Social media can be a very powerful tool for the success of any business. The following are some tips that can help you boost sales using social media.
1. Carry out some research
When it comes to research, you could start by investigating your competition. Find out what other businesses in your niche are doing in terms of social activity. Visit their sites or blogs and look for widgets linking to their social media profiles. Don’t just limit your search to businesses your size or even local businesses. You should also research larger companies and international businesses.
When you come across the profiles of several businesses, you can then start looking at their social activity in detail.
- Do they post videos, images or links on their Facebook wall? Which posts attract the most comments or likes?
- What kind of tweets do their followers retweet most frequently?
- How detailed is their business profile on LinkedIn? Which services or products have they listed?
These insights will help you get ideas for your own social media campaign.
2. Have a plan
After research, you need to come up with a plan. What social media profiles will you create for your business? Who will manage them and how often updates will be made? Your plan should also include social media policy for your staff that will have profiles linked to the business.
What are they allowed to discuss? How are they expected to promote the business? A social media policy is vital especially if you are planning to allow your staff to administrate your Facebook page, reply to tweets or answer questions on LinkedIn groups.
3. Create great content
To increase the number of your followers and fans, you need to create great content which will grab the attention of prospective clients. However, make sure the content is not always about your products or services.
For instance, if your business offers SEO solutions, you can share content covering different SEO techniques. Your aim should be to educate your prospects using articles, blog posts, infographics or videos. If your content is valuable, potential clients are likely to get interested in what you have to offer.
4. Listen and interact
When it come to social media campaigns, interacting with people is very vital. You need to keep track of what people are saying about brand names, business or staff of your business. Services such as Google Alerts can notify you whenever your business is mentioned in other sites or on social media.
Anytime you see your brand or business mentioned, make sure you respond as soon as possible. Remember also to respond to comments or questions on your YouTube videos or Facebook wall. Businesses which handle complaints and problems efficiently and fast are perceived as more credible.
Image Credit: Telezent
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