Now that you have some insight on the top social media Web sites, the following tips are sure to help you get started! Learn it and Embrace it To start off, create a profile for yourself so that you can see how it works from a consumer's point-of-view.
Check out how your favorite companies and businesses are using social media, and take notes on how they engage customers and prospects.
For example, many companies like to conduct referral contests to increase their fan base to help gain awareness, credibility, and additional sales.
Similarly, if you own a restaurant you can post your special promotions and events on your page and draw people in with contests or information they are sure to seek out.
Social media 101: do not 'sell' your products or services via social media.
Rather, the goal is to 'engage' and provide information your audience will find useful as relates to your company.
For example, if you own a hair salon you can give tips on hair styles for various face shapes and sizes.
You are not selling your haircutting service, but rather providing valuable information that, in turn, might get interested parties to your salon.
Given that people love to watch informative videos, you can create videos and post them on YouTube to reach a greater market.
Social Media and SEO Having social media profiles for your business greatly helps with SEO.
At the surface each social media platform will have a link pointed to your Web site and, as written in a prior post on SEO, links are the most important SEO factor.
Digging a bit deeper, given a recent change in the Bing Search engine, Facebook friends who liked your page are now showing up within relevant search results.
Having user's friends populate search results helps to establish a level of trustworthiness and provide greater real estate for your company or brand in the search engines.
Likewise, having videos on YouTube also helps increase the chances that your brand appears in relevant search results.
Keep your competitors close Bookmarking your competitors and their social media sites will help you understand just how they're marketing and using social media -all in the name of beating them at their own game.
Likewise, do the same with companies that you like and/or admire, whether or not they are in the same industry.
After all, copying is the sincerest form of flattery.
Maintain persistence Make sure that you add at least 3-4 posts per week with sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
In addition, make sure you reply to anyone who posts comments on your page -be it positive or negative.
People like knowing that someone is there and ready to talk and interact with them.
Most importantly, NEVER delete negative comments -something that is guaranteed to bite you down the road.
Rather, respond accordingly and embrace it as free feedback.
Promote with exclusive offers To grow your fan base, offer some exclusive offers to your fans or followers.
For example, a restaurant owner can offer people a free appetizer if they recruit five friends to your Facebook page.
This is a fantastic way to gain a greater fan base as well as drive additional paying customers to your business.
Tag -your it! On blogging Web sites such as YouTube or WordPress, make a note to tag categories that relate to everything you post.
A simple way of helping users finding relevant content, tags will greatly increase the likelihood of your content appearing when searched for.
In addition, when people are watching videos that are similar to yours on someone else's channel, your video will appear on screen as a 'related video'.
Social Media is a fun and flexible way to promote and grow your business -and it will only continue to expand in importance and scope.
All said and done, don't forget to have fun and continuously revamp your strategies to help grow your business and bottom line.
Check out how your favorite companies and businesses are using social media, and take notes on how they engage customers and prospects.
For example, many companies like to conduct referral contests to increase their fan base to help gain awareness, credibility, and additional sales.
Similarly, if you own a restaurant you can post your special promotions and events on your page and draw people in with contests or information they are sure to seek out.
Social media 101: do not 'sell' your products or services via social media.
Rather, the goal is to 'engage' and provide information your audience will find useful as relates to your company.
For example, if you own a hair salon you can give tips on hair styles for various face shapes and sizes.
You are not selling your haircutting service, but rather providing valuable information that, in turn, might get interested parties to your salon.
Given that people love to watch informative videos, you can create videos and post them on YouTube to reach a greater market.
Social Media and SEO Having social media profiles for your business greatly helps with SEO.
At the surface each social media platform will have a link pointed to your Web site and, as written in a prior post on SEO, links are the most important SEO factor.
Digging a bit deeper, given a recent change in the Bing Search engine, Facebook friends who liked your page are now showing up within relevant search results.
Having user's friends populate search results helps to establish a level of trustworthiness and provide greater real estate for your company or brand in the search engines.
Likewise, having videos on YouTube also helps increase the chances that your brand appears in relevant search results.
Keep your competitors close Bookmarking your competitors and their social media sites will help you understand just how they're marketing and using social media -all in the name of beating them at their own game.
Likewise, do the same with companies that you like and/or admire, whether or not they are in the same industry.
After all, copying is the sincerest form of flattery.
Maintain persistence Make sure that you add at least 3-4 posts per week with sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
In addition, make sure you reply to anyone who posts comments on your page -be it positive or negative.
People like knowing that someone is there and ready to talk and interact with them.
Most importantly, NEVER delete negative comments -something that is guaranteed to bite you down the road.
Rather, respond accordingly and embrace it as free feedback.
Promote with exclusive offers To grow your fan base, offer some exclusive offers to your fans or followers.
For example, a restaurant owner can offer people a free appetizer if they recruit five friends to your Facebook page.
This is a fantastic way to gain a greater fan base as well as drive additional paying customers to your business.
Tag -your it! On blogging Web sites such as YouTube or WordPress, make a note to tag categories that relate to everything you post.
A simple way of helping users finding relevant content, tags will greatly increase the likelihood of your content appearing when searched for.
In addition, when people are watching videos that are similar to yours on someone else's channel, your video will appear on screen as a 'related video'.
Social Media is a fun and flexible way to promote and grow your business -and it will only continue to expand in importance and scope.
All said and done, don't forget to have fun and continuously revamp your strategies to help grow your business and bottom line.
Source...