Media

Marketing: 4 Tips to Using Social Media for Entrepreneurs

There are over 3.48 billion people in the world who actively use social media this means that it is a great place for entrepreneurs to boost their business. 

Social media marketing for entrepreneurs is the easiest way to attract new customers and it is also budget-friendly. You can reach and connect to so many potential clients via social media. 

Keep reading for our guide on the four best ways that entrepreneurs can use social media to help boost their business. 

1. Choose the Right Platforms

If you’re a one-person show, then running multiple social media accounts may not be the right thing to do especially when you’re first starting out. Choose one or two platforms that you feel you can create content for and reach your target audience. Your target audience are the people you want to market yourself to. 

When it comes to choosing the right platform there are plenty such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook or even LinkedIn. Each of these social media platforms have different kinds of content that you will need to be able to create. Do some brainstorming and decide which platforms are right for you and your business. 

2. Show Off Your Personality

When it comes to social media your number one goal is that you should be yourself meaning you should show off your personality. Your personality should be one that attracts your target audience. 

On social media, your followers should feel as if they could easily come to you with any questions or concerns that they might have about your products or services. You should make sure that you’re conversational with them and able to respond to anything that they may have asked you. It’s great to be personal when it comes to social media because clients want to know that there’s a real person behind the account. 

3. Create Your Own App

Another way to connect with your clients is by creating your own app where they can find your goods or services. This is also a good place for them to keep up with your business on any updates that they may have. 

When you have your own app you can also take advantage of mobile marketing. Pretty much everyone has smartphones that are constantly glued to your hands so mobile marketing is another way to reach your clients. You can send them push notifications of new updates and news right to their phones. 

4. Create Shareable Content

When it comes to social media, you don’t want to constantly be promoting your products or services. Instead, create content that is interesting as well as content that your followers with want to share. 

Creating shareable content is a great way to gain new followers as well as keep your current followers engaged in your business. Do some research and see what kind of content your followers enjoy. You can still find ways to work your products or services in but creating interesting content is a great way to attract new followers to your social media accounts. 

Take Advantage of Social Media Marketing For Entrepreneurs

Social media marketing for entrepreneurs is a great way to connect with and reach potential customers. Taking advantage of social media is the best thing you can do as an entrepreneur because it is free and easy to manage. 

If you’re looking for more awesome content from women, then make sure to check out our blog as we constantly post great advice. 

5 Benefits of Social Media Marketing

There are over 3 billion people with social media accounts worldwide. With numbers that massive, it is impossible to ignore the role that social media plays in our lives. If you run a business today and your company is not on social media, you need to get on it immediately.

Still not convinced? Read on, and we will show you the biggest benefits of social media marketing.

1. Increase Brand Recognition

If nothing else, the benefits of social media marketing allow you to get your company’s name out there. As your brand becomes more recognizable and more popular, it will be seen as more trustworthy and will stick in people’s minds for longer periods of time.

By using tools like hashtags, you can make sure that your posts will be filtered into like-minded timelines and news feeds. This can help you reach a more specific demographic simply by using the right keywords.

On Twitter, you can check out the trending bar to see what people are talking about. This lets you know what is popular at the moment and you can use these trending tags to reach even more people. By having a presence on multiple networks (you should be on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at a minimum), even apathetic social media users will start to recognize your brand.

All companies can benefit from increased brand recognition on social media. Whether you are a global, corporate juggernaut like Coca-Cola or this trusted company operating out of Palm Harbor, FL, social media can be a boon for your business.

2. More Chances for Conversion

At its essence, the point of all marketing is conversion. Conversion is when someone who is exposed to your marketing message performs the desired action, usually making a purchase.

And every post that your social media team makes is an opportunity for a customer to convert. Social media makes it very easy for users to react to posts. With just a tap of the finger or click of a key, users can like, comment, or repost your message. With each reaction comes a new opportunity for someone to visit your site which only increases your chances for conversion.

Obviously, not every reaction is going to lead to conversion. But as you rack up positive reactions, you are setting yourself up for a possible conversion windfall later on down the line.

Social media also increases your chances of conversion because it has the opportunity to humanize your company. Unlike other forms of marketing, social media marketing allows businesses to directly interact with customers and also make posts as a regular person would.

Customers more often than not respond positively to this. The most popular and viral corporate tweets and posts tend to not sound very corporate at all.

3. Lower Marketing Costs

According to a recent survey, over 84% of social marketers found that they experienced increased traffic when they put in as little as six hours of effort per week. That’s less than one hour per day. This statistic speaks to the power of a good social media strategy and emphasizes the old adage – work smart, not hard.

