If you are a micro, small or medium sized business without a dedicated marketing department, or the budget to invest in an advertising campaign, social media may be the answer for you.
Through using social media you can connect directly with your customers to promote your business and brand. By engaging customers, you can actively gain their trust and loyalty.
Use our guide below to see how as you can use social media to connect with your customers and endorse your business.
Know your Audience
In order to engage with people, you need to know who they are. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Who are your products aimed at?
- Who are your existing customers?
- Who do you want to become your customers?
- When you have the answers to these questions, you will know the people you will be targeting.
What Site is Best?
The top social networking services are Facebook, Google+, YouTube and Twitter. Facebook allows you to have personal interaction with your customers, through posts, competitions and events. However more and more businesses are now turning towards Google+.
You can now create a Google+ page, rather than a personal profile, that is specifically designed for businesses. It is simple to set up and use, and puts a variety of tools at your disposal including Google hangout and YouTube video features. The best thing about it is that it’s free.
Interact with Customers
The great thing about social media is that you are given more than just a website or blog to upload information to, you are able to communicate directly with your customers. Think about this when you post. Are the posts interesting for your customers? Does it make people want to engage with you? You need to be sociable, ask questions, start conversations, and respond to people’s posts and comments. The aim is for this interaction to be shared by your customers with other people to ultimately widen your reach and connections.
Maintain the Momentum
If you start using social networking, the worst thing you can do is stop. If you are reaching out to people, capturing their interest and support, you need to maintain it. A conversation is a collaboration involving more than one person. If you stop talking, the communication ends, people’s interest fades, and they have the potential to stop following you.
At first, social media may seem like hard work. But the more you put in, the more you get from it. Whether you are aiming to attract new customers or interact with existing ones, consistency is key. Try and get into a rhythm where you post at certain times or on certain days. Competitions are a great way to generate interest and to reward the loyalty of your customers.
Richard Rosenthal is an enthusiastic musician and SEO consultant at Tecmark
