Step 1: Choose Your Product
Before you begin using social media influence to market your product, you must first be sure that you have a clear plan of intent when it comes to exactly what you are advertising. You must be organized and know your short and long-term goals. Solidify your idea for a particular service and run with it. Once you have organized what you are marketing, do not waiver from the goals you have set. Organization and direction are key when marketing a product and the same rule applies when using social media.
Step 2: Set the Tone
Consider the tone of which you will be communicating through social media. Your tone should be relevant to your business. For example, if you are selling beauty products, you may want to approach social media with a playful, lighter voice. Consider that your audience may be largely comprised of young women. Put yourself in the shoes of your consumers. Make sure that you are resonating through social media the way you would in person. If you are spreading the word about your personal business, be sure to set the tone as friendly and welcoming so that you may attract clients. You will want to avoid any and all intimidation in your tone. Remember that your underlying voice will come through despite the barrier of social media. You are using social media as a marketing strategy so it is important to keep in mind that what we post may be the first impression clients have of our business. Setting the tone insures a positive comfort level between you and your client.
Step 3: Choose Your Target Audience
Your audience on social media will serve as the focus group that determines the success of your business. Be sure to present yourself to them using language and communication that they will best understand. This may need to be adjusted for different focus groups. You want your content to be relevant to those who will be supporting it. It is a productive idea to survey the internet and study the way each focus group responds to other social media influencers. Take notes of what you like and do not like for your own business. You can learn from other influencers and build your brand the way you see fit to make sure you succeed.
Step 4: Build Your Following
Set your sights on your target audience and begin to build your following. There are many tools on social media that you can use to expand your business. Social media is globally extending and wide reaching. It bears the potential to connect business owners to clients around the world and essentially puts the world at our fingertips. As an entrepreneur looking to grow your business, it is important to recognize the broad range of opportunities at hand. The more educated you become on social media, the more successful connections you will make.
Follow similar accounts. Simply following like accounts can boost your following. Think of building your social media empire as building a real community. When using real life marketing strategies in person, you would likely associate yourself with like minded individuals in whom you can draw inspiration from. Following similar accounts will not only provide you with ideas and familiarize you with related content; it will set your account on the radar you wish to be a part of.
Utilize the power of the hashtag. The main purpose of the hashtag is to bring people together under the same idea. When posting about your business, you should always use common hashtags so that your posts appear to large audiences. Using key words that relate directly to your product will throw your account into the arena of other successful social media influencers. Create your own hashtag with your business name and include it in each post. This will allow your potential clients and peers to locate all of your postings in an organized fashion.
Comment on all relevant posts. Leaving comments on similar posts inserts you into a larger scale conversation and attract potential clients to your page based on mutual interest. You may consider commenting directly to the account holder and requesting them to check out your services. You may leave compliments to show your interest. A great way to inject your business page into the social media platform is to ask questions. This may intrigue mutual followers to engage with you and interact based on your comment. Asking questions is a great conversation starter. You can then use that conversation to sell yourself as somebody that they may like to follow. Every conversation that takes place on social media can be used as a marketing strategy to build clientele. Those follows may then take an interest in your contribution to the conversation and decide to follow you as well. This then goes for your own posts. Make sure your posts draw clients in through asking questions and raising conversations that make them want to share with you. A little goes a long way so comment on everything that you can in order to connect with your clients in a personable way.
Partake in giveaways and challenges. Social media enthusiasts love giveaways and challenges! Start small with giveaways but work your way up. You can use marketing strategies like giving away free products and prizes each time you reach a certain amount of followers. You gain momentum and recognition while your followers stand to win fun prizes. It’s a win/win for all! Challenges tend to spread through social media quickly. Remember the ALS challenge? Millions of people all over the world were soaking themselves in ice cold water to show support for ALS sufferers. Though yours may be on a smaller scale to start with, you can use your marketing for the greater good and include a charity like this one. You can start your own challenge or partake in those already trending (don’t forget to hastag!) This shows clients that you are a human behind all the typing and advertising. Clients will love getting to know your personality and it will build your following.
Tag your location. All social media outlets provide location tagging services. Each time you post a photo, remain aware of its intended focus group and consider where they may reside. You can use popular locations like New York City or Chicago to attract more followers faster. You may want to direct your post more carefully at a location in which your product may thrive. Tagging your location has a similar effect as the hashtag- it is all about bringing your product closer to the people. With one click, your posts regarding your product are available all over the world (or wherever you choose for it to be seen.)
Tag others! Tagging other likeminded accounts creates a sense of community within social media influencers. Your profile and posts will then become visible to all of the other account’s followers when they search through their tagged posts. You can acquire even more followers and develop business relationships this way. The more you tag others- the more they will tag you. So keep building connections!
Keep your profiles public. Keeping our profiles public and visible insures that your product can be more globally recognized. Do not post personal information that you do not wish for strangers to see and use common sense and privacy safety when operating your accounts. Maintain professionalism within all of your accounts so that you are displaying only the proper information you intend to reach others who may reside in other parts of the world. Keeping a public business profile allows any and all people to view and follow your accounts. It is always a good idea to continue expanding your following and leaving your profile visible without limits is the most common way to achieve that.
Post daily. Be sure to post on all of your accounts as often as possible. This keeps your content relevant to viewers. Your posts will be displayed closer to the top of follower’s home pages. New posts are displayed at the top so you will want to remain there as often as you can (every day if possible.) When followers like your photos, they will be shown more and more of your content each time they open their apps. The more you post, the more visible your content becomes.
Link websites. Every good business has a website and most social media platforms provide a space to link your URL so that your viewers may be directed to your site more easily. A successful social media brand will allow followers to navigate its social media accounts and web pages seamlessly.
Spread the word. Though we are touching on the world of internet marketing, the old fashioned way of asking friends and peers to spread the word about your marketing strategies still proves successful. They can simply share it through word of mouth or share your accounts on social media encouraging their friends to follow you. You may also consider linking your personal accounts to your business accounts for better, easier points of reference for those who already follow you personally.
Using the influence of social media can be daunting for someone who is not already familiar with its workings. Luckily, most social media platforms are self explanatory and can be easily navigated. With the proper skills and knowledge, anybody can use social media to their advantage when it comes to marketing. Do what makes you feel comfortable but keep an open mind because the possibilities are endless on social media!