By putting in only one hour per day, you can experience some, if not dramatic, increases in your traffic. Start small and see what does and doesn’t work as you hone your social voice.

4. Target Specific Demographics with Facebook Ads

Facebook advertisements are among the most seen content on the internet right now. The beauty of Facebook Ads is that you have the option to filter who will see your ads based on information such as interests, age, relationship status, and more.

Plus, when you use Facebook Pixel, you are able to track all of the users who come to your site via your Facebook Ads. This, in turn, allows you to make custom ad campaigns specifically targeted to those who have already visited your site.

5. More Personal Customer Experience

Nowadays, people love getting notifications on their social media accounts. When someone reacts positively to your social media post, consider giving them a mention. This will make the user feel special and foster a stronger relationship between them and your brand.

Also, if a customer complains about your service or product on social media, take proactive measures. Reach out to that person either publicly or through private messaging and get to the bottom of the issue. By apologizing publicly, people who see the disparaging post are reminded that there is a human behind your social media team and that you care about your service and your customers.

People today don’t just want to buy from brands with quality products. They also want a brand that is going to treat their customers with respect. You want as little enemies as possible on social media. No company enjoys having their timeline clogged up with disparaging remarks from upset customers.

Reaping the Benefits of Social Media Marketing for Your Business

After looking at the benefits of social media marketing listed above, it is easy to see just how great this medium can be. As you start to dip your toes into the world of social media, remember to always be honest and treat your customers with respect.

Try to start out small and just have a presence on the major social media platforms. After you get the hang of it, consider branching out and getting creative on the smaller and more niche sites.

Looking for more informative marketing articles? Check out our blog today!

Famous on Insta: How to Become a Social Media Influencer

Everybody likes to be liked.

Especially on social media. On Instagram alone, we upload 95 million photos per day. And we all know how great it feels when we see those likes start pouring in.

But what if your Instagram profile could bring in a more tangible benefit?

Namely, cash.

It’s more realistic than you think: one of the hottest marketing tactics of the last few years is using influencers.

If that sounds like a pretty good gig to you and you want to know how to become a social media influencer, read on!

What IS Influencer Marketing?

Influencer marketing operates on the idea that consumers trust people more than they trust companies.

Essentially, if Brand X runs an ad saying how great they are, you might be skeptical. But if one of your most popular friends talks about how much they love Brand X, you’d be more likely to believe them.

Companies know this, so they try to capitalize. Brands will find someone with a large following and pay them to promote their product. This is why you see Kylie Jenner talking about the brands of her makeup so often—she’s paid to.

How To Become a Social Media Influencer 

Want to get in on it? Here’s how.

Find Your Niche

No one is only interested in just one thing. Most of us have a wide variety of things we’re passionate about.

But when it comes to your social media feed, people have short attention spans. Choose one thing and dive in with laser focus. And make sure your pictures look good.

Build Your Audience

Once you set your niche, it’s time to find followers.

Start by following people in that niche. Use hashtags with large followings. If you’re in a hurry, you can use an Instagram bot—learn more at espressotriplo.com.

Brands want to find users with large follower counts, so make sure you have someone to influence.

Post Regularly

The internet is a fickle and forgetful place. One moment, everyone’s raving about a picture of an egg. The next, everyone’s already forgotten. 

One of the best ways to keep people’s attention is to post regularly. Keep posting quality content that people want to engage with—and don’t forget to engage with the comments. 

Tag Brands

We’d all like to have brands hit us up out of the blue to give us their money. But it doesn’t always work that way.

Sometimes, we have to get their attention ourselves.

If you have a brand or a product you love, start working as a volunteer influencer. Make regular posts about the product, tagging the brand when you do.

With enough posts and enough followers, the brand will take notice. And often, they’ll reach out with a formal offer.

Get Influencing

Now that you know how to become a social media influencer, put these tips to use! Go grab your smartphone and turn those posts and likes into dollars and cents.

For more tips, check out this post about writing great Instagram captions.

Follower Frenzy: 5 Amazing Social Media Tips for Getting Followers

Are you trying to grow your social media following?

Gaining new, authentic social media followers can be a challenge, especially in a time when it’s easy to pay to gain followers overnight. But buying followers is never the way to go, especially if you’re looking to increase engagement, convert customers or work with brands on sponsored content. 

Now it’s getting easier and easier for people to spot who has a genuine following and who has purchased their followers. How do you gain true followers when most social media outlets are crowded? Keep reading to find out ways to organically get new followers. 

