How can Social Media Improve Your Business?

Let’s start by stating the obvious: social media has completely changed the way people interact with one another, and this extends to how people engage with business. You probably already knew that. That’s why as business owners, we’ve had to change the way we market ourselves. So how can you improve business with social media?

Which Social Media Platform Should I Use?

Social media platforms are everywhere now and each is carving its own little niche. Social media marketing can be time consuming, so choosing the best avenue will save you bundles of time. Everyone already uses Facebook and Twitter, because they’re the most popular, but don’t get sucked in to thinking that because they’re the most popular they’re the best for your business. Each social media platform has a demographic, so choose your social media platforms according to your own desired client. For instance, Facebook is mostly used by people aged 25-34 and works best for B2C businesses. LinkedIn has been a proven success for B2B businesses. Take the time to consider what social media platform your customers are using and go for it. Have a look at your competitors too and see what they’re using to engage customers.

There are a lot of overlooked social media platforms, such as Pinterest and YouTube, that work really well for certain types of businesses. Pinterest works well for creative types (read artists and designers).

‘What should I say?’

To get the best results, you should try and publish interesting and relevant information. The easiest way of advertising has always been by word of mouth, so get people talking. Come up with an article that might start a discussion so that people will like it and share it. You can end up with a following if you regularly post content your end user enjoys, so you should post stuff frequently. A little creativity and personality go a long way too.

Client Engagement

Social media advertising is useless if your customers don’t really engage well with what you’re putting out. User engagement is about creating an experience that emphasizes the positive aspects of the interaction with your customers so that they want to interact more frequently. Your customers should feel valued and respected, so it’s important to interact with your customers in a positive way.

It also helps if you show you’re a real person using social media and not a status update robot. Retweet positive feedback, reply to commenters, etc.

Love to Read: 5 Ways Social Media Can Help Boost A Small Size Business

People tend to engage well with image posts, so why not try adding relevant images to your next post.

Timing Your Posts

Pretty extensive research has been carried out by various people and organisations to establish when people are most active on social media. One study suggests mid-week at between 1-3pm is when social media traffic is at its highest. Another study found that engagement levels were highest on Thursdays and Fridays. You’re most likely to see the fruits of your labour during peak periods, so find out when your customers are most likely to be social media-ing and time your posts accordingly. There are analytical tools available, like Facebook Insights, that can help determine these peak periods with a decent degree of accuracy.