Social Networking Tips – 5 Strategies to Help You Market Your Business Online
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Are you looking for more ways to market your business and increase your online presence? Taking proactive steps and signing up for social networking sites can help. To reach customers, businesses must go where their customers are and web 2.0, or the social web, is an important part of a successful marketing plan. These online communities are a potential goldmine for those who want to promote their business. Best of all…it’s free and doesn’t take much time to set up.
Here are five social media marketing tips that will help you outshine your competition:
1. Sign Up For Social Networking Sites: Check out Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and other niche social networking sites. These sites are free, user-friendly and easy to navigate – even for the techno-challenged!
2. Fill Out Profiles: You aren’t helping yourself when it comes to social media marketing if you leave your profiles blank. Fill out your business contact information, emails, etc. You WANT potential customers to contact you! Don’t forget to include links to your website(s) and blog(s), this is how you get inbound links to your site and increase traffic. Also include a professional photo; people want to do business with a face and name they trust.
3. Network: Now it’s time to start building your network. Invite friends, colleagues, clients, and business partners etc. to join your network. This is a great, indirect way of letting people know about your business and what you’re doing. Join relevant groups (think target audience) and review posts, answer questions & share information regarding your area of expertise. This will increase your online exposure, build credibility and help drive more traffic back to your website.
4. Keep Them Coming Back For MORE: Analyze your target markets and hone your message accordingly. Do you sell organic-cotton baby clothes? You wouldn’t send tweets to natural gas suppliers. Think mommies and owners of baby boutiques. People want VALUE so give them what they want so they keep coming back for MORE! Offer a freebie, contests, valuable information, the latest and greatest news in your industry, etc. and help build online credibility as an expert in your business.
5. Don’t “Over” Sell/Market: Remember less is more. You want to reel potential customers in with social media/networking messages. You don’t want to scare them away. Stop tweeting about what you ate for breakfast. Get back to the basics of your marketing message and don’t over sell your message. Stay away from “spam” messages or you’ll get blocked (not only by the sites, but by other users). You want a fan base, not an “I Hate Your Business Because You Spam Me Too Much” club. All in all, keep it simple – showcase your knowledge and expertise but don’t “talk down” to your audience. Remember to keep your language/message breezy and friendly but with a professional edge.
In the end, signing up for professional and social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others can be a great way to market your business and increase online exposure for your company. If done correctly, you can also leverage the power of these authoritative sites to drive traffic to your website and generate more leads. Learn what works and doesn’t work for potential customers and you’ll be a step ahead of the game.