The Best Social Media Tips 

Getting organic social media growth can be difficult, but it’s worth the time and effort. Here are five great social media tips to gain more followers:

1. Post High Quality, Shareable Content 

Social media is a crowded space, so people have high expectations when it comes to content. To get the most likes, shares and comments, you need to create high-quality content that people will respond to. 

If Instagram is your outlet of choice, invest in good equipment or learn photo editing. For Facebook, share things that are funny and engaging. Videos are also popular on outlets like Facebook. Know what your target audience likes and give them what they’re looking for. 

2. Engage With Other Accounts 

Getting new followers is all about being active and engaging on the social media platform you’re trying to grow. So don’t just be a ghost on the platform, actively engage in what others are doing. Comment on posts that you admire and like or share content often. 

3. Post Frequently and Consistently 

If you want to gain followers you have to post frequently and consistently. You can’t post once a week and then disappear for months at a time. Social media algorithms determine who sees your posts, and many of them will punish you for not posting very often. 

Try posting at least three times per week and keep up with posting. You can use a scheduling tool to post for you when life gets busy and you can’t be on social media in real time. 

4. Use Hashtags 

Hashtags are still a great way to get your content discovered by new users. The key to hashtags is to make sure they’re targeted, specific and relevant to your content. Don’t just use a hundred random hashtags and hope for the best. 

Do your research to find out which hashtags are trending to get your posts in front of the most people. 

5. SEO Optimize Your Content

Just like using hashtags, SEO optimizing your social media content makes you easier to find when people search online. 

If you’re not sure how to get started with SEO optimized content, you can try a software platform that will help. This SEO software from SEOJet is an awesome place to get started. 

Learn More Marketing and Blogging Tips 

Just like building a blog or a business, getting organic social media traffic takes time and patience. You won’t have millions of followers overnight, but you will build a lasting network of followers who actually want to hear what you say, engage with your posts and share your content. 

Now that you know our best social media tips, there is still plenty to learn about marketing and blogging. This article on link building is a great place to start and it’ll help you drive more traffic to your website. 

Selling Sparkling Smiles: 8 Social Media Marketing Tips for Dentists

So you’ve finally caved; you’ve given in and decided to wrangle the endless benefits of social media marketing to boost your dental practice! That’s great news.

Many assume that social media marketing is only helpful for retailers or affluent individuals–but the truth is, as far as dentist marketing ideas, social media marketing is pretty high on the list for high-impact marketing strategies!

If you’re looking to grow your dental practice through social media marketing, you’re already on the right track. Here are our 8 top tips on how you can make a splash in social media marketing for your dental practice!

1. Let Your Employees Lead the Charge

Your employees provide the personality and the human connection for your company. Allowing your social media presence to be one that primarily features your employees can be a special touch that makes connecting personally with your content to be a natural reaction from patients.

Highlighting your hygienists and other employees through employee feature posts and employee-led live-streams allows your followers to get to know the people with whom they’re interacting in your office. It allows them to put a personal face to your practice, and it helps them feel like a bigger part of your practice overall.

At the very least, listen to your employees’ opinions–and feature them on a personal level whenever possible!

2. Post New Stuff Regularly

The key to success in any social media marketing campaign–whether you’re marketing dental implants or automobile leases–is establishing a regular, well-planned content calendar. No matter what you do, you’ve absolutely got to post new content regularly.

One rule of thumb is that posting content daily (or close to daily) is one of the most optimum ways to keep your practice in the front of patients’ minds. But perhaps a better tip is that you should aim to post new content as often as you have quality, worthwhile content to post!

Planning ahead can be a huge factor in the success of your dental practice’s social media marketing. Decide what you’ll post and when–and determine gaps in your content plan, places where your posts might saturate your patients’ feeds.

3. Drop the Clinical Tone

Your goal in social media marketing should never be to talk down to clients or make them feel uncomfortable with the professional nature of your posts. Any time you post content to social media, you should make an effort to drop the clinical tone from your practice’s informational brochures and connect with your followers the way other social media content does.

Instead of posting only very clinical images and professional, informational content, take the time to put out a balanced set of posts that shows your practice’s fun, personal side as well.

The occasional meme or dental-pun can go a long way toward establishing a relaxed back-and-forth with clients. Do your best to speak your followers’ language–and remember, this is social media; not a presentation to the American Dental Association!

4. Keep Your Content Varied

In the world of social media, there may be nothing worse than the people who post the same sort of content day after day–come on, we get it already! The same is true for the content your dental practice puts out; it’s beyond important to keep content fresh, new, and varied.

If you post a patient Q&A today, plan ahead to post a giveaway or an informational video tomorrow. If it’s been a while since you posted a funny reminder to schedule a dental cleaning, it might be time!

