you not only grab your Twitter handle, but you also brand your Twitter account today!
YouTube Channel Branding
YouTube is an essential marketing tool for small businesses. Since YouTube is owned by Goggle, YouTube videos produce excellent search results. YouTube videos drive traffic and provide a much more accessible medium for accessing your customer base, building relationships, establishing your expertise.
Consistency is key:
Your brand should be recognized and identified no matter where the messaging and imagery appears. Consistency across all channels is a must.
Bottom Line:
Getting started with social media for businesses can be daunting, but it gets easier as you go, especially when you start to see the positive impact it can have on your business.
Hopefully, this article will help you get started, if you have questions or need help updating and rebranding your social media platforms feel free to reach out www.cybranded.com!