Social media is generally used to create a bond with customers and potential customers and links back to the premise that people buy from those they know, like and trust.
Whilst there are some who try to use social media to sell products, the most important factor for your customers is that they want to be heard; feel valued; be educated. They want to be able to choose, create and customise and, importantly when they feel all of these things, they want to share what they’ve discovered with their friends and family.
To ensure you tick these boxes, your social media presence should focus on:
- Creating relationships and encouraging conversations
- Creating awareness of your brand
- Sharing information
- Building a following
- Adding value
You can do this through creating:
- Blogs and Vlogs
- Videos
- Tweets
- Podcasts
- Articles
- Press releases
- Communities and forums
- Websites
- Special offers
- On-line events
Just as paid advertising is possible via the search engines, so the social channels also have paid advertising options for businesses. Again, these can be very cost effective and easy to manage from a budget and timing perspective. The beauty of advertising on social media is that adverts can be highly targeted towards the audience you are looking to attract.
As with PPC (pay per click) on search engines, you should first determine your objective and then look at which channels your ideal target market uses. It’s pointless advertising on LinkedIn if your target audience are mainly on Facebook or Instagram.
