With all the hype surrounding social media, many small business owners think of it as a waste of time. But this could not be further from the truth.
This article presents five ways your small business can benefit from social media marketing, and why you should make it a part of your ongoing strategy for success.
1. Branding
One of the biggest advantages of using social media is that it allows you to improve your online brand awareness.
Let’s face it: unless you’re in an industry with an extremely techno-phobic clientele, your customers are on social media site.
By building your presence on these sites, you put your brand in front of potential customers.
2. Managing Feedback
The open nature of social media allows you to track what your customers say about your products and services.
An added benefit is that it allows you to interact with them to delve deeper into their opinions.
Since this effectively makes social media a free market research tool, it’s an incredibly powerful benefit.
By tracking and responding to your clients’ likes and dislikes, you can improve your support response time.
The only investment required is time.
3. Viral Marketing
The term is overused these days, but viral marketing only exists because of social media.
Voluntary sharing of great advertising that makes a campaign “go viral”.
So if your business has no social media presence, your chances of it happening are very close to zero.
People love to share great content with their friends.
If they love your product or service, chances are that they will be willing to share a positive comment within their social circle.
The important thing is to make sure that you have quality content that is worth sharing.
Be on watch for negative comments: they have a higher propensity to go viral than positive feedback!
4. Support Channel
We live in an age where consumers are more and more demanding.
You can use it to offer after-sales services. It allows you to provide direct support to your customers.
The flip-side of this is that people can interact directly with your business, and so feel that they are being taken care of.
In order to make the most of this strategy and avoid damaging mistakes, it is essential that your support staff is well-trained in social media, .
5. Cost
If there is a single reason why you should be using social media for your business, it is this: it’s cheap.
Virtually all the popular social media sites allow you to create a profile for free and use the system for business purposes without paying.
You only need to allow for a time investment — either yourself or paying a professional to take care of it — to answer your clients and create useful content for your followers.
Social media marketing is a useful addition to any small business marketing plan.
There are many benefits are associated with this form of marketing and, if done correctly, it can generate enormous impact on your revenue and brand awareness.
Are your Facebook ads performing as well as you’d like?
Are you sure you’ve been targeting the right audiences?
It’s long been understood that the real power of Facebook advertising is in its targeting capabilities, but targeting correctly is much easier said than done.
If you want to improve the performance of your ads, you need to make the best possible use of the Facebook graph search and audience insight data.
Below you’ll learn about how you can give a boost to your own Facebook ad campaigns by taking advantage of these unique features.
Why Targeting?
Making the most out of your ad dollar requires you understand the demographics that you’re going after.
This includes where they live, what they like, and who they are.
When you achieve this, you can almost immediately lower what you pay in cost per click, improve conversion rates, and even boost your audience relevance scores to well above average.
In short, you’ll get higher performing ads at less cost.
Research Fan Data
As you probably know, Facebook advertising allows you to target pages on the basis of what someone is like.
Let’s say you’re a burger restaurant competing against brands like Wendy’s and McDonalds, Then you can research the interests of their fans to create your own successful ads.
Whenever you find yourself researching for potential audiences to advertise to, it’s a good idea to pay attention to the types of pages those audiences like.
This is because those pages will provide insight into the kind of interests, hobbies, and brands that those audiences find relevant.
Head to the audience insights page and search for “pages liked by people who like Pepsi page.”
This will show you all the people who are already a fan of Pepsi, or in the case of your business, people who are fans of your competitors.
These results will allow you to gain insight into your competition, as well as learn about the types of pages that interest that type of audience.
Some of the most important elements to pay attention to include: devices being used, income level, purchase behavior, age, gender, and household size.
Location of Fans
When it comes to advertising, location matters.
People who live in Seattle are very likely to have different interests than those who live in Houston or Boston.
And those seemingly small details can make all the difference in creating a campaign that speaks to your audience.
Location specific advertising involves focusing on either specific zip codes or cities with the graph search.
Use the graph search to look for “pages liked by people who like Pepsi who live in Seattle.”
You’ll receive impressively specific results for people who have the precise interests and residency that you’re looking for.
This kind of data can be absolutely crucial in choosing the direction and content of your next ad campaign.
If you cross-reference that information with audience insights, you may discover that Pepsi fans from Seattle are 21% more likely to be home owners, or have 16% higher income than the national average.
