Most small business owners think that if they have one Facebook account, plus Twitter, that they’re all set in the social media world. Their fans and customers will find them and the sales will increase, all with a minimum of effort. The truth of the matter is that there are hundreds of social media platforms, so your potential customers could be spread throughout the internet. The key to being successful in business is to diversity your social media efforts, so you can extend your reach. When your customers can find you, they’re more likely to visit your business, or your website. That means higher conversion rates and more profit for you.
Social Marketing
It’s important to create a social marketing plan, so that your social media accounts don’t fall by the wayside. After all, if you don’t post every day, then your clients aren’t going to bother visiting everyday either. Soon, they’ll be too busy reading your competitor’s feeds and spending time on their Facebook pages, and they’ll have forgotten all about you. You need to get the word out every day. The more your customers see you in social media, the more it will nudge them towards giving your business a call.
You don’t have to just stick with Facebook and Twitter, though they’re the major social media platforms. There are literally hundreds of other platforms around, all that can be put to good use.
Social Media Platforms
Hootsuite
Hootsuite isn’t so much of a social media account like Facebook or Twitter, but it’s a great social media management tool. If you’re stuck for time, this is where you can set up all your social media posts and tweets for the week, all in one spot. It supports Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, Foursquare, WordPress and mixi. What’s so great about it is that you can pre-schedule all your posts for the entire month if you want. So, if you’re going out of town, or are too busy with a project one week, all your work will have been done in advance. You can relax, knowing it’s all done.
Pinterest has a loyal following. It’s strictly photograph-based and viewers love looking at all the cool ideas posted. You may be wondering what you can do with photos, you ask yourself? This is your chance to set up a board for your business and start posting photographs of your products. These photographs can link back to your website, so if a user likes your photo, they may click the link to see what else you have on offer.
Tumblr
Tumblr is an up-and-coming blogging tool. While Blogger and WordPress are the big ones, Tumblr is popular with the niche market, as well as the younger crowd. So, if you cater to teenagers, you may want to set up a Tumblr account. Likewise, if you have a certain niche brand, such as athletic wear or natural cosmetics, you may wish to give Tumblr a try as well.
When you spend a few hours per week working towards diversifying your social media accounts, you will see it pay off in the future. Your customers will be able to find you wherever they are on the Net. This will pay off in increased profits down the road.
