What is the right way to use social media in your business?

Social media can be used to your advantage when it comes to marketing your business. But there is a right way to do so. Setting a strategy from the get go can help you to achieve success and provide value for your business. Check out the ways you can ensure this. 

Be committed

Like with many forms of marketing, there comes a level of commitment needed to be successful. It can be difficult to constantly put out engaging content, grow your following, and interact with your audience but don’t give up! Growing your social media presence takes time. 

Set attainable goals

If you’re just starting a social media page, there’s a high possibility that you won’t get a million followers overnight. With that being said, it means you need to be realistic. Creating SMART objectives allow you to cre­ate, track and accom­plish short-and-long-term goals. 

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achiev­able
• Rel­e­vant
• Timely

Of course, it’s easy to see likes or comments and believe you’re doing well. But do those likes or comments align with your business goals? It very well could but there are other metrics to consider. 

• Reach: Reach is the number of people your content is seen by on Facebook. This can be through either paid or organic efforts.
• Impressions: Another Facebook metric related to the visibility of your posts is impressions. While reach tells you how many people saw your posts, impressions measure the number of times your posts were seen. That includes if one post was seen multiple times by a single user.
• Engagement: Engagement measures the number of times someone took action on your posts. That could mean clicking a link, sharing your post, making a reaction or leaving a comment.
• CTR: Click-through rate (CTR) shows the percentage of people that see your ad and click through to your landing page. 

Show your personality 

Let your business culture shine through! People are more likely to connect with your brand when they know that people are at the core of your business. If your brand is playful, don’t be afraid to post something funny and off the wall from time to time. Or if your staff enjoys happy hour on Fridays at the office, snap a few pictures or videos to post to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. 

Equally listen and promote

While it’s important to promote your business on your social media pages, it’s also important to listen to your audience. This can help you determine the best posts for your audience and what they find valuable. Give your followers a chance to answer any questions you may have. You could be surprised by some of their responses. 

Allow passion and interests to drive content creation

When you post about things that you’re passionate about, it fuels opportunity. Don’t just post about what you think your audience wants to hear. Sharing the mission of your organization and how your employees are living out this mission is a great way to show how committed you are to your business. 

Use multiple different forms of content 

From videos to virtual polls, it’s important to diversify your content. This allows your audience to interact in different ways. You can see what type of content your audience is more interested in. In addition, using different platforms to promote your content allows you to reach a larger audience. Depending on the demographics of your audience will depend on the platform you will want to use. 

Track performance

After you’ve set your goals and strategy, make sure you are also tracking your growth. These numbers can help you figure out what kinds of content your followers respond to best and tweak your marketing strategy accordingly. 

Post regularly

Having a consistent posting schedule is important. Publishing posts every once in a blue moon will not lead to high engagement. By posting regularly, you can gain further insights into what kind of posts work and which don’t.  On the other hand, posting regularly does not mean posting multiple times per day. Posting too often can be overwhelming to your audience and they may find it annoying. 

Post engaging content

With social media, you don’t want to post long, text-heavy posts. Using images or a video with a short caption is the best way to catch the attention of a reader without providing too much information. You want to create posts that make the reader want to learn more. If you want to build engaged brand followers on social media who love you and love buying from you, provide content that solves their problems and shows that you care about them before asking for a sale.

Interact with your audience

When users comment on a post or write a review on your social media page, make sure you respond. This makes the user feel that they are appreciated and also heard. It also helps other followers show that you are interested in hearing what they have to say. 

Link your social media to your website

Use your website to drive traffic to your social media pages. If your followers like your social media content, they become interested in you and go to your website to learn more about your business, which means higher website traffic and potentially more sales for you.

Making your social media successful 

With these helpful tips, you’ll be able to build and grow your social media following while ensuring success. GlassHive allows you to easily track your social media metrics so you know exactly how your profiles are doing on a consistent basis.