Information like this might appear to be somewhat inconsequential at first.
But every bit of data you can gather brings you one step closer to perfectly understanding your audience.
Occupation by Location
Another important element to consider targeting is the occupation of your target audience.
For example, if you’re a Seattle-based chiropractor with a product that might interest other chiropractors.
You can try searching for pages that interest those individuals.
Search “pages liked by chiropractors who live in Seattle.”
Once you’ve got the results, head to the Audience Insights page and compare those pages to the graph results.
This will allow you to view an enormous amount of data regarding those individuals, including interests, income, family size, and so on.
Using Audience Data
Prepared with this information, you’re already ready to take action.
Consider starting by targeting a specific age demographic.
Use what Facebook has told you about the age of people who like chiropractors in Seattle, or whatever your business and location may be.
Next, look to the education and relationship status of those individuals.
Finally, view the lifestyle category to find all the right keywords to describe that audience.
Do these chiropractor-fans like football and Ford trucks?
This is where you can find the kind of elements will speak to them in your next campaign.
The Right Solution
There’s a great deal of information available regarding precisely who your fans are and what kind of things they like.
All it takes a little bit of research to piece together exactly what kind of that will speak to them.
Although it can take considerable research and diligence to improve your ad campaigns, the effort is all but certain to pay off.
It uses informative or entertaining articles or blog posts relating to your product to attract and retain customers for your business.
Depending on your target audience, it can be trendy, newsy, techy, or funny.
Content marketing goes beyond the old “But WAIT, there’s more!” and uses a soft-sell approach to build your brand.
Traditional methods of marketing are becoming less effective with today’s consumers.
DVRs allow them to skip commercials when they watch their favorite television programs.
Magazines and newspapers are losing readership as more and more people get their news from the internet. Plus, web surfers have become immune to even the most animated banner and click-through ads.
Good content marketing bring potential customers to your website or blog, and then delivers relevant information that keeps them reading.
People who come to your website are looking for something, and you need to convince them that your business is the best place to get it.
By delivering useful information that fills their need, you are building a relationship with them. In turn, they are likely to reward you by purchasing your service or product.
What Kinds of Content
The possibilities for types of content are endless, depending on the service or product you are offering.
Posts can be news stories, how-to articles, inspirational personal accounts, or videos demonstrating the benefits of your product.
Try to decide why a customer is searching for your product, and show them the less apparent ways it will benefit them.
A financial adviser’s customers are obviously looking for ways to save money and build wealth. So articles on eliminating debt or the hottest new investments are a given.
However, effective content marketing goes beyond the obvious.
How about considering an article on using coupons to save money on groceries or how to recognize a great deal at thrift stores and estate auctions?
Quality Counts
No matter what type of content you use, it should be well written.
As a result, the information should flow smoothly and in logical order. And of course, correct spelling and grammar are essential.
Videos should be clear and have understandable audio.
Decide if your brand calls for a formal or casual approach and use it consistently in the language and style of your content.
To avoid legal action, always credit or provide a link to sources if you use other’s information in your content.
Using content marketing makes sense in today’s web-driven economy. Regular posting of relevant, interesting, and informative content is vital to building your brand online.
By offering quality content that informs or entertains, you will bring more new customers to your site and keep current customers coming back.
If you want to be great at basketball, you need to practice the game, stay in shape, and perfect your ability to work as a member of a team.
Similarly, if you want to be successful at social media marketing, you need to practice all the skills and habits of a successful Internet marketer.
Below you’ll learn about four simple tactics you can use to hone your own skills, give your campaigns an edge, and ultimately take your game to the next level.
1. Understand Customer Desires
To be a marketer is to be in the business of customer information.
That means whether you succeed or fail often depends on how close you’re able to pay attention to the constantly changing wants and needs of your target audience.
To stay in the loop with this kind of information, you should use tools like Facebook’s Audience Insights to collect vital consumer data.
Audience Insights can help you gain insight into the way that customers interact with your business.
After you’ve compiled the necessary data, analyze it to determine what’s working and what isn’t. Then incorporate the delivery of the successful bits back into your daily routine.
2. Building Relationships
The fuel of social media success is relationships. If you want to keep your pages working for you, then you need to work on building meaningful relationships with consumers and fellow business owners alike.
