Nearly every institution – from large corporations to small businesses, has a presence on social media and for obvious reasons too. Nowadays, almost everyone is on social media, from millennials to the elderly and everyone else in between.
Recent research discovered there are more than 2.3 billion active social media users in the world, which is about one-third of the world’s population. With that in mind, you would be crazy to ignore social media and the immense potential this marketing strategy possesses.
Listed below are 5 secrets to improving your social strategy and boosting your business’ profits:
1. Know your competitors
Any savvy business owner should know who their direct competition is. When you know your competition you can study them carefully and gain inspiration from them. Further to that, you should find ways to outshine the competition to set your business apart, but this is only possible if you study the competition carefully.
In addition to studying the competition, you should also follow the latest trendsetters in the most popular platforms to detect any upcoming trends. By studying trendsetters you will be able to gain inspiration and create content that has the potential to go viral as this is the ultimate exposure for any brand.
2. Offer value
All too often, businesses use social media to promote their products and services, without offering anything in return. If you wish to stand out as a brand you need to offer your audience content that has value. Play on your target market’s weaknesses and provide them with interesting, useful, value-added content. Then, when the time is right, strike them with a promotional piece.
3. Focus on interaction
Social media is all about interacting with others. If you don’t interact with your audience, the chances are high that they will unfollow your brand on social media, and this is the last thing that any brand wants to experience.
To avoid this, be sure to interact with your audience. If you receive messages or comments from people, respond in good time. If someone shares your post, thank them for the share. If you receive queries on a regular basis, answer them as often as possible. Doing all of this keeps your brand on the straight and narrow and limits the chances of a brand crisis spiralling out of control.
4. Understand that each platform is different
Avoid posting identical content onto each of your social platforms. Each platform has a different focus, from concentrated, succinct posts on Twitter to beautiful, polished photographs on Instagram, so it’s essential you treat each platform very differently to avoid coming across as robotic and lifeless. Social media is ALL about interaction and engagement, so if you want to boost likes and comments, treat each platform differently.
5. Include a call to action
Although your main role on social media is to provide interesting, useful and engaging content, you also need to do a little bit of selling if your content is going to achieve anything. To get around this, include a great call-to-action at the end of each post, such as asking your followers to share your content, leave a comment or visit your link. At the end of the day, social media is a tool that businesses are using to get more visitors to their websites and ultimately increase their sales.
About 8 Ways Media
8 Ways Media is a leading branding and web design agency in Switzerland offering 8 key services including content marketing, SEO, social media marketing and much more. This contemporary agency offers state-of-the-art, innovative marketing techniques that are guaranteed to drive growth to your website.
Get in touch today to find out how 8 Ways Media can help you to use social media for your business.
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