You’ve been using Facebook every day for years, but now you need to use it for business. You set up your page and start posting but no-one really responds. What should you do? Believe it or not, there is a science behind social media marketing. As an entrepreneur, you need to educate yourself about social media marketing techniques, so you can make an informed decision about whether to hire someone to help you out or do it on your own.
Let’s take a look at 3 basic principles of social media marketing to help you get started. You can start using these ideas right away to get noticed online.
1. Establish Your Audience
With 900 million active users on Facebook, 500 million on Twitter, and 150 people and businesses registered on LinkedIn, social media platforms are potentially invaluable when it comes to marketing your business. In such a crowded marketplace, however, it can be difficult to make your page stand out from the crowd.
The solution is to identify your target audience and advertise to them directly. Facebook makes this easy by allowing you to run paid ads that target specific demographic groups or users with particular interests. Focus on your targeted audience as much as possible so that only relevant users see your ads.
Similarly, on Twitter, you can search by location to connect with the users most relevant to your business. Simply type your search term into the search box, press return, then click on the settings button to select your advanced search options.
2. Encourage Growth
Although paying for Facebook ads or tweeting to particular Twitter users is a great way to kick-start your online marketing strategy, eventually you may want your customers to start doing your promotion for you. Encourage a buzz to grow around your online profile by offering coupons, discounts or other bonuses in exchange for users liking or recommending your page.
Remember that your customers are all individuals who want to connect with you on their own terms. Maintain a strong and consistent presence across all the major social networks so that they have a range of options for connecting with you. There should be clear links between your blog, your Facebook page and your Twitter feed to make it easy for users to keep up to date with your latest updates.
You might find that the need to be constantly tweeting your latest news, updating your Facebook page, and responding to users’ questions and comments is eating up too much of your valuable time. Hiring someone to help with your social media marketing would allow you to spend more time focusing on the direction and vision of your business.
3. Go Viral
The most successful social media marketing campaigns have a snowballing effect, with users passing on your online content to their friends and networks in a phenomenon known as ‘going viral’. Viral marketing campaigns are what every entrepreneur longs to achieve, but only few manage it. This is where a professional social media marketing expert can really help you.
Are you planning to use social media marketing for your business and need consulting advice? Hire an inbound marketing company to improve your chances of creating a self-perpetuating fan base on the major social media platforms.
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