Social media marketing can be the key to a whole new world of prospects for your products and services. While it may seem overwhelming, its importance cannot be overstated. It’s so important that 97% of marketers are using social media and 78% of salespeople outsell their peers by using social media for their business. Social media has such a strong leverage across such a wide range of potential clients, that it would be silly to think about not having your business out there. However, just having a social media channel setup isn’t going to build your company a media presence alone. That’s why we have put together a list of 10 social media tips to build your business’s social media presence and boost your revenue:
Freshen up your social profiles
For those of you who already have social channels set up, have a good amount of followers and engagement and post daily, there is still more you can do. One of those things is freshening up your social profiles. For example, make sure all of your social profiles are consistent. Use the same profile picture on all social media accounts. This makes it super easy for prospects and fans to identify you.Your profile picture should be a recent headshot or high-resolution logo. You should also check to make sure all of your usernames are the same or at least similar, so your followers and potential followers know that it’s you!
Follow top influencers and join top groups related to your industry
By following influencers and popular groups that are related to your industry, you can keep up to date with what’s popular. Let’s say you follow a popular hair stylist influencer; you can keep up to date with the latest style trends that you can promote and post across your channels. Keeping up with the latest trends will show your followers that you are up to date with the times, and they’ll be more persuaded to follow your social profile and possibly even book an appointment! How do you go about finding these influencers or accounts? Well, that’s quite easy. As a business owner, you most likely have some idea of top influencers within your niche and if not, take to Instagram! By searching hashtags relevant to what you’re looking for, you will quickly be able to find a few top groups or influencers to start following.
Message and Comment back quickly – Always interact
To have a successful social media campaign, you need to have a good base of followers. However, many businesses focus solely on the number of followers they have in the moment and not so much on their follower loyalty. Without loyal followers interacting with your social media posts, your campaign can be pointless. You can gain this follower loyalty by sincerely interacting with your followers. People will be watching your brand and other brands closely, so you can’t get away with using a generic typed out response for every interaction. You have to customize your responses to each respective follower and mean what you say. You also need to respond in a timely manner, not a few days after a follower messaged you. Facebook even shows your followers and potential clients what your typical response rate is! By providing your followers with quick and sincere interactions within a timely manner, you will earn something more than a number, you’ll earn your follower’s loyalty.
Create a content calendar
If you love organization and planning, you will LOVE creating a monthly content calendar. Social media posts can get overwhelming, especially when you are posting everyday multiple times. With a content calendar, you can plan out your social content months in advance. Your content calendar should include things like topics you want to focus on, the type of content you want to post (videos, stock images, memes…etc.,.), what day and time you want to post it and what platform you want to post it on. If you don’t know where to start with a content calendar, don’t be intimidated! HubSpot has multiple templates you choose and download so you can just fill in your information.
Design and create engaging posts
This may seem like a given, but it is important to cover because while you may think your posts are creative or engaging, the numbers may be telling you differently. The key behind engaging posts is to know what your brand is and who your target audience is. It’s also important to put some time into actually creating your content for social, not just using stock images. Use script and images or videos that will grab your follower’s attention. Think of it as if you were scrolling through your Facebook feed and saw your own post as an outsider, did it catch your eye? Would you interact with the post? Canva is a great option to use for creating content ranging from Instagram stories to Facebook posts.
Schedule your posts
You have all your posts laid out in your content calendar for next month. Want to make posting them even easier? Of course, you do! Say hello to social media scheduling. You can schedule your social media posts out in advance using social scheduling platforms like Sprout Social and Hootsuite. The benefits are really endless when it comes to scheduling. One advantage is you free up some time that you would normally use on scheduling the post each day for other tasks. Another benefit is you can post to multiple social platforms in one place. You can sync your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts all onto one scheduling platform, instead of having to bounce between four different browsers. Once you use a scheduling platform you will never go back!
Share before/after photos
Before a follower or potential follower books an appointment with you, they are going to want to know what your work looks like. Posting before and after photos, with your client’s permission of course, can be greatly beneficial to your business. The before and after photos don’t have to be anything fancy, just make sure they are high quality images with good lighting. This can simply be done from your phone if you have a good phone camera. When followers see the great work and transformations you are capable of, they will be more likely to get in touch or at least come back to look at more transformations if they are still undecided.
Research trending and location specific hashtags
Hashtags are words, titles or phrases that help send a powerful message. Hashtags can help categorize posts, increase engagement, attract followers to a specific niche, grow your brand and help reach a target audience. You can use platforms like SEMrush to help you determine popular hashtags specific to your industry and location! You can also determine popular hashtags by taking a peek at your competition and what they are using. Make a list of what they’re hash tagging on their own photos and dive deeper into what key influencers in your industry are hash tagging as well! With so many tools available, you’ll be part of the hashtag trend before you know it!
Involve your clientele
Whenever you can involve your clientele in your social media, do it! Involving your clients helps not only build a relationship with them but also shows others that there is a more personable side to your company. How do you involve your clients? By providing incentives to get them to participate. A popular method is to provide a chance to win a free facial or hair cut if they post a picture of their service with a hashtag of your choosing, so you can keep track of the posts and can even share them on your stories or posts. This is a great way to showcase your work, build relationships and have some friendly competition.
Link to your social profiles from your website
Oh, how we love links! Make sure you are linking to your social profiles from your website. You can use social media follow buttons that are typically placed at the top or bottom corner of your website. By placing these buttons on your website, you can help to create visibility for your social media accounts and continue to grow your reach. Adding the links to your website can grow your overall digital presence, as it increases the chance your business will be found on search engines like Google and Bing!
Social media marketing is a world of its own and while it’s used by a good portion of businesses, it doesn’t mean they are using it to its full potential. When used to its full potential, social media marketing can skyrocket your digital presence and overall business revenue by increasing your chance of bookings and sales. We hope that through the use of our tips and tricks you can begin or continue to unravel and dominate the world of social media for your business. As always, if you have questions about social media marketing or digital marketing as a whole, please give Blue Atlas a call at 888-266-7153!
