53% of small businesses say that Social Media Marketing is the number one source for their leads, yet 47% of small businesses say that they do not have an active Facebook Page.
Increase those leads with an active Social Media presence. Whether you aren’t posting enough, or you are posting the wrong things, here are 4 tips to help your business use Social Media correctly.
1. Use the Right Platform(s)
There are several Social sites to choose from and keeping active, with the right message and content, on all of them can be a daunting task. However, each site tends to have a variety of users and different audiences. Not all Social platforms may be relevant to your business. Select the sites that will work best for your business and what you are selling and focus your efforts there.
Nearly 80% of adults who use the internet are on Facebook, making Facebook the best Social site to use for just about any business.
Businesses targeting younger users may want to consider Snapchat and Instagram. If you are selling something more visual or is targeted more towards women, you will want to investigate using Pinterest. If your business deals more with professional services LinkedIn will likely be your best bet.
The bottom-line here is don’t spread yourself too thin by focusing your time, budget, and energy on Social campaigns that may not work for your demographic.
2. Be Consistent & Active
Now that you have decided the Social platforms you will focus on it’s time to create a consistent calendar and stick to it. Figure out the best times to post updates (using insights and analytics) and the number of times to post each day and then stick to the schedule.
Depending on the Social site you are using, the lifespan of a Social Media update is not very long, thus posting daily and sometimes several times a day will ensure your updates are being seen.
The average lifespan of a Social post on the different sites:
- Twitter tweet – 15 minutes
- Facebook update – 6 hours
- Instagram & LinkedIn – 24 hours
Additionally, the Facebook algorithm, which determines if your updates are seen at all, factors in the consistency of your account’s activity, the more active your Page is the more your updates will be fed out to your followers.
3. Know Your Audience
Knowing who your audience is on your Social accounts will help you in determining what type of content to post and the tone your account will take. It is necessary to view the analytics of your account’s followers to determine the age, gender, location, etc. of the users following your account. This will help you determine the type of content to post, content that will keep your audience interested and engaged. Once you know the content to post you can then determine through your account’s analytics the best time to post the content.
The goal is to keep your audience interested in what you have to say so that when you have something important to say in the future people are listening.
4. Engage with Your Audience
There is a lot of competition for visual space on Social Media, your business is competing with friends, family, schools, other businesses, etc. You need to make your content interesting and informative and tailor it to your audience. If you post only information about your business people will have no reason to interact. Post relevant information that will provide helpful tips for your audience, post something that will inspire people to comment and respond to those comments.
Treat your Social Account updates as though it is something you would say while having a conversation. Ask questions, provide advice, inspire people to know your business and feel comfortable speaking with your business.
Bonus, engagement will help with the Facebook algorithm as well as SEO, the more engagement and interaction with your updates and Page the more likely it is your updates and your business will be seen by more people.
Social Media Marketing is not just sharing a coupon or posting a funny meme. When used correctly you can attract an audience of followers and drive that audience to your website or retail location to convert them to paying customers.
Need help? Give us a call, we have been running holiday promotions for businesses for several years now and we can help you. Visit our website for more information and then contact us.