With such high levels of competition on social media for followers’ attention, it’s extremely important not to get lazy or passive with the variety of content you post. You should keep followers on their toes. They should look forward to seeing what new content their dentist has posted this week!

5. Engage With Your Followers

Because of the ways in which social media algorithms are set up, the posts that receive interaction from followers are far more likely to appear on the timelines of additional followers. For this reason, it’s super necessary for your practice to go the extra mile toward interacting with its patients on your page’s posts!

If patients respond to your content, reply to their comments! If you’re hoping to encourage interaction, end each of your posts with a question or prompt for your followers so they’ll feel inclined to comment.

Fostering a conversation and encouraging engagement with your content is one of the most effective ways you can work toward growing your social media presence and the resulting leads generated.

6. Interact With Local Businesses

It may not be very high on every social media user’s list to follow their dental practice on social media, but many users are extremely dedicated to supporting local businesses. Because of this, your practice may want to consider a partnership with a well-loved local business or two in order to mutually boost your followings and engagement.

You may interact with local businesses in a more passive way–with the occasional shoutout from an employee or a supportive post. But you can also partner directly with other small businesses to sponsor giveaways or promotions!

When your followers and the followers of other small businesses see your mutual support for one another, they may come to support your work and social media pages by association with their other favorite brands. Everybody wins!

7. Ask Patients What They’d Like to See

Another awesome and pretty sure-fire way to ensure your dental practice’s social media posts are pleasing and exciting for your patients is to…uh…ask them what sorts of content would be pleasing and exciting for them to see…

Really, it’s that simple!

Consider sending your patients off from their cleanings with a QR code or a flyer with your social media account information on it–send them directly to your page, then give them a place to tell you what they want to see!

If your patients feel as though they have a hand in your social media content, they’ll be that much more invested, and your content will be that much better-suited to your audience!

8. Use the Platform to Inform

A great advantage of using social media as a dental practice is that your objective in social media marketing is always clear; you want to promote and inform!

Your social media content should never reach a point where every post is some variation of, “Hey, uh…schedule your dental cleaning!” Regard your social media posts as a platform to inform your patients! That’s right; the moment they sit down in your practice’s examination room is no longer your only platform to remind patients of the necessity of flossing.

Your content should contribute positively to your patients’ knowledge and day-to-day lives. AKA: it should teach, inform, and make a positive impact!

Want More Dentist Marketing Ideas?

As a dentist or dental practice, the marketing possibilities are as endless as the benefits of daily flossing!

With creative dentist marketing ideas, you can establish your dental services as a part of your patients’ daily life–not just an annoying check-up reminder in the mail every six months.

For more on how to properly market yourself as a dentist and other awesome digital marketing content, check out our page!

How to Create Great Writing for Social Media Marketing Posts

Social media marketing is more important than ever. Chances are that social media is where your audience is — around 56% of adults use more than one social media platform. That number climbs when you only look at adults ages 18-34.

Despite this, some businesses still don’t put a lot of thought into how they create posts for social media. Posting without a strategy is a good way to leave money on the table and miss out on potential business.

Check out these tips on writing for social media to make sure that your business is up to speed.

Understand Your Audience

Who are you trying to reach, anyway?

Deciding who you’re “talking to” is one of the most important parts of writing for social media. You can determine this by looking at your current customers or what problems your products or services solve.

Figuring out your audience will help you decide what kind of voice and tone you should use in your posts. If you don’t have time to do this, companies like Reliant Social can help you do the research.

Keep Your Voice Consistent

Once you’ve decided on your voice, stay consistent! You don’t want to adopt a professional tone one week and then switch to a conversational one the next.

That gets confusing to your audience and makes your brand inconsistent.

Even though your social media account represents a business, people still expect it to have some kind of personality. Remembering this will help you create better content.

Use Active Voice

Whatever tone you choose to use, you should always use active voice instead of passive voice. You might need to think way back to English class for this one.

This is a basic grammar rule. Passive voice doesn’t grab the attention of your audience. Active voice, on the other hand, helps to give off a confident and decisive tone.

Look at the difference between these two sentences:

1. Ten thousand units were sold by our company this year.
2. Our company sold ten thousand units this year.

The second sentence is the active voice you should aim for.

Put Your Audience First

It can be tempting to only talk about your business on social media. After all, that’s the point of social media marketing, right?

Not quite. If you only talk about your business online, you’re setting yourself up to fail. You need to center your audience in each post you make.

What’s in it for them? How does your business benefit the people scrolling through your social media? These are the questions your audience is probably asking.

