The internet is a hugely powerful promotional tool for a business. Whether it’s through the use of clever SEO to help grow a website, a solid email marketing plan, or a creative and unique promotional video for YouTube, if a business isn’t online in some shape or form, then they’re probably not doing it right. Social media is arguably the most powerful tool of the lot, too.
Of course, not every business necessarily needs to have an online presence, but the vast majority do. That doesn’t mean that every single business is marketing itself online in the best way possible, though. In fact, we’ve seen several horrific social media campaigns over the years, and even from some of the big boys too. Get it right, though, and a business can essentially tap into a huge and new audience, therefore growing the brand and any creative output they wish to share with the masses. Put bluntly; social media is a vitally important tool in modern-day business.
There’s an extensive selection of different businesses promoting services, products and the like on social media also. Fitness brands have used platforms like Instagram to get a wealth of influencers on board, gaming companies have YouTubers endorsing the latest FIFA game or playing online blackjack at slotsheaven.com in the UK live to the masses, alongside food companies promoting its latest lactose-free milk on Facebook or a local butchers sharing images of its latest rump steaks to its army of local followers. It can be a saturated space, that’s for sure, but do it right and your business could witness impressive growth.
With that in mind, here are some of the best ways to promote your business on social media.
Join the right platform
The most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the newly emerging TikTok. Each platform tends to attract different audiences or perhaps has a mix of people using them. For example, TikTok generally has a younger audience, therefore making no sense for a cruise company promoting senior cruises to use it. Assess your target audience and social media platform they’re likely to use and go from there.
Create a content calendar
Content is key, making it crucial for all social media managers to have a plan. Last-minute posts and rushed images can lead to low-quality content which can harm your online community. To avoid this, create a simple content calendar to enable you to feel more organised and essentially deliver better, more thought out content. Plan your posts in advance with the relevant hashtags, images, links and any other content, and you’ll reap the rewards.
Encourage engagement
The main aim for a business when joining social media should be to create an online community and therefore encourage engagement around the business and its services, hopefully spreading more awareness in the process and ultimately helping it to grow. To feed into this, though, engagement and interaction are key. Ask questions, obtain for feedback, repost interesting content, and comment on other posts.
Don’t be spammy
To avoid coming across as spammy with endless promotional plugs that can annoy followers, try implementing the one-in-seven rule, which basically means that for every one directly promotional post, six other posts should be content-based. Don’t sell too much or you’ll lose people. It’s that simple.
Address problems quickly
There’s no use in having a social media presence and hardly using it or not being responsive to your audience, therefore making it vitally important to monitor mentions and reply to any issues accordingly. Always remain professional and be friendly at all times, too.
Marcos Refinski, is a Digital Influencer in the area of Digital Marketing and SEO that lives in the region of Treviso in Italy.
I have worked with many companies in Brazil, London and Italy over the years with the goal of increasing their sales and consequently the visualization of their business, improving ranking that is the position that a website occupies in the results page in search engines.
