Market Your Business with Social Media: 8 Tips

You already know that millions of people are on the Internet each day. At least half of them are checking in with family, friends, and businesses they patronize through social media outlets; Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and others.

In order to make use of social media sites, your business needs a profile or page. On most social media networks, your business profile is separate from – but linked to – your personal profile. Your social media pages will operate as a microcosm of your business site and giving your targeted audience a place to interact with you on a more personal level than simply sending an email to the customer service department through the website.

This is a great opportunity to promote your business. Everything about your business page should emphasize your enterprise, from the keywords used in the description to the title of the posts and status updates you’re making. If you have a logo, use it as the image associated with your profile. Optimizing this page will ensure that those looking for you will find you when they enter certain keywords. Always complete the process. Leaving gaps in your business description makes readers wonder if you are hiding something.

Fully completing your pages will keep your audience following you on social outlets. Keep your readers and customers interested by:

• Linking to blog posts and articles on your website
• Creating engaging posts and links to upcoming events pages
• Add a photo of yourself to your profiles
• Add links to your other social media business pages
• Include images as well as multimedia content
• Respond to comments made by readers
• Create engaging topics for discussion on your social media pages (by using posts and hashtags)
• Include business contact information

Remember to keep all of your interactions focused on your business enterprise. Always be courteous and professional when responding to questions and inquiries. Any negative comments or concerns expressed by customers are usually best handled offline or through one-on-one email correspondence, but you don’t want to appear to be ignoring or worse, deleting, negative posts, so always address them publicly as well.

Once you create a social media presence, encourage others to check you out by featuring social media buttons on your website. Visitors can follow you as well as share your content with their social circle.

HIT TIP: Determine your focus. Using more than one social network to reach your audience is smart, but keeping the message the same over each adds cohesiveness and makes the job of managing them simpler. Create a strategy for social media marketing as a whole and then implement it on the different sites. If you are a company that markets to customers, Pinterest is a great option, allowing you to help your readership “visualize” your brand. On the other hand, if you market to other businesses, LinkedIn and Twitter may be better than Facebook.

LinkedIn is actually a plus for all business owners. You can create a business profile as well as interact with other business professionals in forums as an entrepreneur. One way to connect and develop relationships with others is to participate in discussions as well as providing useful information to others.