Make sure that your posts answer them.

Learn More About Writing For Social Media

These are just a few of our favorite tips for writing for social media. If you keep this advice in mind, you’ll create a strategy that puts your audience first and sees higher engagement rates.

Still want more advice about social media marketing? You’ve come to the right place. Check out the rest of our digital marketing articles to help you take your strategy to the next level.

10 Reasons All Businesses Need a Solid Social Media Marketing Campaign

If you want your business to be wildly successful, you need to have a killer social media presence.

Selling fancy socks to teenagers? You can grab their attention on Instagram.

Trying to market a new brand of medication to the elderly? A lot of older people have turned to Facebook for their social interaction.

Social media isn’t a passing fad, it’s a phenomenon that you need to master if you want your business to excel. It can be difficult, however, to know what to do if you’re inexperienced. Luckily, social media marketing isn’t an unconquerable subject.

Here’s why you need to start your campaign immediately.

Benefits of Social Media for Businesses

If you still aren’t convinced that you need to beef up your social media presence, you’ll probably change your mind after reading the rest of this post.

1. Web Traffic

Your product is wonderful. You know exactly who your audience is and what you want to say to them. There’s just one problem- how are you going to find them?

Solely relying on Google searches to find customers is risky. Yes, if you sell dog leashes and someone searches for a leash for Fido, you can buy advertising space to reach that person.

But what about the woman who’s casually browsing the internet, not thinking about her dog at all? Google isn’t going to be enough to open her wallet. But she might open her wallet when she sees pictures of awesome-looking leashes on Instagram.

2. Huge Conversion Rates

Traditional advertising is impersonal. Ads are targeted toward large swaths of the population and fade into the background.

Social media advertising, when done correctly, is aimed towards YOU. Your interests, your likes and dislikes are taken into account. This allows people to become more comfortable with your brand.

That familiarity with your brand can lead to impressive conversion rates.

3. Improved Customer Recognition

If you could, you would probably plaster your brand’s logo everywhere in sight. Obviously, that’s not practical in the real world.

Social media is different. Knowledge of your company can spread fast and organically. Because the posts that you share can be seen by thousands or even millions of people, you’ll be able to reach an audience that you otherwise wouldn’t.

Someone who’s just casually browsing their news feed might hear about your brand because one of their friends re-posted your ad.

4. More Authentic Customer Relationships

Social media allows you to connect with your customers directly. You can answer their questions, respond to their jokes. A lot of people love it when known brands contact them personally.

People buy more from companies that they feel a connection to. You can foster that feeling by engaging in natural social media interactions.

5. Decreased Costs

A solid social media marketing campaign is often a lot cheaper than traditional marketing efforts. The time commitment is less and even if you decide to pay for targeted advertising, the cost is usually less than, say, renting a billboard or magazine space.

You can even build a grassroots campaign and spend nothing at all first. Just devote an hour or two a day to trying to reach new customers.

6. Media Coverage

Tv networks and newspaper outlets scour social media sites to find out what’s trending. A lot of national news stories were born on sites like Twitter and Facebook. If you post the right witty response or impressive story, you might go viral.

If that happens, there’s a chance that your post will be picked up by a news organization. Your brand could blow up from a single post.

7. Better Customer Service

A disgruntled customer wants to the ability to contact you and get a response immediately. The days of waiting endlessly for a letter in the mail are over.

If you have a strong social media presence, this isn’t an issue. Make sure an employee is constantly monitoring your accounts and paying attention to alerts. A lot of unhappy customers is more likely to send you a tweet or direct message on Instagram than an email.

Your fast response can turn in an ugly situation into a happy. If your customer feels like their complaint has been heard, there’s a good chance that their anger will disappear.

8. Keep Up With Your Competition

If you’re not on social media yet, you can bet that your competition is. You really can’t afford to slack off in this direction or you’ll lose out on business.

The good news is that a lot of small businesses are butchering their social media campaigns, which gives you a lot of room to dominate your market. Many small business owners set up social media channels then barely use them.

They might post a coupon occasionally but they rarely interact with their followers and all of their posts are obviously intended to sell you something. If you can do it better, you can out-compete them.

9. Develop Brand Authority

Show off your expertise by answering questions about your industry on social media. If you sell organic cat treats and a Twitter user asks what’s the best food to feed your cats, you should answer.

This establishes your brand as a recognized authority in your field. In addition to exposure, you might even be able to snag a new customer.

10. Connect with Industry Leaders

Social media can help you reach the leading voices in your industry. You don’t need to cozy up with your competition but it might be useful to connect with important brands and individuals who are related to your business.

