How to market your business through social media

You might think that marketing your business with social media is easy and inexpensive.
You might be right. But going about it the correct way, to ensure that you are successful – that takes time and effort.

Many web hosting companies help you to create your website as well as keeping it online for you. UK2 website builder software, for instance, has a wide range of professionally-designed templates that come with pre-installed social media features, making it easy for visitors to share your content marketing far and wide at the click of a button. But first you need to know how best to put social media to your service, which is where this guide comes in…

Planning

Step one is to have a social media plan. Think about the types of content you will be creating, and what information will be contained in that content. Where and when will you be sharing it? You need to know who your audience is, what their motivations are, and what is most likely to push their buttons so that they will in turn push your Share buttons.

Images and video content are great for social sharing. Try to post something at least a couple of times a day, whether it’s your own original content or someone else’s.

Don’t wait until your business is ready to launch before you get active on social media.
You can start earlier by building connections and sharing information, as long as you have a brand name and image to promote.

Platforms

There are so many social media platforms now that it can be difficult to know where to start, so consider sticking with the principal ones for the time being, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube or LinkedIn. Study each platform. Don’t just dive in immediately. Research how to create the optimum profile, and what expert tricks are available to help you maximise your time on there. Realistically you don’t want to spend too much of your time on social media, so if you can get good results quickly, all the better.

Go to where your audience is. Don’t expect them to find you, because either they won’t – or they will but it will take a long time.

Relationship Building

Create relationships with influencers in your industry and market. If you can get them to share your content, then that is going to drive a lot of traffic your way. How to go about that? Regularly comment on the content they post, like and share it. Make them remember you and trust that you are someone that they can recommend to their followers.

Ensure that your own customers know that you are on social media. Your Follow buttons should be prominent on every page of your website and every piece of content you produce.

Listen

The old saying goes that we have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we speak. Take stock of what people are saying not just on your own social profiles, but elsewhere online, and follow the conversations. Contribute where appropriate, and if you are noticing that certain products or campaigns are taking on either a positive or negative vibe, make adjustments accordingly.

Don’t sell directly – that’s something of a faux pas on social media. Instead join conversations naturally, wait for people to notice you, and good things should happen.

Action Plans

Have an action plan in place to deal with negative events. It can be severely detrimental to your brand image to become involved in a public spat with a customer, or to handle a scandal badly, and history is littered with companies that have got this essential issue wrong.

Control who in your business represents your brand officially online, and make sure they are well aware of your brand image and tone of voice, and what is expected of them.

Tracking

Use analytic software to establish which platforms are working for you and which aren’t. Many businesses will operate across several platforms. Choose the ones you feel are appropriate for you and the product or service you sell, and adjust your content as necessary.