5 Social Media Marketing Tips for First-Time Entrepreneurs
If you’ve recently launched your own small business, you are surely hopeful that your venture will serve you with a solid revenue stream for years to come. One way to help ensure that you can reach your goal is to take advantage of social media marketing. However, building a solid online brand can take time, and you must adopt the proper practices. If you’re unsure about how to get started, read on.
Start With the Basics
When launching a social media marketing program, start by using the largest social media platforms. If you don’t already have a presence there, open accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Account creation is very simple. Stick with these two tried and true social media platforms as you get your feet wet.
Build Your Following
Encourage your customers to like or follow you on Facebook and Twitter – but be sure to make it worth their while. Conduct polls and surveys to encourage interaction, and consider attaching a prize for all those that participate, such as a modest discount on your products or services.
Track Your Progress
Once you start a social media marketing initiative, it is important to track your progress. Use Google Analytics to track your website’s traffic, and utilize HootSuite for an even better analysis of your social media efforts. HootSuite is affordably priced (less than $10 per month) and features multiple account management, traffic and brand mention analysis, and other analytic tools.
Adjust Your Strategy
Depending on the results of your analysis, you may wish to tweak your strategy. For example, you may find that Twitter does not net you positive results. If that’s the case, you need redirect your efforts. Just make sure you’re being sufficiently patient and giving your efforts time to blossom, as it can take months to build a significant online following.
If you’re not seeing success with Facebook or Twitter, investigate some of lesser used social media sites. Google Plus, Instagram, and Pinterest are all viable options, worthy of your attention. Research how each of these sites function and add them to your repertoire.
Produce Quality Content
Regardless of where you direct your social media efforts, understand that quality content is king. You must produce compelling, creative, actionable content that is valuable to your readers. If you can provide this, your web traffic will increase.
Final Thoughts
It is important to monitor your accounts closely, and respond to every message and comment. Doing so lets your current followers know that you care about their opinions, and those who are checking out your page will know going in that you value customer feedback. Social media marketing is a fairly grand undertaking, but it you put in enough time and effort, you won’t be disappointed with your results.
What additional social media marketing tips can you suggest?
