Making Your Business Social

Social media marketing has become a bit of an industry ‘buzzword’. Everybody wants to be seen to be doing it, but very few are actually seen doing it well, which is why many businesses employ the help of professional social media companies.

But with social media becoming a mainstream way of communicating, for businesses as well as individuals, missing out or getting it badly wrong could spell disaster for your brand.

Everybody wants to have a strong social media presence but there is a big difference between the number of social followers you have, and the number that are actually engaging with your brand. There’s little point having thousands of followers if your messages and updates aren’t reaching their news feeds.

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Here is our essential guide for getting it right and making your business social:

What does social media marketing mean?

Social media marketing can help even the smallest local business easily engage and interact with the rest of the world. The best news of all is that it costs virtually nothing to start and could generate some amazing results.
Social media marketing is, in a nutshell, an online communication tool for your business.
It allows you to immediately communicate directly with customers, and in return they can communicate back to you.

Why do I need to do it?

If you sell a product or service, there’s a very good chance that a large percentage of your customers will be hanging out online waiting for you to talk to them. Having a social presence means your brand has a voice and can speak to customers directly, giving them an emotional connection with you. People are more likely to buy when they feel an emotional connection to a brand, therefore if you can ‘do social’ well, it goes without saying that your sales will increase as a result.

How do I start?

All you need to get started is a computer and an account with a social platform. Take some time to research the most appropriate platform for your business, as quantity does not equal quality. You don’t need to have a presence on every single one, pick maybe one or two and work hard to get the messaging right.

What should I say and how should I say it?

Now is the time to develop a brand voice, if you haven’t already done so. Your brand voice should represent the company you are, or aspire to be. This voice should be used consistently with every piece of content you create.

How do I get new customers from it?

Social media marketing is a low cost way to reach and influence a huge customer base. Engage potential new customers by asking lots of questions and consistently reminding them what you will do for them. Consider running competitions to build engagement and ask brand evangelists to share their great experiences with you online.

How do I integrate it with my business?

Social media marketing may be the new kid on the block, but it has to integrate with every other marketing campaign you have running. Executed well, social media marketing can be used to enhance other marketing activity. For example, include keywords and links to your website within your social updates to boost traffic.