How Businesses Should Utilize Social Media

In today’s world, if your brand isn’t on the internet, your brand doesn’t exist. Social media has taken over the internet and the lives of most of your target audience, so it only makes sense to reach them on their most frequented websites.
By creating social media accounts for your business, you are creating the opportunity to interact with your fans, reach new users and make a name for yourself. Social media is a great way to brand your business and market your products and services.

There are countless ways to use social media. How you use it for your brand will depend on what exactly your business is and who you are trying to reach. Here are some tips to get your foot in the door with social media and make the most of it for your business.
 

Choose the Right Type of Social Media

There are many forms of social media, and the number seems to be growing constantly. At first, MySpace and Facebook were the big trends, but today there’s Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr and many others.
It’s probably a bit of overkill — and a bit too much work — to have an account set up with every form of social media.

Instead, it’s best to take a look at each website and figure out what would work best for your business.
For example, if your business is in the industry of health and beauty, interior design or DIY projects, Pinterest is definitely a platform you’ll want to look into. If your target audience is business professionals, LinkedIn may be the way to go.

Each platform attracts a different audience and has different uses, so exploring each one is a great way to get started with social media. Don’t just create accounts on every website just for the fun of it. Have a social media plan as you pick and choose which platforms to be a part of.
 

Create Unique Content

A big part of social media is sharing content other users have already posted. While this can definitely be used to your benefit, what might be more beneficial is creating your own content to put on your page.

For example, writing blog posts or creating podcasts that are tailored specifically for your business will give you something unique to put on your page and pull users in. Plus, when your followers share the content you created, their followers will see your brand and might come check out your page.

Disney is always putting out unique content their followers won’t see anywhere else. They are constantly posting nostalgic pictures or behind-the-scenes footage of the company that makes fans want to follow their page in order to see these unique posts.

Creating unique content is the perfect way to get your message out and also reach new customers. When users see you are creating and sharing your own content, they will feel connected to your brand, be more likely to share your posts and remember your business.
 

Interact With Users

Interacting with your followers is one of the best parts of social media. You have the ability to communicate directly with fans of your company and thank them for their dedication.

Once you have your social media accounts set up, try commenting on your followers’ posts or simply “liking” some of their pictures. Reaching out to followers not only makes them feel special, but it might even make them want to tell their friends about your business.

You may not be able to reach out to every single follower you have, but if you can interact with just a few each day or each week, it will make a big difference. Also, keep your eye out for any followers that post or share something about your business and definitely try to like or comment on those posts thanking them for their support.
 

Try New Things

There are so many different things you can do with social media, and you’ll never know what works and what doesn’t unless you try new things!

For instance, try out a holiday giveaway or a raffle to see if your followers are interested in those types of promotions. Try asking for your followers to submit their funniest video using your product and feature the best one. Try different post styles and imagery on your page to see what gets the best reactions.

One example of a company who has figured out the perfect tone to use on social media is Taco Bell. They have created their own voice on their social media platforms. They share funny and quirky posts that make it seem like you’re talking to your best friend. Even when they are replying to a comment that is negative about their company, they keep it upbeat by saying “Let’s talk!” instead of just giving a run-of-the-mill reply. Taco Bell found a tone that worked with their audience and stuck to it.

The great thing about social media is that your followers have the opportunity to tell you how they feel about certain things right away by commenting or reacting. Use their feedback to hone your social media skills and perfect your sites. After all, your followers are the people you are trying to please.
 

Use Advertising Options

Most social media platforms have an option for paid advertising if you want to reach new audiences through the site. If you have a little extra room in your advertising budget, definitely put some money aside to use on social media advertising.

It’s no secret that a large majority of the population is on social media quite often, so why not invest some money into social media? Actually, on average, Americans check their social media accounts 17 times a day. That’s a lot of time looking at social media, and those same people could be looking at your advertisement as they scroll through their feed.
 

Track Your Statistics

Since social media is such a useful tool for businesses, there are also plenty of ways to track the success of your business’s page. For example, Facebook and Twitter both offer analytics pages that show your follower count, impressions from certain posts and audience demographics. That’s just scraping the surface of the statistics you can follow through your social media page.

Once you learn how to track the statistics of your followers, you can use that information to help you reach your audience in the best way possible. It’s much easier to reach your audience if you know exactly who it is you’re trying to reach. The benefits of tracking your social media efforts are really worth the extra time it may take to do the research.
 

Be Organized

If you create accounts for two or three social media platforms, it might get hard to keep track of all of them. To stay on top of each account and make sure you are giving the proper attention to each platform, you’ll want to create an organizational system that works for you.

Try creating a social media calendar where you can keep track of what you want to post on each account and when you want to post it. This way, everything will be laid out nicely as you go through the month. Websites like Hootsuite are created to help you organize your social media posts and even offer ways to write a post ahead of time and have it sent out whenever you want it to be posted in the future. This allows you to work on your posts whenever you have the time and then not have to worry about remembering to actually send out the post.

Social media is an extremely beneficial way to interact with your followers and reach new audiences. Honing your social media platforms is a useful and valuable tool for your business and will help you take your company to the next level.