Use of Social Media in Marketing

When you incorporate an effective social media presence into your small business marketing plan, you can reach customers and prospects where they are. Here are some tips and best practices for creating a successful presence on social media to market your brand:

• Craft a social media marketing strategy. The best way to ensure success on social media is to go in with a plan. This means devising a social media marketing strategy that includes each platform you plan to use. 
• Post consistently. Your followers value a steady presence, so follow a consistent posting schedule. While being consistent, avoid posting too much, which can be off-putting for your followers.
• Develop a clear voice. Create a consistent voice and tone in your social media presence – one that resonates with your audience and influences how they see your brand. Listen to your audience and find ways to relate to them without looking like you’re trying too hard. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to show a little personality. This helps present your business as adaptive, friendly and relevant.
• Have fun with social media. Provide fun ways to generate more leads and engage with your customers, like running social media contests, linking to your website or special offers in your profile bio, and hosting live videos with exciting updates or news.
• Know your audience. Use your analytics tools to see demographic information, customer behavior and social media trends to inform your content. Knowing what your audience wants to see from you and responding accordingly can go a long way toward boosting your engagement rates.

Tip: Social media can make or break a small business’s success. Study lessons about social media from big brands to ensure you’re putting your best foot forward.

2. Use social media for customer service.

Because so many customers already communicate through social media, using social media for customer service is a no-brainer. Through social media communication, you can address customer problems quickly and efficiently, helping you create a loyal customer base.

• Respond to customer issues quickly. Many businesses approach social media as another channel for self-promotion and don’t always respond when customers comment on their posts or tweet at them. According to research from Convince & Convert, 42% of consumers expect a response to a complaint on social media within 60 minutes, and nearly one-third expect a response within half an hour. Monitoring social media channels and responding to concerns promptly can help you build strong relationships with customers.
• Use hashtags strategically. How hashtags operate within a social media platform’s algorithm is likely to change frequently, so stay updated on your social platforms’ hashtag recommendations and best practices. Hashtags help keep topics organized and easy to navigate, especially on platforms like Twitter. You can also add more information and curate content to your hashtags.
• Take public conversations private. Many angry or frustrated customers leave public comments on a brand’s Instagram and Facebook accounts or tweet at a business. While you shouldn’t ignore these messages, it’s not always wise to handle the entire encounter publicly. Show other customers that you value their input and time by sending an initial response requesting to continue the conversation privately.

3. Use social media for sales.

One of the most direct and lucrative ways to experience the power of social media is through increased sales. You can boost sales on social media in various ways:

• Advertise on social media. The major social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, have advertising platforms that help you reach your target audience and monitor your ad campaigns.
• Sell on social media. Facebook and Instagram offer sales platforms and shoppable posts that make it easy for businesses to start business online
• Work with brand ambassadors. Finding social media influencers or enthusiastic customers to act as brand ambassadors is an effective way to boost word-of-mouth buzz about your business and boost sales.
• Improve your business with social listening. Social listening is a process in which organizations take a macro view of what customers are saying online about the brand and use the information to improve the business. Social listening provides a broader view of industry trends and customer sentiment that may directly or indirectly impact a brand and its sales.  

4. Use social media for recruiting and hiring.

Social media platforms provide an excellent way to recruit potential talent. The social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter let employers access a broad candidate pool and efficiently sort through viable recruits.

A business’s social media channels are also an essential recruitment tool. Potential employees are likely to be more excited about joining your team if your social media platforms reflect your brand and share your company’s values.

Tip: If you’re a job candidate seeking employment, understand that social media screening is a common practice. Ensure your social media presence reflects the person you want potential employers to see.

5. Use social media for crisis management.

What did your business tweet in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings? What did you post on Facebook? Whether you chose to send a heartfelt message to your business’s social media followers or ride out the week in silence, you were probably unsure of how to proceed amid such a tragedy.

Unfortunately, there’s no etiquette book on handling social media marketing when the headlines turn horrific. There are, however, several schools of thought on how businesses should use social media to react to tragic events. 

Here are some tips for using social media during a crisis:

• If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
• Silence is rarely the correct response in a tragic situation.
• Have a social media strategy ready so you’re less likely to be caught off guard by a tragedy or other crisis.
• Choose your words carefully, and always speak from the heart.
• As soon as you hear of a tragic event, check your calendar and pause any nonessential posts.
• Look for ways your business can meaningfully help.

Editor’s note: Looking for the right social media manage