Your brand can develop a real presence. This will help to get the word out about your brand.

Social Media Marketing

You can’t avoid using social media marketing if you want your business to be great in 2018. There’s simply no way to get around it. So get started!

One way to boost your social media channels is to post interesting, shareable content. We can help with you that. We have countless articles designed to help you create content that people actually want to read.

15 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

Did you know that the average social media user spends 135 minutes every day on social media platforms? As a small business owner, this means that this is a great way to reach your potential and current customers.

But if you haven’t done much social media marketing before, it can be hard to know how to get started. You have so many things on your plate and this can seem like too big of a project to undertake.

The truth is that there are actionable things you can do starting now to begin your social media marketing efforts. And they will pay off!

We’ve compiled the 15 social media tips for small businesses that you need to get started. Check them out below.

1. Focus on One Network to Start

The list of popular social media platforms is long: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn. And the truth is that it keeps growing.

So when you’re just starting out with social media, don’t try and have an active presence on every single network. There are simply too many and so it’s better to focus on quality rather than quantity.

Do some research and see what platform makes the most sense for you as you’re just beginning. Are you interested in sharing photography based posts? Instagram is the best option for that.

If you’re wanting to post multiple short updates every day, Twitter might work for you. LinkedIn is where businesses connect best with other businesses.

No matter your goals, think through these things and then choose which network will be best for you.

2. Decide on Your Goals

With any digital marketing campaign, it’s crucial that you start by deciding your goals. Without clear goals, you will lack direction. The same is definitely true for your social media marketing.

What do you want to accomplish with your social media efforts? Do you want to establish your company as an expert in your field? Do you want to generate leads?

Perhaps you’re looking to keep your customers up to date with product updates.

Decide what your main goals are and then make a plan. Create some SMART goals that will be easily trackable. And then get started!

3. Know Your Audience

This is one of the most important social media tips for business. Knowing your audience will give you direction about what to post and content topics.

You will want to understand your audience’s age, gender, location, goals, and average income. How can you find this information though?

The answer is simple: market research.

Start by coming up with personas for your customers. These are qualities of your ideal consumers.

You can do this by doing surveys, focus groups, and customer interviews. Then once you have this demographic data, look for trends. This will give you an idea of your average consumer’s information.

Then, once you know this, you’ll have a better idea of which networks to use and the type of content that will be most appealing to your audience.

4. Always Engage with Your Audience

When it comes to social media, always remember that it is a two-way street. You will have the ability to send out content but your audience will also be able to comment, leave questions, and send direct messages.

You want to provide great customer service in these situations by quickly responding to all comments and messages. Make sure you set up notifications in your social media apps so you always see when someone engages with your posts.

You’ll also get negative comments from time to time from frustrated customers. Always respond in a positive and helpful way because other people will see your responses.

5. Consistency is Key

One of the biggest questions small business owners ask when starting out with social media is how often they should post. Well, the truth is that there’s not one answer.

Every industry is different and companies have found success with all different types of publishing schedules. The biggest thing is to be consistent.

It’s all about balance. You want to post enough so you stay at the top of your audience’s mind, but you ever want to be annoying.

Also, remember that every social network has different norms for posting. On Twitter, it’s totally okay to tweet multiple times a day. On Instagram, though once or twice is better.

6. Separate Your Business and Personal Accounts

This may seem obvious, but far too many companies don’t follow this simple advice. Always keep your business and personal accounts separate.

This way, your followers or subscribers will only see content related to your company. They don’t want to be updated on your family parties or see all your vacation pictures.

It’s more professional to have everything separate. This will make your business seem much more legitimate.

7. Add a Time Budget to Your List of Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

If you use social media for personal use, you’re probably familiar with how easy it can be to waste time scrolling your news feed.

One second you’re just opening your app and 30 minutes later you look up and realize how long it’s been. While this is fine on your personal time, you don’t want this to happen during the work day when you have a lot of other projects to get done.

Instead, create a social media time budget. Pick a time every day to check your accounts, post new content, and to respond to comments.

8. Take Advantage of Your Bio

Almost every social media network has a bio section. This is where you can display a little information about your business and your contact information. Don’t let this space go to waste!

You should include the following:

• Your logo
• A short description of what you do
• Your phone number
• A link to your website
• Your address is necessary

9. Utilize Visuals

Visuals like photos and videos will make your posts much more engaging. In fact, one study found that tweets with images earned up to 18 percent more clicks, 89 percent more favorites, and 150 percent more retweets.

So whenever you can, include a photo or video content with your posts

Want more help with your social media content? Check out smartsocialkits.com.

