Current figures show that Facebook currently has over 900 million users, whilst Twitter has some 200 million and the figures for newer social medias also boast high usage.
With an audience this large, it’s little wonder that so many businesses are using social media as a way of promoting their products and services, and dramatically increase profits.
If you’re considering the use of social media to grow your business then you couldn’t have chosen a better time; but there are a number of very important rules to remember as you find your way.
Find the Right Media
Although many businesses have a duel presence, using more than one social media and attracting twice the number of new fans or customers, that’s no reason to jump into every single social media available and hoping for the best. Prior to setting up any social media presence, it’s vital to consider which is the best social media for you and how to approach each one. Whilst Twitter is a great way of sharing news and insights from you, a site such as Facebook enables you to actually share pictures of products and allows you to engage more with your customers.
Regular Updates
The beauty of social media is that it allows you to connect instantly with your customers. However, that connection can only be made and maintained if you’re invested in it in a regular basis. That doesn’t mean that you need to spend all day sitting on Facebook and neglecting other jobs; it really doesn’t take too long to post an update and return messages from followers – the important thing is to ensure that you’re doing so regularly. A recent survey by a New York based marketing company (Mr Youth) showed that 80% of queries on Facebook which were answered by the business in question were then converted into sales – proving that it’s well worth the effort of responding.
Encourage Recommendations
Because of the huge number of businesses operating on social media sites, it can often seem difficult to break through to customers. However, just as is the case in the “real world”, people are more likely to like or become of a fan of a brand or business if they are recommended to do so by a friend or relation. Therefore, asking your followers to share your page or highlight your products could have extremely positive results. However, it’s also worth noting that those customers or followers will be much more likely to do so if there is a reward available to them. Offering a discount, a prize, or even regular competitions when you reach a target (e.g. 1000 followers or likers) is much more likely to engage them as well as encouraging them to get involved with your page.
Use Opinions Wisely
One of the advantages of social media is that it gives you a direct line to your customers. This means that their opinions, good or bad, of your products and services are also easily available to you. The key here is to use those opinions to either change the way you offer those products and services if needed or to continue your good work. Furthermore, telling those followers how you’ve used their opinions will only further strengthen the relationship you have with those customers.
