Why Your Business is Losing Out Without a Social Media Strategy
Social media talk with Gates Mills neighbor and social media pro, Karen Morse
Fact: social media is one of the first places people go when looking for information about your company. If you don't have a presence on social media platforms, you're missing out on potential customers. If you think social media is a waste of time because nothing ever happens, think again! Having a "Facebook" or "Instagram" account is no longer enough; you need to know how to use them.
Are you guilty of any of these? For example, the last post is over a year old, a post with spelling errors, or a spammy low-resolution image covered with too many words?
I'm here to help you understand social media and how it can benefit your business.
What's the BEST Strategy for Social Media?
There's no one-size-fits-all strategy for social media — and that's especially true when it comes to your content. You can't just blindly plug in, post, and expect all your followers to start streaming in. But wouldn't that be nice? Every platform has its own set of quirks. But even that is constantly changing.
Social media is here to stay. That means every business, from startups to established companies, needs a custom strategy to implement created by a social media professional.
What's the Benefit of Social Media for a Business?
Social media is not just a fad. And it's not just for "millennials." Businesses are using social media to build brand awareness and connect with customers. As a result, social media has become a major source of website traffic, with over half of the top 100 companies on the Fortune 500 list having a social media presence.
Social media can help you:
- Create brand awareness by connecting with your audience in a meaningful way.
- Build relationships with your clients/customers through engagement and interaction.
- Increase sales by reaching out to potential customers and providing them with value-added content that promotes your products or services.
Why Should your Followers (Customers) Listen to you?
If you're on social media, chances are you've heard the question: "Why should my followers listen to me?"
The answer is simple: they shouldn't.
You should be listening to your followers.
If your business has a social media presence, it's probably because you're trying to get people to listen to you — but that's not the right approach. The right approach is to listen to your customers instead.
Here's how:
You are an authority in your field, yes? You know what works and what doesn't because you've tried every possible solution for yourself. And every time someone comes up with a new idea or product, you'll have something valuable to say about it because of all this knowledge you've accumulated over the years.
Understand what makes your business unique and use that niche to build on!
What Does Growth Look Like?
Social media isn't just about building followers or likes; it's about building relationships with those followers and their friends. And the best way to do that is by sharing content that will interest them and making sure that content speaks directly to them.
But unless you have a business objective behind your social media campaigns that you strategically apply to your posts, you're unlikely to see results.
Here are some things you should know about using social media for business:
- Growth will not happen overnight or even within "x" months. It takes time. You need to be patient and consistent with your posts and ensure they are relevant to your audience.
- Adding "x" followers or "x" likes per post in "x" time does not equal success or sales. It may be nice to see that you have gained followers, but this doesn't mean much if they aren't engaged with your brand or interacting with each other on social media platforms.
What Content Should you Share?
Social media has become a huge part of our daily lives. However, it's important to remember that it's not just about you.
Social media is about helping others and building relationships, not just self-promotion. If you want to use social media as a marketing tool, you need to create quality content that fits your brand and serves the needs of your target audience. Here are some tips for doing just that:
- Create content FOR your followers.
- Help solve followers' "pain points."
- Be relatable and approachable.
- Share your advice in the field by answering followers' most asked questions.
Why Hire a Pro (when your niece could post for free?)
Using social media and marketing on social media are two different things. I'm a Certified Social Media Manager (CSMM) from HootSuite, a copywriter, and a content creator with knowledge of graphic design, image, and video creation/editing. Google and Pinterest invited me to learn and promote new strategies for them, which has given me first-hand knowledge of what works and what doesn't. In addition, I have experience managing social media accounts for both small and large companies, many of whom have retained my services for years.
But more than that, I know how to protect your business from legal trouble. The problem is that most people don’t realize how easy it is to commit offenses when using social media to market their business. I do. I'm a certified, insured, and LLC-compliant social media marketing business.
I aim to create engaging content for your audience to attract new customers and increase sales. Drop me an email to schedule a free consultation at karen@socialgoalgetters.com.