Facebook, Twitter and other social networks are great places to find customers. Learn how to leverage them to maximize your social media success.
In January 2020, there were 3.8 billion active social media users worldwide, which is a 9% increase from last year. This number keeps growing minute by minute, and businesses must leverage the power of social media networks if they want to grow.
Nowadays, social media is an essential part of any marketing strategy and if you want to succeed, there’s no way around it. In fact, for most businesses, it’s imperative to build a social media presence if they want to spread the word and get new customers.
Here are the most valuable tips on achieving social media success with your business or personal brand.
Have a Social Media Strategy
Having a social media strategy is a must if you want to build a following and a strong online presence. If you’re on more than one social media channel, you’ll need a plan for each network as it’s not recommended to post the same content on all channels.
Social media plans will help you stick to your goals and follow a direction for your posts. You can also schedule posts ahead of time so you don’t have to think about finding content every day.
In your social media strategy, make sure to write down the goals you want to achieve with your channels, as well as the timeframe and exact steps you’ll take to do this.
Set Goals
When you’re creating a social media strategy, it’s important to know what goals you want to achieve. Having clear objectives for your social media channels will help you define the steps to take, the content you’ll produce, and whether you should use paid advertising.
For new businesses, getting new followers and customers is the most important goal. Users often look for cheap Twitter accounts to get a boosted profile right from the beginning. For companies that want to boost sales, focusing on upselling their existing customers should be the main objective. For solopreneurs, learning how to build a Twitter following can help them network and find their ideal customers.
Know Your Target Audience
Before you post anything on social media, take some time to learn all about your target audience. Aside from their location, age, and gender, dig deeper and learn about their lifestyle, habits, income levels, and personal taste.
Then, you can adjust your strategy and content to suit their needs, and connect with them on a more genuine basis. You can also refer to social media insights to get a deeper understanding of your social media followers.
Know Your Budget
Social media is free to use, but if you want to expand your reach, you should consider paying for ads. Luckily, most social media networks offer affordable rates so you can still spread the word without spending a fortune. Of course, the more money you spend, the bigger the reach will be, but you should set a budget before you start spending.
One of the best social network tips for new businesses is to learn proper ad targeting. The algorithm should know exactly which audience and demographics you want to reach so you need to adjust these settings before launching an ad campaign. Otherwise, you’d be wasting money and time and your ads won’t reach the right target market.
Create Valuable Content
Many businesses believe social media is just a tool for advertising and selling, so they post content that doesn’t address the target market.
Posting your products and services every day and pushing people to buy will have the opposite effect. In fact, 80% of your posts should be content relevant to your audience, and the rest 20% can be sales posts.
The key to social media success is to give your followers extra value and connect with them on a deeper level. Then, they can decide whether to buy from you or not.
Try Paid Advertising
If you already have a following and want to expand your reach or build brand awareness, try paid advertising. This is a surefire way to get new customers, boost sales, launch a new product, or gain new followers.
Depending on your budget, you can launch a big ad campaign that’ll run for months or try your luck at a weekly ad campaign until you learn the ropes. Paid advertising works differently on different social networks, so make sure you explore the settings before spending money.
Work With Influencers
Many big companies and brands work with influencers as a proven way to reach an audience that’s not their own. For example, if a social media influencer has a million followers and a brand wants to promote their product to that audience, the two parties make a deal.
The influencer gets paid per post or video and the brand gets the chance to present the product in front of a million people. Influencers determine prices based on the type of content you want and the length of the campaign.
If you don’t have the budget for big social media influencers, you can work with micro-influencers who have a more engaged and dedicated audience. You can also send a product for free instead of paying them money in exchange for a post, tag, story, or video mention.
Hire a Social Media Manager
If you’re new to social media and don’t have the time or knowledge to use it properly, consider hiring a skilled social media manager. This way, you’ll have more time to focus on other aspects of your business and leave social media to the professionals.
A good social media manager knows how to build a following, curate relevant content, engage your audience, and launch ad campaigns that’ll get a good return on investment. You can either hire an in-house manager or a freelancer on a monthly retainer.
These Tips Will Help You Reach Social Media Success
Whether you’re a business or building a personal brand, gaining a big following on social media takes planning and strategizing. From knowing your target audience to planning your content, social media is a powerful tool to attract customers and boost sales.
Want more tips on social media success? Check out some of the other articles on our website where we share the latest industry trends and news.