One question we have all asked ourselves; How do I market my business on social media? The internet is a battlefield of outdated information which is either way overused or just not relevant to today's online culture. One thing is for certain, social media is not going anywhere and is definitely here to stay.
But a question still begs;
Why should I use social media to promote my business?
3.7 billion people using social media, let that sink in for a moment - 3 point five billion. That's a lot of people you could be connecting with while sitting back at home drinking a nice cup of coffee.
It's all good deciding one boring weekend that you are going to invest sometime in social media and generate some website traffic but being consistent over time has a compounding effect - but why does consistency win with social media?
Social media helps with search engines rankings
When used correctly and consistently social media does wonders for your websites SEO. It helps verify your business is who it says it is, it helps build trust and authority with Google.
Being more active and consistent means more trust and more authority which means more organic traffic sent via search engines.
Social media increases your brand exposure
In an age where 4.57 billion people use the internet with 3.5 billion using some form of social media, it's the number one way to digitally market your brand. It helps expose people to what you do on a frequent basis helping your brand become an everyday household name.
Social media is a great way to utilise digital marketing for your business.
Social media lets you connect with potential customers
Back in the 90s if you wanted to market your product or idea, you had to get out there and do it in person, coming up with guerilla marketing tactics, utilising newspaper adverts, billboards and radio adverts.
Today, we have that power in our hands. Never before have we had to the ability to search for people by age, gender and even interests - it makes it extremely easy to reach your desired demographics.
Quick Social Media Facts
- There are 3.725 billion active social media users
- On average, people have 7.6 social media accounts
- 91% of retail brands use 2 or more social media channels
- 81% of all small and medium businesses use some kind of social platform
- Facebook has 2.449 billion users
- Instagram has 1 billion users
- LinkedIn has 660 million users
- Twitter has 145 million users
How do I use social media to market my business?
Find a picture, add some inspirational quote and post it - sound familiar? Everyone has been there at some point when trying to market their business online. Luckily for you, we are going to show you exactly how to use social media to better represent your business online, engage more users and get you more visitors to your websites.
1. Brand your social media pages
Branding is the essence of your business, it should communicate who you are and what you stand for in a visual way to your customers. Social media is not just a platform to generate sales - It's an extension of your brand and it's identity.
Upload your company logo and a branded cover photo on all your platforms. It will help user recognise you easier the more they are exposed to your business online.
Don't fall into the trap of not writing a description about your business and entering your url either in the biography or about me sections. Shout a bit about your company, what it is you do or how much you love your customers - it's a good start to building trust with every person you connect with.
2. Include a link to your website
Including a link to your website on every platform, both in the website field and in your about areas and in your social media posts will increase traffic to your website but bear in mind, the content you post will determine what mode those users are in.
For example, posting a funny gif of a dog doing backflips is unlikely to generate traffic where people are in buying mode. Think closely about what you post.
3.Post at the right times
Putting posts on social media at the right times of the day can hugely increase your interaction rate with your posts - even without using any hashtags at all.
After a lot of trial and errors, research and constantly trying new things Here are the times our team of social media experts use to post on different platforms.
Best times to post on Facebook
- Best times: Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 11 a.m.
- Best days: Wednesday and Friday
- Worst day: Sunday
Best times to post on Instagram
- Best times: Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Friday from 10 a.m.–11 a.m.
- Best day: Wednesday
- Worst day: Sunday
Best times to post on LinkedIn
- Best times: Wednesday from 8–10 a.m. and noon, Thursday at 9 a.m. and 1–2 p.m., and Friday at 9 a.m.
- Best day: Wednesday and Thursday
- Worst day: Sunday
Best times to post on Twitter
- Best times: Wednesday and Friday at 9 a.m.
- Best days: Wednesday and Friday
- Worst day: Saturday
4.Post the correct content for each platform
There is a lot of businesses that post the same content on each platform hoping that it will do the trick but that couldnt be further from the truth.
Different platforms have different demographics for example; LinkedIn is great for b2b companies looking to network and sell services, Instagram and Pinterest are great for selling visual brands, Facebook is great for reaching the general public and selling physical products.
Every platform has it's unique demographics and uses, make sure you're using them to their full potential.
5.Engage everyone you connect with personally
For a lot of people, social media and invites are a daily occurence. In a sea of invitations, its important to stand out as a potential business they want to buy from.
Sending a personalised message direct with a link to your website at the bottom to each person you connect with (hopefully using their first name somewhere) will generate a lot of instant traffic and a few leads depending on how good your conversion funnel is optimised on your website.
There is a saying, it's the small things that matter. A little message saying hello and getting to know your users can go a long way for short term traffic goals and long term brand loyalty.
- - https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/
- - https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media
- - https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/amazing-social-media-statistics-and-facts/