Expand Your Audience; Use Social Media

All of the Social Media platforms enjoy a large following.  Millions of people frequent Facebook despite their reputation of taking advantage of their subscribers. People who regularly look at websites don’t necessarily spend time on social media sites, and vice versa.  But these sites offer an opportunity to expand your base by writing to a different reader and giving them a different look at your business.

So now that you have your website up and running it’s time to move on to social media. But wait, why use social media?

• Social media provides additional exposure for your business. With so much being published on the Internet now, it’s very difficult for your website to be found through just direct search. Social media gives you another way.  All social media sites have some way to pass your story on.  Likes, comments and shares spread the news about your content.

• Social media can become another landing page for you. For example, with Facebook you can insert an image and under the image you can hide a link to a landing page on your website. Click on the image and you arrive at your website. All social media pages have similar features.

• They give you an attractive way to advertise your business. Again, Facebook has some affordable ways for you to give your business a boost and in fact,  has its own advertising scheme.

Discover the Power of Social Media

Facebook, the trailblazer in the social media realm, celebrates its 19th birthday this year and proudly boasts a staggering 2.93 billion monthly active users. With a remarkable growth rate of 15% annually, it has become an undeniable force in the digital landscape. Don’t miss out on the opportunity, as over 1 million small and medium-sized businesses are already harnessing its potential.

Twitter, the second-largest social media platform, attracts over 320 million monthly active users. Its unique advantage lies in its ability to provide real-time updates from around the world. With an international reach of 79%, Twitter connects people beyond borders. It utilizes its power to broadcast information through hashtags, making connections to specific topics a breeze.

LinkedIn, the professional network with a whopping 930 million users, invites you to engage and expand your professional connections. Although only 16% of users log in each month, the active user count still reaches an impressive 134.5 million. Build your professional brand and network effectively with LinkedIn.

YouTube, the juggernaut of video content, hosts a mind-boggling 3.25 billion hours of video watched every single month. Daily, a staggering five billion videos are consumed via mobile phones. By creating video channels to promote your brand, you can leverage YouTube’s influence on Google’s search rankings – an opportunity not to be missed.

Pinterest, with its 100 million monthly active users, offers a fantastic platform for B2C businesses. Reaching an audience of predominantly 80% females, Pinterest provides a valuable avenue to showcase your brand’s offerings. Don’t overlook this powerful option for connecting with your target market.

People use social media for entertainment, so lighten up!

•  Use images: put the social in social media. Images catch the eye of a person browsing her social media feed and instantly you have her attention.  Images not only make for lighter pages they also quickly convey an idea.  In the early twentieth century when advertising was just starting an often heard phrase was “One picture is worth a thousand words.”  It’s still true today.  Use images of your staff, enthusiastic customers, but not the cat that plays the piano.  Use content appropriate images to delight your visitors while telling your story.

• Facebook has likes, comments and shares. Twitter has #hashtags.  LinkedIn has groups.  YouTube has teaching opportunities.  All are ways to get your business noticed.  Each is different and will work differently for you.  Utilize the strength of each platform to your advantage.  A handy reference for maximizing the value of social media is socialmediaexaminer.com

• Social media is about building community. Write your content as if you were talking directly to your visitor.  Imagine you are having a cup of coffee and he asked you “tell me about your business”.  Tell him what you know that may be helpful TO HIM.  Tell her in conversational language but include a link to your website that will provide more information if she wants it.  No Sales Pressure allowed here!

• All social media pages have some type of group structure. Join a group that you are interested in with the intent of participating and contributing.  Then follow through.  Get to know members of the group.  Help them where you have a chance with a like or a share or a retweet and you will receive the same in return.  Eventually it is perfectly OK to ask them to link to your website.  External links play a major role in Google’s ranking of your site.

A well planned and well executed social media strategy can get you referrals, portray you as an industry expert and make it easy to get others to link to your website.  Search engines used to be the primary way to drive traffic to your website.  Social networks now have become a greater source of referrals and they increase the time a visitor spends on your website.

Which social media sites do you use?