5 Smart Ways To Leverage Social Media for Your Business in 2021

Since the advent of social media, brands have long since recognized the potential social media has for the marketing and advertising of their products or services. One of the central advantages of social media marketing is that it is a relatively cost-effective solution compared to more traditional forms of advertising. Each of the main social media platforms has millions upon millions of regular users, so your marketing efforts will reach a diverse and wide audience.

Social media platforms enable users to connect with one another instantly and constantly, and this provides the perfect opportunity for you to create meaningful and authentic relationships with your followers. Social media marketing is also a great way to encourage brand loyalty and recognition through customer-centric marketing strategies which perfectly align with the purpose and nature of social media.

Importantly, social media marketing has a significant conversion rate, and investing in this makes perfect sense because you will be able to attract higher amounts of traffic not only to your social media pages but your e-commerce websites as well. By implementing some simple tactics to ensure your posts reach a wider audience, you are increasing the likelihood of new customers discovering your brand when they might never have been able to do so organically.

With this comprehensive and informative guide, you will be equipped with everything you need to know about leveraging social media platforms for your business. Make yourself comfortable with a warm beverage, a pen and a notebook – these 5 easy to understand and straightforward tips are going to utterly revolutionize your marketing and branding tools repertoire.

1. An Engaging and Energetic Social Media Presence

It wouldn’t be an overestimation to assume that practically all businesses have social media accounts, but what differentiates a barely-noticeable online presence from one which actually makes a memorable and recognizable impact is the way they use this to their advantage. As with any tool, it is only effective when it is handled by someone who knows what they’re doing.

Merely having a collection of accounts on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook isn’t enough – you need to have an active presence on social media wherein you encourage the people who visit your page, users as well as potential consumers, to interact with your brand through comments, shares and likes. This includes posting regularly, collaborating with social media ‘influencers’, replying to comments, and holding competitions and giveaways – to name a few.

2. Creating Connections

Consumers who have used your products and services will usually not actively seek out ways to write about their experience. This doesn’t mean they didn’t have a good experience, it’s just that for the average consumer reaching out to the business isn’t necessarily the first thing on their mind. This is why it is crucial that you reach out to them yourself so that they don’t have to put in the extra effort. For example, send them an email following their purchase thanking them and expressing your hope that they will continue to use your products or services in the future.

Within this email, provide clickable links to your social media accounts. By doing this, all the consumer has to do is go through the links and be directed to your social media pages, and from there it would take only a minute for them to leave a glowing comment or perhaps even tag their friends recommending your service.

You could even advertise and create campaigns and contests where you encourage customers to write about their experiences or upload images on their social media accounts, and tagging you so that you can see. The incentives for this could range from being featured on your social media platforms, receiving a discount from their next purchase to even being sent a complimentary gift via the post.

3. Create Your Own Hashtag

When someone clicks on or searches for a specific hashtag on a particular social media platform, then all of the images, captions, posts and comments which have that hashtag will appear on their feed on a single page. Creating a hashtag is incredibly simple, and it can literally just be the name of your business or one of its hallmark products/services.

By using the hashtag in your biography or including it within all of your own posts, you can also encourage consumers to use these hashtags when they are posting on their social media about their experience or impression of your brand. As well as providing potential consumers with a comprehensive library of user-generated content, you will also be able to respond to and interact with the content created by your consumers and sustain ongoing relationships with them.

4. Integrate Your Social Media

Integrate your social media – if someone posts a picture of a recommendation of your products or service on Facebook, for example, then don’t hesitate to upload a screenshot or repost onto your other social media platforms as well. By doing this, not only are you demonstrating your genuine interest in the happiness and satisfaction of your consumers, but you are also reaching out to the collective audience across all of your channels.

This is also an effective way to keep your social media active and engaging, by utilizing user-generated content in as many different ways as you can. For example, your followers on Twitter will likely be of a different demographic, age-group and even occupation from the majority of your followers on Instagram, and by integrating your channels you’re ensuring that you are accessing a varied and diverse audience.

5. Analytics and Statistics

As boring and mundane as they may seem, the analytical and statistical tools provided by various platforms and websites, Instagram being one example, provides you with valuable insights regarding the demographics of your existing and potential consumers.

For example, a business account on Instagram has access to analytics and statistics regarding the nationality of it follows, their age range and even the times of the day and days in the week during which they are most active. In light of these revelations, you can more effectively identify, interact with and publish content.

Conclusion

There’s no denying that social media marketing has become pivotal to the continued growth of any business venture. Those businesses which understand how to make the most of their online platforms will be able to successfully curate a memorable brand image, optimize their brand impact and ensure the interest of existing as well as potential customers. Establishing loyalty and trust in your brand is one of the most definitive ways to secure repeat purchases, be recommended to family and friends as well as be left enthusiastic reviews on social media platforms and review websites.

An essential aspect of social media marketing is establishing a rapport and deeper connection with the target audiences for your business. By encouraging customers to share their experiences and interacting with them, you’re strengthening your customer relationships and overall brand image. It is these customers who enable your brand to continue growing after all, and by appreciating and acknowledging this you are cementing their continued support and commitment.

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