It’s 2012, so why are you still advertising using newspaper classifieds? More than a fad, social media is a powerful, new marketing tool for connecting with your current and potential customers. The following tips will show you how to succeed in social media marketing.
Twitter is a powerful social networking platform that can be a valuable promotional tool for your business. If you understand the ins and outs of Twitter, you will put your brand in front of hundreds, or even thousands, of eyeballs every single day. Familiarize yourself with the use of effective keywords and hashtags to generate traffic for your Twitter presence.
Conversation is an important idea to remember. Many business owners don’t always take advantage of consumer feedback as an opportunity for conversation and a chance to encourage the growth of the company in a positive manner. Expand upon their comments by talking to your customers. Learn what they want, what they dislike, and how you can change your strategies to keep them happy and purchasing from you.
Take advantage of YouTube by adding it to your marketing plans that use social media. Millions of people are on YouTube each hour of every day, this can potentially attract millions of people towards you so it’s never a bad idea to market on YouTube. If someone comes to your site already knowing what you have to offer, they are more likely to end up buying something.
It takes patience to create a social media network. It is unlikely that you can recruit 15,000 fans in 24 hours. It is possible and has been done before, but it is highly unlikely that your social media profiles will go viral the moment that you set them up. Be patient and in time, followers will come to you.
Flexibility is very key when managing the content on your website. If you are launching a big campaign for a new product, people will expect frequent updates from you. If, however, you have no reason to post every day, don’t force it. Update only as appropriate.
Consider the benefits of giveaway promotions through social media. Everyone loves getting something for nothing, and running a contest is an excellent strategy for drawing new followers on social media sites. Decide on what you are going to give away, then visit the popular freebie sites and post the link to where readers can get their freebie.
A great way to get your followers involved in social media is to hold a photo contest related to your brand. Ask customers to create photos of themselves using your products and offer prizes for creative photos. With a photo contest, for example, you can expect word to spread throughout many different areas of social media. The end result should be a huge bump in your traffic.
Stop updating your Facebook page for the day if you’ve made three posts. Constant updates and irrelevant posts are some of the most irritating things for social networking users. Keep your posting limited to three important and relevant posts that your customers will find helpful and interesting.
Play up the fact that you have connections when blogging. This seems a little odd, but a lot of people respect and feel more at ease with those that have a few social credentials. You should blog about these friends and share them on Facebook and Twitter. Share a link that will give them more info, or come up with a contest to thank your customers.
If you use Facebook, keep the account updated regularly. People love new content. Because of this, you should immediately share on Facebook any post you write on your blog. In this way, you can get twice as much benefit from the one blog posting.
Create new content frequently, and update it often. You don’t want customers to grow bored. Keep them entertained and interested. Create a posting schedule or try signing up for services that post for you on a specific schedule. This will ensure you will keep your readers’ attention.
Use a headline for your post that is catchy. Your reader makes his or her first impression when reading a headline. You have to catch them quickly and grab their attention so they will continue reading the entire post. Therefore, ensure you carefully consider the headline.
If you come across as trying too hard to sell your product, you may lose potential customers. Social media works best for those that communicate in a friendly, casual voice. Keep this in mind when writing content for your social media sites.
Post upcoming events on your social networks to build anticipation and excitement. Allow a couple of months notice, so your followers can pencil you into their calendars. Your audience will be chomping at the bit as you release your event, causing it to be a riotous success!
Look for opportunities to combine print ads with social media. If you distribute a printed newsletter or brochure, include the web address of your social media profiles, or scan older flyers or images and save them in an album online. You can make your business more interesting by sharing all facets of your campaign with your followers; for instance, you could run a contest for designing a printed poster.
Share information about your business on your social media pages. For example, you can post pictures of fund-raising events and interact with your community. Talk about what good things employees are doing, or show them being productive at work. Post anything that will make your company look good in the eyes of customers.
It is important to learn all the different functions of various social media website, so you can use them well in your social media marketing campaigns. A prime instance of this is mouse-clicking on the post time of a specific tweet, which then highlights the tweet itself into a distinct hyperlink. You can use this to post a link to a specific tweet, rather than to your entire feed.
You have to have the right techniques to get into the new social media marketing world. Use the information you’ve learned here to maximize the results you’re sure to see when you employ your own social media marketing campaign.