Social media is a thoroughly modern way to do business, that offers you instant and immediate interactions with your customers and competition. Because the world of social media moves fast, you need to be sure that every post hits the spot perfectly every time.
In what is effectively, an online conversation, there is no room for mistakes in your social media strategy. Once it’s out there, it’s pretty hard to take back! Ensuring that every post, every tweet and every status update is one hundred percent accurate is paramount to making great impression.
How the world views you via your online presence really can make or break a business. Sure, you will always be able to impress your clients once they have your attention, but you need to be able to cut through the internet chatter and have them listen to you in the first place.
Take control of your social media presence.
Many small businesses only post what they think is really relevant. This can lead to boring, info heavy posts that are few and far between. By establishing your own tone of voice, and liaising directly with your followers, you can build your brand far more effectively.
Here are some great ways to refresh your social media presence, to have it work hard for you:
Assess you online image.
Do you like the images you are using? Are they clear and obvious? Are they a good representation of your business and the goods or services you offer? If not, take them down and start again.
The same applies to the words you use. You profile descriptions, page Bio’s and other content should be well written, without mistakes and act as true representation of your company and its beliefs.
Your images and your words should be a snapshot of your business. You only get a very brief amount of time to make a first impression on social media, so make sure it counts.
Keep posting.
Even the best looking pages and feeds can lose interest very quickly if they are not regularly updated. Your followers want to know what you and your business is offering at all times. Share relevant news, offers and trends as often as possible.
Work the system.
Social media is a fickle beast, but one that can help you grow once you get a handle on it. Keep on top of trends, follow other influencers and piggy back off of them. For example, you can share posts, or re-tweet information quickly and easily to help attract more followers to your own profiles. The success of many brands has been built on their ability to jump on new trends as soon as they hit, and exploit the use of influencers within their field to grow likes, follows and ultimately new sales.
Google yourself!
This is always fun, but it also helps to see exactly what your potential new customers see when they are looking for you. If the information is incorrect, out of date or just plain rubbish, update your profiles, pictures and website tags and keywords.
Finally, get on board with the hashtags.
Hashtags help, but don’t over do it. Sites like Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter all use hashtags as a way of sharing keywords. Add hashtags to your posts where appropriate and always see what tags are trending that are relevant to your business.
Keep going with your social media and you will reap the rewards. Plan your campaigns, post regularly and stay abreast of key trends and other advances within your own industry. You may think your social media is nowhere near as effective as traditional advertising, but actually it is an instant conversation that continues to take place and quietly sing your praises, all day every day.
