Social media is a great tool for business. But, many businesses attempt to use social media marketing and wonder why it isn’t working. It is possible to get your marketing on social media very wrong, but it’s also possible to engage with customers, turn potential customers into sales and create a loyal following. So, what do you need to remember to achieve those things?
Keep Listening
You need to know your target audience to be able to create posts that are appealing to them. Watch how your customers react to posts on your profile, reply to comments to start conversations and ask them their opinions. Starting discussions with your audience will help you to learn about the things that are important to them so you can create content that adds value to their social media lives.
Stay Focused
It’s tempting to create content that targets a wide range of different people with the intention of attracting more people to your business, but that rarely results in your desired outcome. It’s much better to create content that targets a specific niche or talks about something specialized, instead of coming up with a broader subject. Even if you grab the attention of fewer people, those people are far more likely to stay interested in your business rather than just a single post.
Patience
Social media campaigns very rarely get results overnight, so it’s important to be patient and wait for your efforts to gain fruition. Don’t be tempted to run social media competitions just to gain more likes and shares. You need to gain quality followers, instead of the ones just in it for the free stuff.
Quality Content
If you’re just posting things to keep your page active, your followers will lose interest quickly. You need to create a content plan so you have the opportunity to make quality posts that really speak to your audience. It isn’t easy to do this consistently so many businesses require additional training for their employers, like an online IMC. Posting quality content often leads to shares which in turn leads allows new entry points so Google can rank your business via keyword searches.
Connect with Influencers
If you want to make a big impact quickly, spend some time looking for online influencers who have a similar target audience to your business. You’ll often find that these influencers, whether they’re celebrities or product reviewers, have a quality audience. This means you’re likely to get more sales from this type of audience because they’ll be genuinely interested in what your business offers.
Acknowledge Your Audience
If a customer came to a bricks and mortar store and asked you a question, it would be rude to turn away and ignore them. Why is it any different online? If a follower asks a question or makes a comment, acknowledge what they’ve said. Try not to pick and choose who you speak to because every follower is valuable. They may base their decision to make a purchase on your acknowledgement alone.
Social media isn’t always easy to manipulate, but once you’ve got the hang of it, it could benefit your business immensely.
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