Does your business have an online social media presence? If not, you may be missing out on a valuable market share.
Americans are on their phones more than ever. Social media apps often command the biggest share of user attention. If you want to help your business stay on top, it’s essential to use the opportunities available.
Read on to learn more about social media and how you can use it to help your business succeed.
Why Your Brand Needs a Social Media Presence
Why does your business need to have a social media presence? Social media has become part of our daily life. The interconnectivity created between people and businesses provides a great avenue for business owners.
Social media has created a unique opportunity for people to connect to brands they love in a much more significant way. They want to know what the company is presenting. They care about what causes the companies they buy from support.
Because of the advent of social media, consumers also expect more from the companies and brands that they care about. Social media may have made it easier for businesses to be exposed to negative exposes. Because of this, it’s also important to monitor just what is being said about your brand online.
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can also help your business reach a new audience of potential customers. Your social media pages have the power to increase brand awareness, create lasting bonds with customers, and boost your sales.
Ignoring the opportunities presented by social media means ignoring an audience of three billion monthly active users. Knowing how to approach these customers can be intimidating. Further, you may even feel concerned that saying the wrong thing or posting the wrong photo can do irreparable damage to your brand.
You’re right. Expressing views that resonate poorly with your audience can have catastrophic effects. Using social media is no longer a choice for most brands, however. Failing to connect with your customers through your social media presence means that a competing brand is likely to step in and steal their attention.
What Steps Should I Take?
Your social media presence should span multiple platforms. Different demographics may share different platform preferences, so after doing your research, you may decide to spend more time engaging on the platform(s) that your customers most prefer.
That said, competing platforms shouldn’t be ignored. The first step your business should take is to secure the usernames (also known as handles) that are relevant to your brand. This should be done across as many platforms as possible. Even if you don’t believe that your company will be active on platforms like Snapchat, you should take steps to secure your brand name.
This is important because your company should always be easy to find online. It’s also important to lock down the usernames that customers are likely to search for when looking for your company.
Usernames that aren’t secured can result in big-time headaches for your brand. If another user is impersonating your company, it may be possible to get help in username transfer. That said, if your brand’s username is already taken by a user that is using the platform for personal use, it may take longer to secure.
What Should I Do to Ensure to Expand My Company’s Influence?
In order to stay competitive, you should be interacting with your audience and creating content that is relevant. This is a process that is often known as “adding value”.
Adding value means giving something to your audience for free. This could include a trip inside your warehouse or short videos with employees that talk about why they care about producing your product.
You’ll want to make sure you aren’t posting fluffy content. Further, you’ll want to interact with users who engage with your company. This can create a stronger sense of brand connection that can have long term effects.
Creating videos can be another great way to engage users. If you don’t know how to get started making videos, it can be wise to for your business to partner with influencers.
Influencers who have smaller followings may be willing to create content promoting your business in exchange for product. These videos can be reposted on to your Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube account. You’ll want to ensure that you have permission to repost, so be sure to discuss this with the influencer before reaching a partnership agreement.
Influencers with larger followings are less likely to post in exchange for product only. With larger influencers, your brand has the potential to reach their network of followers in exchange for a partnership fee.
Different influencers have different expectations, so be sure to negotiate ahead of time and make your own expectations clear.
Create Authenticity
One of the biggest keys to gaining popularity online is authenticity. Create content that feels boring or forced won’t help you get eyeballs on your brand.
Think creatively and speak to your company’s values. Why is it that your company does what it does? What makes it unique? What do your customers value most?
There is no magic formula for success, however, the more time you spend on social media, the quicker you’ll find your rhythm.
If you’re ready to take your brand to the next level with your social media presence, we’re here to help. Our experts are well versed in the language of technology that is so rapidly shaping our world.
For more about how you can take your brand to the top online, talk to one of our experts or view more valuable pieces on our blog.