10. Remember the 80/20 Rule

Speaking of your content, here’s another thing you should keep in mind. 80% of your posts should provide something of value to your followers.

This valuable content could include an infographic, video interview, or blog post.

It’s okay if the other 20% is more self-promotional. This can include information about current offers, new products, or other company changes.

11. Show Some Personality

In everything you do on social media, remember that it’s a good thing to show some personality. This is where you can humanize your brand.

Don’t get stuck in the rut of using only formal corporate language and instead let your walls down a little.

It’s great to have a sense of humor. You can also show some behind the scenes pictures or videos about your business here.

12. Learn from the Best

One way to get started with social media is to learn from those who are more experienced. Spend some time on your chosen platforms and follow other brands in your industry. What do they do that’s successful?

Also study some of the biggest brands in the world like Coca-Cola, Nike, or Apple. How do they use social media?

You can learn a lot from watching.

13. Don’t Be Confrontational

Even though you should have fun with your social media, you shouldn’t ever be confrontational. On your business accounts, never attack your competitors or vent about your industry.

Avoid political issues as much as possible and don’t engage in confrontations with customers who leave negative comments.

And if you have employees posting for your company, make sure they are well-trained in these areas as well. You don’t want your brand image tarnished by inappropriate social media activity.

14. Don’t Over-Automate

Social media automation software is a great tool you can use. It can help you schedule your posts out in advance and get detailed metrics on your results.

This can be really helpful for your overall social media strategy.

However, be careful to not over-automate. Don’t let your automation software respond to people’s comments. It’s very easy to notice when a computer-generated response is used.

15. Test, Evaluate, and Adjust

With any marketing campaign, you should always evaluate your results and then adjust them. Look at the number of clicks and the number of page visits.

For most businesses, the biggest metric to notice is conversions. Whether you want leads or sales, you should pay attention to your results.

If they’re not that great, make some adjustments and keep testing. It’s important to not give up. A lot of social media marketing is trial and error.

So brainstorm some ideas on how to improve and try them out!

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve read through these social media tips for small businesses, what’s next for you?

It’s time to pick your favorite tips and try them out. And before you know it, you’ll be a social media marketing pro.

Want to learn more? Check out our other business blog posts.

How To Create A Successful Social Media Marketing Campaign For Your Antique Business

Are you looking for a way to get more customers through the door of your antique business?

Running an antique business can be difficult, especially if you’re just starting out.

Statistics show that the antique industry isn’t enjoying the boom it’s had in the past, so it can be tough to attract a steady flow of customers.

Luckily, a social media marketing campaign can go a long way in promoting your business.

Read on to learn more about how to create a successful social media campaign.

1. Know Your Market

Posting ads for your antique business on Facebook are definitely worth the effort. But posting ads without a target market or niche isn’t so helpful.

Begin by identifying your market for a specific campaign. Are you targeting college students hungry for vintage furniture? Retirees nostalgic about their past?

Choose a specific market and then identify a need or struggle these individuals may have. For example, those college students may be looking for an affordable way to furnish their new apartment and look classy.

In your campaign, you’ll play up this need or struggle and show how you can satisfy it.

2. Do Your Research

No matter how large your marketing and development team is–it may just be you–it’s important to research the field before plunging in.

Research competition in your area. What are other antique stores doing for marketing, and how can you be better? How is Westland Antiques doing?

What ads do you see for antiques on social media? Are there any in your area currently?

Assess the competition but also consider demographics in your area.

3. Establish Goals

Before you start posting wildly on Facebook, set up some clear goals. What outcome do you want to have with your social media marketing campaign?

Be as specific as possible. If you want to attract more customers, put a number on it. If you want to boost sales, also put a number on it. Maybe you just want to acquire emails to build a list of leads.

Establish clear and actionable goals directly related to your needs as a business.

4. Pair It With Email

Social media campaigns aren’t just about making Instagram posts. Start by sending an email to current subscribers to give them a heads-up about your social media campaign.

Then, make sure that your campaign gets you new email addresses. You’ll want to send follow-up emails after you obtain these to stay with these leads and turn them into recurring customers.

5. Write Relevant Content

The key to successful social media campaigns lies in the content. It’s important to generate fresh, intriguing, and useful copy for your customers.

Yes, customers will perk up when they see discounts or special offers. But don’t forget about the power of video, for example, or images of your current antique inventory.

A top-notch content strategy will keep your customers coming back for more and get more email addresses on your list.

Your Social Media Marketing Campaign

Social media is a powerful tool, and it’s important to leverage it as you’re establishing your customer base in the antique industry.

