So you’ve gone ahead and gotten yourself onto social media, but where to go from there? The sheer enormity of social media is enough to make anyone play ostrich, but we’re here to help! Read below to find out exactly how you can use social media to help your business grow.
Ways to Increase Your Audience
1. Create Profiles on Multiple Platforms
Have you ever spoken with a business owner and, when you ask them their social media handles, they simply respond with ‘We’re on Facebook’? Better yet, are you guilty of this?
If you’re on Facebook, that’s good! But you know what would be better? Being on some of the other apps people use all the time too! Think about it: there is only so much scrolling you can do on one platform before growing bored and moving to another. Many people have this habit, so by being on two or three different platforms will maximise the chances of your posts being seen by those who would be interested in your content.
Some of the most popular channels for small businesses are Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, Linkedin and Snapchat, in that order.
2. Build Relationships with Your Peers
Social media offers a unique benefit over other marketing channels: you can engage directly with your competitors, customers and followers. There is, of course, the option to simply use the platform to get as many sales as possible.
However, engaging with people builds trust and loyalty toward your brand which might encourage ongoing sales over time. They might be inclined to share your content, which is a great way to increase exposure. You can achieve this level of community by creating a Facebook group, connecting with entrepreneurs and influencers in your niche, mention them in your posts or stories or using inbuilt interactive tools like polls.
3. Create Great Visuals
Knowing how to create eye-catching visual content is a definite must. You needn’t be the most creative person on the planet, or even the most talented, but definitely brush up on the basics, such as having a colour theme on your feed, steering clear of over-editing the images, and keeping it simple. Ensure there is context to the graphic, choose complimentary colours and a nice amount of contrast to make it pop.
Another great idea is video content. You might need to hire someone externally for this, but studies have shown that engagement with video content is off the charts compared with image or text content
4. Do Hashtag Research
Hashtags are an important part of getting noticed on social media, and it’s imperative that you know which ones to use, how to use them, and which ones to avoid.
For starters, use the really popular tags very sparingly. Remember that when a hashtag has millions of posts, yours might get funneled to the bottom if your page doesn’t have as big a level of engagement yet. Use keyword research tools to determine which hashtags have a large, but not overwhelming, following, and include those in your posts.
