As a marketing manager, time is of the essence. You don't want you, or your staff, wasting any time which could be used more wisely.
For this reason, taking a decision to use social media to advertise your company can tick all the boxes of a time efficient and budget-friendly form of marketing - providing you execute it well.
If you have associated social media with being more about chat and less about business, you might be missing ways to put your products and services at the top of the pile. In a market in which the 'new wave' marketeers are increasingly exploiting social media as a marketing weapon, it's time you secured your piece of the pie.
In this blog, we look at the best ways to use social media to promote your business:
Pander to the platform
While it is important to bring the 'voice' of your brand through in your social media posts, you should also recognise that different platforms call for a different tone.
Facebook can be an online platform to share PR stories and the latest images of your products, highlighting the importance of producing impressive images. This is your chance to encourage the sharing of your snaps and communicate them to a wider audience. Invite interaction with comments on the development, particularly if it is situated in a well-known location.
Twitter can help you engage with a wide audience, including media members who could retweet and give your channel more prominence.
The Pinterest platform is an opportunity to display the best of your images and create boards which showcase what your products or services have to offer.
Another image and video based platform - impressive shots and videos up to 60 seconds can really pick up attention on Instagram, also doing a great job of spreading your brand far and wide.
LinkedIn Social Media
LinkedIn can be the centre of your B2B activity, updating partners and other contacts in your business network on your progress and adding corporate updates. LinkedIn can be the centre of your B2B activity, updating partners and other contacts in your business network on your progress and adding corporate updates.
Get chatting
Your social media success can live and die by the interaction you achieve. It won't take up a lot of your time, but ensuring you or a team member is keeping on top of your accounts - answering questions and encouraging interaction in the form of comments, suggestions and debate - is a very important element of an integrated campaign. You should also regularly search your brand name to keep track of the instances in which you are mentioned.
Comment away
There is nothing stopping you interacting with posts from other accounts, even your competitors. So long as your contributions paint you and your company in a positive light, you should aim to be proactive on social media.
Target influencers
On Twitter in particular, you should engage with industry and media figures who have a big influence. Not only will this position you as a thought leader, but it will also give your brand exposure in the right circles and gain the spotlight for your products or services on social media.
Sell smart, not hard
You can use social media to promote your company, but don't go overboard. While it can offer the route for some valuable enquiries, you should not view your social media channels as a selling platform - rather, as an essential way to build your audience, strengthen your brand recognition, and offer another channel for enquiries.
No time to think about social media? Or do your sales team have their hands full as it is? It can be worth hiring a social media expert like Create2Convert who can put together and implement the best social media plan for you.
