Social media are constantly increasing their presence in practically all the spheres of our life, and business is in no case an exception. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn – with each of them, you get a perfect opportunity to promote yourself and let the world know about you and your products.
Although hashtags, posts, likes and comments go along with everything we do, professional social media marketing is not as easy as it may seem. Therefore, we have decided to outline some basic steps allowing you to start your SMM activities easily and effectively!
1) Your first task will be to create a positive image – so your followers get warm feelings about you and learn to trust you and your brand. Think of your target audience and try to guess what they would love to see on your page (useful tips, creative ideas, infographics, nice pics or entertaining videos) – and just try to follow the chosen path. Be very attentive to the most active visitors – like and follow them back.
2) Create and carefully promote your own group (in Facebook, Linkedin, etc. where such option is available). Invite and add new people, share your business updates and useful content. With time, this will unite your target audience into a community and contribute to your respected online image – and that is the most important for your lead generation.
3) Do not limit yourself to marketing and promotional messages. Of course, they are important, but your community expects a little bit more than that to stay involved. You may: 1) tell your followers what is going on in your industry by sharing news; 2) provide useful tips & tricks – people are always eager to make their lives easier; 3) lift the veil on your daily routine – that will contribute greatly to humanizing your brand (that means, showing the real people behind your product). Post the pics of your working process, corporate parties, and smiling faces of your employees, for your followers to explore your business from inside and learn to trust your brand – just as they would have trusted the real person.
4) Share updates as frequently as necessary in each particular social network. If you have any doubts regarding this question, analyzing your competitors’ SMM strategies might be a proper step to take before deciding what should be posted, when and how often. In any case, you should think of each of your social media channels separately because their purpose differs. For instance, on Twitter, you have to post several updates a day to stay visible. Otherwise, your update will just get lost in a constantly changing newsfeed filled with updates of more active users.
5) Use specialized hashtags as well as the most popular ones (if applicable). Later, you may create your own hashtag and promote it – that will greatly contribute to the online visibility, and your potential clients will find you easily.
6) Do not be annoying or obsessive, and do not spam. People hate that. Repeated updates may be distracting, so your followers will just unsubscribe to avoid them. Also, make sure you share only relevant and appropriate content in your groups – otherwise, your account may be banned.
7) Take care of the visual representation of your brand. Use the same style & colors for all the social media; prepare good-looking banners for all of your accounts, so your brand becomes easily recognizable. Use bright and catchy images for your promotional needs. Keep in mind though that sometimes it is much better to use no picture at all than a poor quality picture. If you do not have a photographer or designer on your team, use online stocks where high-quality images may be bought or even downloaded for free.
8) Always keep an eye on the visitors’ activity and their reaction to what you post. How many likes did you get? Did anyone leave comments or reviews? How many people shared your content or clicked the link? Consider all these aspects and use the analytical tools provided within each social media channel to build your social media content strategy.
9) Decide what you will post each particular day of the week, and try to stick to the plan. That way, you will stay organized, and will not fail to share an important update.
10) Show up and be present – leave likes, nice comments, constantly follow new people and expand your network. Try to check the mailbox on a regular basis, answer the questions and respond to the inquiries – that way, you will make people feel they communicate with a real person, and get new leads. Also, you may prepare and send an introductory letter to the new followers.
We hope these basic tips will help you start a successful SMM campaign for promoting your brand. Good luck!
