So many businesses want to get involved in Social Media Marketing. They see their customers and target audience are using all kinds of social networking platforms to communicate with each other….with the companies they like….and maybe even their competitors. If you are not an avid user of social networking and you want know what comes next after signing up, here are a few helpful tips:
Social Media Marketing for Beginners 101
– Once you set up your Business Page, get the vanity URL for your company name if it is available. For example, if your company name is Flower Shop and your website is FlowerShop.com – you will want Facebook.com/flowershop. If your particular business name is not available, choose something as close as possible. This is important for branding purposes.
– Use professional images. Nothing says a customer shouldn’t take you seriously like bad or poor quality images. Invest in your business and NEVER LOOK SMALL. Get high quality stock images that are relevant to your industry if you plan on using images on your profile. Use the right size images for your logo as well and be professional in all that you do online. Always put your best foot forward.
– Add value to any social networking communities you will be participating in. People get very annoyed if all you are trying to do is sell, sell, sell. Social media marketing is not about being self-serving, it is about building relationships.
– Create great content. Social media marketing is the perfect opportunity to distribute timely, relevant content for your followers. It could be from your blog or other articles you’ve written and posted online or it could be a great video you’ve made. Even after the latest Google Penguin updates, Content is still King.
– Get comfortable with one social networking website before you jump into any others. Learn your way around, see what works and doesn’t work and once you have established some loyal followers who are engaged in your brand, you can choose to do more on another site. This way, you do not over extend yourself and get frustrated & give up before you’ve really had a chance to get in your groove.
– Track everything! Use the analytics tools that are available to you to find out where your successes came from.
We love to see businesses succeed in their marketing efforts! There are many channels available for social media marketing for beginners – it’s just a matter of taking the first step.