First impressions are important and nowadays that impression is usually founded on social media sites. Social media sites are becoming an ideal way for businesses to stay connected with existing customers while promoting themselves to new ones. But having your company on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest requires commitment; it’s incredibly easy to make any of these pages, but in order for them to be beneficial to your business, they need to be solid and authentic. Here are some basic tips for building a strong social media marketing base.
Don’t take on more than you can handle
Start with one social media site and don’t move on to another until you have a decent wave of followers and have the time to keep your page constantly updated. It’s much better to have one or two strong social media accounts than several weak ones.
Have a basic understanding of various social media sites
For example, aesthetics are the primary way of engaging people on Pinterest; therefore, use images that will catch people’s attention enough to click on the image to see the blog or article you are promoting. Twitter is all about words: since tweets have a limit of the amount of characters, getting your point across with the least words possible is important. Follow Shakespeare’s advice here: “Brevity is the soul of wit.”
Be social
That’s the whole point isn’t it?! You’re not going to make any friends, followers, etc. if all you do is promote your brand or a new product. Show that you are capable of commenting on topics unrelated to your business and listen to what other people have to say.
With that being said, have interesting things to say. Being up-to-date with current events will remind people that there is a person behind that twitter name. Don’t make posts just to fill up empty cyberspace. Consider your posts as things you would say if you were meeting a client for the first time.
Be consistent with the quantity of your posts and updates
Fill out all of the bio information asked of you and add in the links to your website or other social media pages. Adding new pictures of your business and consistently posting statuses and comments will increase the traffic to your page and allow others to engage in your discussions.
Always be polite
This should be a no-brainer but it’s easy to come off arrogant or rude without body language or voice inflections to help uncover a person’s tone. Say thank you if someone retweets or shares your post. Likewise, apologize when you make a mistake or offend someone (even accidentally). Keep in mind that unhappy costumers can use this opportunity to tear you apart in front of other clients. Remaining civil will have a greater impact to potential clients than ranting back at the other person (albeit a bit less amusing).
Keep your costumers involved
People should feel like they are getting some sort of benefit from liking or following your page. Mention deals and sweepstakes on your posts if you have any and promptly answer questions potential customers may have.
Pay attention to keyword selection
Do some research as to what people are typing in on YouTube, for example. This will help you come up with ways to shift those words and ideas into your page and increase web traffic. Yet, avoid black hat SEO and overstuffing keywords.
Social media marketing can be a great tool to get to know clients and other professionals similar to you. It’s also a good start on the road to self-improvement since you can see how similar companies are handling their social media and whether it’s producing positive or negative results. A business can build a strong internet marketing base when pairing good social media skills with best SEO practices and SEM; the internet facet of your company will not only be easy to find, but actually engaging to be a part of as well!