Getting involved in building these types of relationships is simple.
You can begin by compiling a list of some of the relationships you’ve developed, and how they matter to your business.
Set up a list of your top 100 contacts, including prospective members.
That list will give you a concrete idea of where to begin each week.
Schedule 30 minutes or to an hour each week to connect with the people on that list, whether through email or social networks.
Above all, make sure that your time, experience, and resources are available to help these people whenever possible.
By repeating these steps weekly, you can be sure to gradually build strong and lasting relationships.
3. Passion and Purpose
If you want your customers to become advocates for your brand, you need to appeal to both their heads and their hearts.
The former can be done by offering useful services, but the latter isn’t as simple.
One of the best ways to manufacture those emotional connections is to try giving back to your community, whether local or online.
For example, Toms Shoes has honored a commitment to donate one pair of shoes for every pair that a customer purchases.
To date, they’ve donated nearly forty million pairs.
The end result isn’t just a better world through philanthropy, but a stronger brand as Toms’ customers grow loyal.
Start by creating a calendar that incorporates ways you to give back to your fans.
Identify any means that you already provide for your customers and community, whether through donations, volunteering, or the like.
From there, you can begin to think about what other opportunities you might begin to pursue.
You could also set up a day to give back each week. It could be one post every Friday on Facebook, or one blog article each month highlighting your contributions.
4. Collaboration and Teamwork
Master marketers are only masters because they never stop being students. When it comes to your industry, you need to be a sponge for new information, trends, and studies.
One of the best ways to stay on the bleeding edge of your niche is to network with other professionals like yourself.
Establishing this habit is easy. You can begin by using social media tools like Sprout Social to help you engage with peers that have the same goals as yourself.
You can get started by researching the hashtags that you and your peers are using most. Then monitor them in order to join in on the ongoing conversations occurring online surrounding your industry.
With the advent of hashtags, this process is incredibly simple.
While you’re at it, it’s often worth keeping tabs on the conversation of the most influential people in your niche.
Preparing for Action
The difference between being fit or out of shape is often just the accumulation of daily habits.
Likewise, it’s your day-to-day activity as a marketer is what ultimately accounts for your successes and failures.
Spend a few minutes considering which of these skills and habits would be most beneficial to your effort. Then make a concrete plan to incorporate them into your schedule.
Although it may take time and diligence to implement these tactics into your own routine, after a few weeks time, you should be more than pleased with the results.
A business blog may just be what you need to get you to the top of the marketing pile.
Blogging has now been integrated into the corporate landscape, and has become an accepted method of communicating with customers and employees.
Blogs generally rank higher on search engines, and are therefore a very efficient internet marketing tool. This article looks at some of the facts to consider when choosing a business blog.
Things to Consider
Be sure to select a blog name that will stand out, because you want people to remember your blog when they have to do business. But make sure to also choose a name that aptly represents your brand.
This will make it easier for your target audience to find you when they need to.
Also, make sure the blog has quality content that will encourage visitors to stay. They should also be encouraged to visit links you may have to products/services.
When choosing a business blog there are several factors to consider. One of the first of these is choosing the blogging platform.
You want to choose a platform that is flexible enough to allow your business to grow in cyberspace. When selecting a blogging platform ask yourself these questions:
Is it easy to use?
Does it have flexible theme options and features?
Does it offer opportunities for monetization?
Choose a Platform
Selecting the wrong platform can lead to a lot of frustration, and get in the way of your success, so be sure to choose the platform that is best suited to the needs of your business.
Two of the most popular blogging platforms are WordPress, and Medium.
Publish Fast
If you don’t have a lot of time to spend on e-marketing, then blogs are convenient, because they allow you to get things done a lot faster. It takes less time to update content, or roll out new promotions and marketing strategies.
Blogs also make it easier to interact with users. It is an interactive tool that allows you to build trust with your readers.
Be sure to provide technical information where possible, as this will boost your credibility on the web, and also help to generate more web traffic.
If you are creating your blog to appeal to a particular niche market, then there are niche blog directories that you can submit your blog to.
Spread the Word
These directories will enable you to increase traffic to your blog, so you can expect more visitors to come your way when you make a submission.
A business blog can do a lot for your business, just remember to remain customer-focused in outlook, as you seek to improve web traffic and grow your business.
