Social Media – Not a passing fad

First it was “Small Businesses MUST have a Website”, then the discussion turned to “Search Engine Optimization” (also known as SEO).  In 2016 successful businesses are grabbing the millennial market share by increasing their Social Media presence.  It can feel like an uphill battle, but the efforts will reap great rewards!

What are the main goals of social media marketing:

• Building/Strengthening your Brand
• Increasing the conversation about your company
• Improving SEO
• Gaining new clients
• Build an emotional connection with current and potential clients

Consider this: According to Hubspot, 92% of marketers in 2014 claimed that social media marketing was important for their business, with 80% indicating their efforts increased traffic to their websites. And according to Social Media Examiner, 97% of marketers are currently participating in social media—but 85% of participants aren’t sure what social media tools are the best to use.

Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Pinterest, YouTube, Google+, only you can determine which social media outlets will bring the most business to your door, but no one will find you without it.

Here are some quick tips about managing your social media presence:

• Google – if you don’t manage your social media, someone else will! Almost all business have a presence on Google, but if you are not managing your listing, you’re leaving it up to anyone who chooses to add details and photos (good or bad) about your business to the web.
• Consistency is key- Make sure that your company name and information is consistent on all media outlets. Google analytics that drive SEO are looking for matching results.
• Make it easy for people to follow you: how will your clients find you on social media? Will they search for your company name on their favorite social media outlet?  Probably not.  But if you provide them with a quick link they will click and follow!
• Build your audience with motivation and inspiration. To become a trusted and valued connection, share about 4 times as much educational and inspirational material as you do about your company.    Get them listening first….then tell them about your business.
• Be on top of your communications! If someone comments on your post, be ready to LIKE & REPLY to it!  Regardless if it is positive or negative, your action says “yes, I hear you and I am engaged with you”
• Reviews – Millennials choose the companies they do business with based on reviews. If there are two companies vying for the market share, the company with good reviews wins every time over one that has none.  (shutter to think your only review being negative!)   Ask your raving fans to review you on social media and be sure to review your favorite businesses too!
• Use social media management tool, like Hootsuite, to keep all of your social networks organized in one place. This makes it easy for you to share across any or all social networks at once.

Finally, we get to my favorite (and what I think is the most important) tip: experiment. There’s no such thing as a perfect or surefire social media strategy. Instead, you have to test the waters and gradually learn what does and doesn’t work over time. The only way to do this reliably is through experimentation; try something. If it works, keep it, and if it doesn’t, ditch it.

These tactics range from easy to difficult, but all of them will, in some way, help you achieve a better reach in your organic social media marketing campaign. The more people you can reach, the more effective your content will become, the more traffic you’ll receive, and ideally, the more revenue you’ll generate. It takes time to build a thriving audience, but if you remain committed to your ongoing improvements, there’s nothing stopping you from increasing your social media presence and growing your business!