Why It’s More Important Than Ever to Post on Social Media
It's never been more true: social media marketing is crucial to brand growth, and a well-established social media platform can help grow your business.
Staying consistent through social media platforms will help you generate more customers, more interaction, and more reach with your target audience. It gives you an advantage against competitors who struggle or fail to use it properly.
What brand do you think of, when you think about toothpaste? Laundry detergent? Gum? To be the most recognizable brand in people’s minds is the end-goal for every business. For more about how to do this, check out this article from Feedough about brand recall.
Why is Social Media Key to Building Brand Awareness?
There are benefits to taking your brand online. Below, I curated a list of some fundamental reasons to consider it.
- Everything is Online
You can get groceries, computers, access databases worldwide, and find connections and romance – all without lifting a finger – on the internet today. If that's the case, you should have a distinct presence online.
You need to determine your unique value proposition, and give people a reason to seek you out. Otherwise, you’ll get lost in a sea of blogs and advertisements.
If you don't have experience with digital marketing, we have resources to help you become an in demand digital marketer.
- Followers are the New Currency
When it comes to the digital world, followers are the equivalent of cash. Large numbers of them translate to credibility to prospects.
A large following can influence whether or not you make a sale. Small audiences can look unprofessional, and turn some people away. Once you achieve a certain audience size, you strengthen perceptions of trustworthiness with consumers. The social cues we use to “rank each other” come into play, just as they would at a cocktail party.
- Connections Are Key
Once you have followers, maintaining them is crucial to making sales. High customer engagement deepens connections with customers, and “humanizes” your business in their eyes. Think here of the State Farm Insurance refrain, “Like a good neighbor.”
When people feel connected to your brand and find community around it, they're more likely to spread the word and invite others into the experience.
You can encourage this by creating inclusive posts that spur conversation, or prompt the audience to talk about themselves and their preferences. Engagement can go on at length, if you know what to talk about and how to phrase it.
- Your Social Profile is Your Brand
Whether you're a digital or brick-and-mortar business, customers are likelier to find you online than pass by on the street. Your online presence should direct customers to your virtual or physical storefront.
It’s important to create brand artwork that reflects your business' vision, and sets a tone that reflects the values you want your customers to perceive.
By doing this, you'll attract your target audience, regardless of where they are. What they see online will dictate how they feel about your business and whether or not they’ll reach out to you.
- You Get More for Less
If the reasons listed above didn't help, try this: social media is a cost-efficient way to start advertising for a start-up business.
You don’t have to pay hundreds or thousands to get effective, performance marketing. Social media helps you reach your audience, establish your brand, and generate revenue – often for free.
The most powerful media engines in the world don't come close to the global reach you can get on social networks. It transforms the entire planet into your customer base.
How To Use Social Media For Business
All of this sounds great and promising, until you wonder, “How do I achieve all of that, just by posting on social media?” Well, it doesn't happen overnight … but it will trend in the right direction if you keep at it! Below are some strategies you can practice with social platforms, to start the process.
- Meet Your Audience Wherever They Are
While social media is a great tool, it can also be a huge waste of time, if you put your message in front of the wrong people. To make sure you’re reaching the right people, experiment with messaging. Don't just post once and then give up because nobody responds!
Be sure to research ahead of time, to see where your target audience spends most of their time. If you need helping knowing where to get started, this article might help you narrow down which social media platforms you should use for your business.
- Consistency Always Prevails
Most network algorithms reward consistency. The more frequently and consistently you post, the higher your posts rank. This propels you toward more exposure, which gives you the chance to reach more of your following.
While posting every day, twice a week, or even once a week can be time-consuming, it's not a waste of time if you do it right. Applications such as Planoly and Preview enable you to schedule posts. This allows you to post without having to set aside time each day to do it.
The downside: social media sites like InstaGram prefer you to post manually. They’ll restrict your post from reaching all of your audience if you use a scheduling app. But it’s still better than not posting at all.
- There’s More Than One Side to a Conversation
You can take it a step further than posting – by engaging with your audience. No one wants to talk to a brick wall, so when you respond to comments, questions, and posts, you deepen ties with your audience. The more interactive you are, the greater the likelihood people will buy or refer you to someone else.
Another great tactic is to search for people who meet your target audience, and engage with their social media profile first, to draw them to your page. Have you noticed how you begin to see posts from someone you add as a friend on Facebook, almost as soon as you add them?
- Make Your Social Platforms Reflect Your Values
Last but not least, make sure your profile reflects your business goals and values. As you know, branding is important to every business, and your profiles are key standard-bearers for your brand.
Make sure you post photos, messages, and brand artwork that reflect the message you want to convey to your audience. Create a clear outline of how you want to come across to the people you want to attract before you start posting.
