You might already know this but yes, billions of people are on social media right now. A huge chunk of those people is on Facebook. If you’re running a business and you’re not present on social media, you’re missing out on a lot of potential leads and sales for your brand.
Truth be told, a lot of businesses are on social media right now so competition is pretty stiff. Although there are a lot of them out there, there are not a lot of brands that utilize what social media can do for them. If you’re just starting out, here are a few proven and tested strategies to consider.
1. Turn On Automated Responses
People aren’t impatient on social media. However, they do appreciate it if they get an immediate response from the businesses they interact with. What can you do if you’re not around 24/7 to respond to these messages?
Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have built-in automated responses. These will allow you to get back to your customer and give them answer to basic questions such as your location, operating hours, and even more details about what you offer.
Of course, make sure to state your business hours too so that people know when it’s appropriate to drop you a message.
2. Engage!
Social media marketing thrives on engagement. The more people engage with your brand online, the more it appears on the feed of others.
You should do your best to generate engagements between you and your target audience as much as possible. Something as simple as replying to comments constantly goes a long way to keep your page’s activity up. That said, you should also consider holding contests and give aways through the page.
Get the customers in on the action. Doing so doesn’t just generate involvement. It will also get more people acquainted with your brand. On your end, that’s free user-generated content that’s waiting to be used!
3. Spice Things Up Content-Wise
There shouldn’t be any limit to what you post on your page. Some businesses focus on basic text posts only. Then there are those that focus on photos. There are lot of content that you can shell out and it’s best to get the most out of what you have. We’ll set up a few examples.
Say you’re running a local restaurant. You can focus on posting photos of your customers as they happily dine in your restaurants. Aside from that, you can also post blog content that talks about the benefits of the food you serve.
You can even put up a poll about which dishes from your restaurant they love the most. The possibilities are near endless when it comes to what you can post.
4. Use Brand Advocates
The best social media marketing tool isn’t any software found online. Instead, it’s the people that actually love your brand. Find influencers and even regular people who will openly talk about your brand and what they love about it.
Regardless of who your target audience is, they’d definitely trust people are like them. If those people who are like them talk about your brand and what’s great about it, you can bet that you can easily turn those bystanders into customers very quickly as well.
5. Establish A Budget
Creating a social media platform is free. However, you’re still going to have to spend a lot of your money on promotional materials, campaign materials, and many others.
As with any other marketing form, going over budget is a big mistake when it comes to social media marketing. Before you begin with a campaign, make sure to a lot a budget for your brand first so that you stay within realistic goals.
Social media marketing might sound simple enough but as with other marketing forms, you’ll need to be knowledgeable to make it work. It’s not as easy as it sounds but with these strategies, you can make a big difference with how your brand performs online.