Grow Your Business Using Social Media

Ever since it arrived on the scene over fifteen years ago, social media has truly changed the marketing game for so many companies. There’s a new level of exposure and accountability businesses have. Social media is also an incredibly lucrative platform to build a strong business. There are so many bloggers, brand ambassadors and creatives that now have jobs thanks to the power of social media. If you’d like to use social media to grow your business, you’re very wise to do so. With some strategic business moves, your business can grow leaps and bounds. It can also grow slowly and steadily. Either way, if your business doesn’t already have a platform on social media, your business is behind. Consider these tips to seven tips when you’d like to see growth in your business.

1. Contests & Giveaways

A great strategy involves hosting a contest or giveaway. This is one of the most original tricks in the book. People always love to receive free things. As a result, they’ll do just about anything to win a prize they actually want. If your company sells flowers and candy, consider creating a giveaway that gives flowers and candy to one person each week for an entire month. In order to enter the contest, users need to repost the contest flyer to their social media site, tag the company and two friends. This is a great way to get exposure very quickly. On the flip side, you’ll have to remember that not everyone will stick around. There are some people who are just there to enter to win something. At the same time, it’s still a great way to get quick exposure and new followers.

2. Valuable Content

Sharing valuable content will certainly take you far. In fact, it is one of the most effective tactics your business can use. If your company sells cloth diapers for babies, create a blog that shares information and insight on how to take care of a baby. Whether the baby is a newborn or turning one, zero in on that target market and share content that could help them. If you’re not sure what to share, create a public survey and find out the questions new mothers have or had. Revolve your content around those themes and don’t just focus on selling the cloth diapers. Once you position your company as an expert supplier, people will naturally want to buy what you have to offer. Focus on delivering value and the dollars will follow.

3. Beautiful Graphics

Everything on the internet is very photo-driven. With the exception of Twitter, most sites revolve around beautiful pictures that get lots of likes, shares and pins. Whether you’re creating a flyer on Facebook or a pin on Pinterest, make sure the graphics are eye-catching and beautiful. You’ll need to pay attention to this point because eye-catching beauty is the standard online. If you’re not producing the standard at the very least, you’ll find it hard to compete with the other brands in your niche. There are lots of photo-editing sites and programs that are easy to learn or use. If photography and editing aren’t your strong points, hire someone to create the right graphics. Beautiful photos and videos are very important with social media marketing.

4. Exclusive Footage

Sites like Snapchat and Instagram are very popular because people like to get their content in real-time. They also like receiving behind-the-scenes footage of what’s going on. With Instagram, there’s a feature called Instastories. It’s a lot like Snapchat and you can use it to record lots of fun footage at any time. It’s also great because you can see who’s watched the videos and how many people are following. This is an easy and free way to get a good understanding of your analytics and how many people your company is effectively engaging. There are many companies that shy away from posting a lot on social media because they don’t want to feel like spam. With Instastories and Snapchat, the more content you post, the more engaging you become.

5. Keywords

Keywords are essential for all your social media content. Keywords can also be seen as hashtags on certain sites. For example, if your company is creating content for the YouTube channel, it’s important to use the right keywords in your description, the title and the back-end tags. You’ll need to do some keyword research to find out which words people are typing in when they’re looking for a product or service like the one you offer. You can do your own keyword research using various analytics and keyword programs. Once you’ve figured out which words you’ll use, make sure they’re in every single post. The more you use them, the more Google will recognize your website over time. Don’t overuse them, though. The content should still be valuable. Organically place the keywords in the content you share.

6. Consistency

If you’d like to be successful with anything in life, there has to be a level of commitment and consistency. It can be very hard to remain consistent with a project when you don’t see immediate results. However, if the results aren’t coming the way you want them to, do research to figure out why. Be willing to be flexible with your approach. Give the company’s social media platforms a chance to grow. There are certain times of the year when some campaigns work better than other times. Just be consistent and find your company’s groove.

7. Ads

Paid advertising will truly take your business far. Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest all offer advertising options. The price points vary so run ads that match the company’s budget. If you need training on how to prepare social media ads, invest and get it. Facebook ads, for example, will quickly put you in front of a different audience and allow you to achieve a great amount of exposure.

When used correctly, these tips will lay a solid foundation for your business to thrive. Since each company is different, it may take a bit of tweaking to figure out which platform is right and what marketing strategy works the best. Overall, do your best to be authentic and reflect your brand in the most accurate way. People can tell what’s real and what’s fake. As long as you stay true to the mantra and purpose of the business, you’ll attract a following that will stay for a long time.