Social media is becoming one of the most powerful ways to promote a business. While you might think that this mainly applies to online businesses, social media can actually be used to promote any type of business. It doesn’t matter if your business is small or large, online or offline. What matters is that many of your customers are online and logging onto social media sites on a daily basis. That’s why you should be doing the same!
Creating a Social Media Presence
The first step to promoting your business with social media is to actually set up your accounts and profiles with social media sites. You don’t have to join every site in existence, but at the very least you should be using the big ones. That means Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. The latter is especially geared to businesses, so you should definitely not overlook it.
The time has long since passed when social sites were only for certain types of people. Today, you will find people of all age, of all backgrounds and from all parts of the world using these sites. That’s why you can’t afford to not be part of this fast growing movement.
Setting Up Your Profiles
Once you’ve joined a social site, the next step is to create your profile and make sure it’s optimized as much as possible. You shouldn’t rush through this part of the process, as your profile is how people can identify you. Each site is a little different, but you will have the chance to say something about your business and what’s different about it.
While many businesses use logos for their profile pictures, there is an advantage to using a photo of yourself. If you have a small or medium sized business, it’s best to set up a profile that has a personal touch. This makes you seem friendlier and more accessible. A logo sends the message that you are an impersonal corporate entity, which isn’t really in line with the atmosphere of social media sites.
When you fill out the description for your profile, make sure you use as many keywords as possible that describe who you are and what you do. This will make it easier for people to find you. On some sites, such as LinkedIn, you also have the chance to put in all of your skills, services and websites. It’s almost like being able to have a resume posted on your site. You should fill out this information as completely as possible, as everything you include tells people more about you.
Providing Value on Social Sites
In order to use social media to promote a business, you have to give people a reason to follow you and keep up with your posts and updates. That’s why you should strive to provide real value to your friends and followers.
Consider what needs your audience has. While your business may provide some of these needs, you should also give away plenty of free information. You don’t have to send people to your competitors, but you can include links to informative articles, videos and other items that your potential customers will appreciate.
You also have to be active on the social sites you join. If you only appear once in a while, people are not going to remember you. It’s good to post daily on each site, even if it’s only to share a link or make a brief statement.
Connect your Social Sites With Your Business Site
Your social pages are mainly valuable as a business resource to the extent that you can send readers to your business website. This is where you are actually selling your products or services directly. It’s not usually a good idea to to blatant selling on social sites, as people see this as spammy.
You can, however, link people to your website whenever you have some new activity there. This includes blog posts, new product releases and updates to your services.
If your website has an opt-in page for a mailing list, you should frequently link your social pages to this page. You can also collect email addresses on some social sites, such as on your Facebook page. This isn’t seen as blatantly commercial, as it doesn’t cost anything to sign up for your newsletter or mailing list.
Social Media Can be Great For Your Business
There are many ways to use social media to market your business. The first step is to recognize the potential and get started. Many businesses have social pages that they barely use. The trick is to make social media marketing a regular part of your daily activity. This can help you reach out and build an ever widening audience. Some of these people will become your customers!
This article was submitted by Lewis Jacobs, an avid blogger and tech enthusiast. He enjoys fixing computers and writing about internet trends. He has written for campaigns such as, Internet with Direct TV and internet bundles.
