Social media marketing is a method of online marketing that will make your business profitable over time; basically you plant the seeds and begin to watch your efforts grow and eventually reap the rewards. It is not a quick fix, it will take effort on your part and I am saying this now so that I can correct any wrong assumptions you already have about it. That said, it is a very potent strategy of promoting your business through the most popular social media networks such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and LinkedIn. As a Small Business Owner, you should not ignore the efficacy of creating vital content and promoting them on social media channels; this very act will lead to a decent Return of Investment (ROI) in the form of exposure, gaining expert status in your field as well as getting clients.
Even though Social media marketing might be time consuming, it is not complex at all and it’s definitely not only for the experts. It doesn’t require any computer programming skills; everyone can do it, the secret is just quality effort and the eagerness to learn. One of the many advantages of taking this strategy is that you get to interact directly with potential clients on the sites that they frequently visit. It is informal way of engaging your target audience by sharing vital information that they can use immediately; they eventually will become loyal supporter and fans of your business as well as future clients.
Social media marketing is an effective way to get people to know about your business, products and services that you offer. You will eventually grow to a point when there is a group of your followers or loyal fans geared up to always act upon what you have to say and share it with their friends on the same network; this can be a source of referral business. So let me go over 9 points that will serve as the foundation for your social media marketing efforts;
• Get Listeners not Followers: It is a mistake to set out initially to get many friends or followers on social media websites. Instead, you want to have people who are not only supporters or friends on these site but “listeners”. Listeners are the ones who find your content useful and take action as a result of it; they are ones you can convert into clients and also they are the ones that share your content with their friends.
• Be a part of the community: Consider the advantages and benefits of using the most popular social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Youtube. They are well known by the general public thanks in part to the news media, celebrities and so on hence they have more exposure. Learn the means of communication on these sites, their lingo and rules and always be positive on these sites, remember that you are representing your business online.
• Be a Resource before you are a Vendor: All content that you post must be informative, helpful as well as entertaining. You always have to be a resource of valuable content on social media networks before your become a vendor of a service; when your content works well with your listeners they will spread it effectively and/or become your client.
• Engage your listeners: Refrain from always trying to talk about your business or sell your services, the goal with social media marketing is to interact with your listeners by providing them with immediate answers to their questions; you need to engage your listeners and create an atmosphere wherein they freely want to share their concerns with you because they have come to trust you.
• Only post quality content: Even though Social Media is free and has the ability to reduce marketing costs significantly when compared to other forms of marketing such as Direct Mail, Pay-Per-Click or Banner ads, you must ensure that you only post content that has value to your listeners. Quality content is always better than quantity. In my view “If Content is King, timely response to comments and building a following with your audience is Queen”.
• Register and use Facebook: It is very popular and it’s a platform wherein your friends can easily see updates of your status. There are two main ways to use Facebook; first of all create a personal profile so that you can communicate with your friends and also create a Facebook Fanpage which you can use for communicating with the fans of your business. It is wise to separate your business content from your personal content because it will help to better qualify your contacts on Facebook; your goal is to determine those who eventually might become your client from those who just want to be friends with you.
• Use LinkedIn: This is a more businesslike and formal platform. You need to keep an updated profile on this site. It is a network wherein you can build long lasting relationships with other entrepreneurs who can either refer you clients or endorse you based on previous experiences they have had dealing with you. Create a group for your business on LinkedIn and start posting quality content and over time the number of group members that you have will increase. Also spend time answering questions that others have posted on the site, this will help to establish you as an expert in your field.
• Sign up for Twitter: The great thing about Twitter is that you can post updates to the site directly from your cell phone. Which means that you can easily share your thoughts with the world while is still hot and fresh on your mind. Twitter only allows you to use 140 characters so you have to make sure you precisely and clearly express your ideas. You should use Twitter predominantly to post how you are helping your clients in real time. Twitter will allow others to follow you and it is also wise to follow them as well because potential followers will see this and will gladly follow you. In the end the goal is to convert a subset of your followers into listeners.
• Post Videos on Youtube: You can also get the attention of an audience by posting interesting videos on Youtube. Use keywords related to your services so that those who are interested can easily access your videos. You also want to post funny videos that not only make people laugh but also give them an idea of what you can do for them; these types of videos become viral and are watched by a lot of people, which means more exposure for you.
It is evident today that Social Media Marketing has leveled the playing field for all businesses; as a small business owner, you can now compete with larger well known companies just by finding a way to stand out from your competition. You need to develop the mindset of constantly providing value for prospective clients from the very instance you first meet them. You will be best served by getting involved and engaging people on these networks by participating and sharing quality content which in the long run will lead to clients as well as expert status in your field. Look out for Part 2 of this blog post because I will go into more details on how to create content and distribute it on relevant social media websites.
So what do you think about my post? Did I hit the nail on it’s head. I’d like to get your opinion; how are you currently using social media marketing for your business? Please share
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