Make sure you do your research and identify your market before launching your social media marketing campaign. Have clear goals that go along with your strategy and always follow up marketing efforts with email.

Want to learn more about what inbound marketing can do for your antique business? Sign up for free advice today at Article City!

Social Media Management for Realtors

Are you using social media to promote your real estate business? Do you know if your efforts are actually working?

A good social media management strategy will help you stay on top of your online profiles. It will also ensure that your messages are reaching the right people.

Ready to grow your business and online presence? Read on for some great tips on social media management for realtors:

What Is Social Media Management?

Social media management for realtors (or any businessperson, for that matter) is all about networking and monitoring your online presence. It involves building relationships and replying to the messages you receive online.

It’s not just putting up a Facebook post once a day. You need to make sure you’re engaging your audience and sharing posts that help boost your bottom line.

Why Is Social Media Management for Realtors Important?

If you’ve been in the real estate business for some time, you know that word of mouth is key to success. A good reputation can help you sell more homes and bring in new buyers.

Social media takes word of mouth to the next level.

When you have a solid social media strategy, you can tap into what’s being said about you and your brand. Plus, it’s a great way to learn about your competitors and your industry.

Good social media management helps you build credibility and increase brand awareness. It can also bolster your other digital marketing efforts and improve your search engine rankings.

Social Media Management Tips

Social media management for realtors is a pretty labor-intensive process. Some of its key aspects include:

• Creating a variety of content for your blog
• Monitoring views
• Approving and responding to comments
• Scanning social media sites and choosing which conversations to join
• Research to stay on top of the latest marketing strategies
• Checking Google Alerts to see who’s talking about your business online

As you can see, there’s a lot to keep track of. This is why so many realtors struggle with these things.

Luckily, we’re sharing our best tips for social media management for realtors below.

Build Your Brand

First, make sure your brand is consistent across all your profiles. This will strengthen your brand and make it easier for clients to spot it.

Use the same headshot or photograph for Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

You’ll also want to pick and stick with a consistent color scheme for your website, social media pages, and promo materials.

Establish Yourself as an Expert

If you want to make it in the real estate world, you need to set yourself apart from your peers. Build your reputation and become an expert in your field.

Don’t just talk about the homes you’re selling. Share information that your clients and potential clients want to know.

Write blog posts that give people a peek into what the industry is like behind the scenes.

For instance, you can share tips on how to obtain a new Florida mortgage. You may even want to consider publishing an e-book or hosting a webinar to set yourself apart and build credibility.

Stay Engaged

Make sure your engagement goes beyond just posting articles or photos on social media.

Communicate with your followers, answer their questions, and find out what they want to know more about. Never pass up on an opportunity to build relationships.

Even if someone isn’t looking to buy or sell right now, if you take the time to reach out them, they’ll remember you in the future when they are ready.

Post Consistently

Make sure you’re posting on social media regularly. This helps you establish credibility with your followers. It can also improve your search engine rankings and help people find you online.

Aim to post at least once a day. This can be tough at first, especially if you find yourself struggling to think of what to write or share.

This is why so many people rely on a content schedule to help with their social media management efforts.

Spend some time brainstorming post ideas. Then, create a calendar and plan out what you’re going to post each day. This helps make the posting process more efficient.

A content calendar also makes it easier for you plan ahead. You’ll be able to align your posts with upcoming events or holidays.

Keep It Local

When it comes to social media management for realtors, don’t forget that your content needs to have a local focus.

Your target audience consists of people who live in your area, or who want to live there, so make sure you talk it up.

Promote other local entrepreneurs or talk about your favorite coffee shop or restaurant. Your audience and potential clients will appreciate these posts, and which will help set you apart from your competition.

Join the Conversation

Make sure you pay attention to what people are saying on various platforms. Are people talking about local real estate on Twitter or in certain Facebook groups?

Turn on your Google Alerts for certain phrases. Dedicate some time each day to scanning various platforms to find out what people are saying, and jump in when you think it’s appropriate.

Measure Your Success

What’s the point of putting all this effort into social media marketing if you’re taking the time to measure your efforts?

Check in with your metrics once a week to see where you’re traffic is coming from. Use Facebook Insights and Google Analytics to track post engagement and find out what your followers like and don’t like.

This gives you great insight into your audience. It also helps you avoid wasting time or other resources on posts or ads that aren’t effective.

Work with a Professional

If you’re still struggling to keep up with your social media accounts, team up with a professional social media manager.

Look for someone whose sole job is to promote your business online. He will pay attention to what people are saying, which can help lighten your load. This way, you’ll have more time for other aspects of your business.

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