There are lots of articles online about how to refine your business’ social media activity to get better results. Yet for most small businesses, the biggest challenge in social media marketing is simply getting started on social media and growing an established and loyal following.
It doesn’t matter which social networks you are on. Without a simple understanding of how social media works and how to put the basics in place, the chances of a good return on your time are greatly limited.
So, if you are about to start on social media marketing, or have become frustrated with lack of progress, go back to the basics and take a look at these five key rules of success.
1. Create A Strong Profile
Most businesses rush through the profile set-up in order to start posting. Yet the profile section on any social platform is really important in establishing yourself, coming up in searches and showing prospective followers why they should follow you. So, it pays not just to copy/paste the ‘About’ page of your website, but to think carefully about what you write. The information can be instrumental in encouraging or discouraging followers.
A good starting point is to look at the profile of several businesses you admire for inspiration and ideas. You want to create a unique profile which is interesting, personal, but still professional. Don’t forget to put in key links to your website and blog or upload pictures/videos of your product to really make the most of each section of the profile.
2. Think About Your Content
Most businesses new to social media only post promotional messages and then wonder why people don’t follow them. The aim of social media is not to ‘sell’ directly to your audience, but to engage and interest them in what you do and provide or curate unique information that they won’t find anywhere else.
The exact content you need will vary depending on your business, but in deciding on the content to post, always put yourself in the shoes of a potential follower. Would they find this interesting? Would they share this information with their friends and associates? By becoming a valued or entertaining resource you can build up your reputation as an expert, get shared more often, grow your number of followers and increase the amount of followers becoming paying customers.
3. Interact
Content is only one half of the equation. The whole purpose of social networks are to interact with other individuals with similar interests. No small business can expect to succeed in social media if all the conversation is one-sided and you are only making announcements.
So, don’t just post content – try to make it the start of a conversation. If you get a comment. acknowledge it and keep the conversation going. Likewise, take some time to comment, share and engage with the content of others. There is no better way to get the attention of important people and influences in your industry than to comment and show that you share mutual interests.
Most social networks also offer ‘groups’ or ‘communities’ you can join which are great places to post and interact with like-minded people.
4. Target The Right Followers
Social media marketing success is usually measured in number of followers. However it is really the quality of your followers which is important, not the quantity. There are many fast-track tricks to increase your following (including paying), but these rarely pay dividends when it comes to a return on your social media activity.
Instead, concentrate on building a following which fits your business’ customer profile. If you are geographically-based (i.e. you have a premises in a single town or city) then look to engage with people and social media groups based in the same region. If you are targeting a single industry then concentrate your content and interaction towards the people involved in this industry.
As your social media starts to grow, it can be easy to get distracted and drawn in to creating content which is generally popular (funny pictures, jokes, latest news), but which has little value to those people you really want to attract.
5. Monitor Your Progress
Every few months it is worth asking yourself a simple question: is your social media activity giving you a return on investment? It can be very time consuming to develop a strong social media presence, but even if you have a good following there is no guarantee that your business will be provided with good new leads and customers.
With social media – as with any marketing – it can really pay to create targets and monitor your progress carefully. Without a rigorous assessment of your social media activity, you are unlikely to continuously refine and tweak your approach to perform better.
Once you have mastered these basic concepts, you should find it easier to strengthen your social media presence and reach the people you want. Don’t forget that if you are struggling to make progress with social media marketing, it can be worth consulting a social media professional. A high-quality digital marketing agency will not only have the expertise, but also the resources, which can make developing a large and valuable presence much quicker and easier.
Author profile: Justin Firth is a Chartered Marketer with a keen interest in marketing, new technology and green thinking. He blogs about marketing ideas and new technology at Marketing Next.
