I often talk to entrepreneurs that don’t have a clear understanding of how to use social media effectively for business.
A few days ago, I was talking to a friend who is about to open an ice cream shop.
My friend was telling me about how time consuming was the process to find the right spot to open the ice cream shop and how everything takes so much more time than we estimate.
I think he is completely right.
The location of an ice cream shop is a key factor to it’s success.
At some point, you probably have experienced the benefits of having an ice cream shop close to your home or office and you probably have eaten more ice creams than you should have.
How is an ice cream shop related to social media?
I imagine you are asking yourself the same question.
I think they are completely related and I will tell you why.
It occurred to me to ask my friend if he had a plan to use social media to promote his business.
My friend explained that he still had not thought about it. He was unsure about how his business would benefit from social media and he really did not have a clear understanding of what his social media strategy should look like.
How to use social media effectively for your business: 3 simple keys to boost your business
I knew that I had to explain it as simple as possible, so this is what I shared with him:
1. You need to be where your audience is
The reason why the spot or physical location an ice cream shop is key to it’s success, is because you are looking to have high traffic and exposure for your new business.
You want your ice cream shop to be located in a place where it can be discovered by the biggest amount possible of people.
Traffic matters
The higher the traffic of people that the ice cream shops gets, the higher the probabilities of attracting new clients.
The same thing is true for your online marketing strategy. Your goal should be to have a website that can be found by people who are interested in your products or services.
The big question, is how to accomplish this.
And the answer is that you need to find a way for your content to be seen by as many people as possible.
Numbers don’t lie
It is estimated that approximately 78% of people in the US have social media profiles (statista). This represents a 5% increase from 2015. This applies to the rest of the world as well, where every day there are more people that have social media profiles.
2. You need to talk to your audience
In the same way that with a brick and mortar business you need to find a way to capture the attention of your potential client, the same thing applies to social media.
Start the conversation
Before you start the conversation with your audience, you need to have a clear picture of who your ideal client is.
You need to find a way to capture the attention of you audience and entice them to learn more about your business and the products or services that you offer.
3. You need to invite your audience to visit your website
Once people know where your business is located, in our example the ice cream shop. The next step is to invite them to get them to know you better and in this case try your products and services.
Social media works the same way.
Your goal should be to invite people to visit your website, so they can learn more about your business and what is the solution that you provide to the problems that they have.
Example of an effective social media strategy
I shared wit my friend that I had recently read an article that talks about a case study that I thought was a good example that could help me paint a better picture of why social media is an important key element of his business success.
How to use Instagram effectively
The article explains how Ben & Jerry’s has found success with the Instagram Strategy: Instagram ‘Hugely Effective’ for Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry’s Instagram strategy, allows them to position their products and brand to a very specific audience.
The use of Instagram allows Ben & Jerry to increase their reach and make their message available to an audience that they would otherwise would not be able to reach.
More importantly it allows them to have a clear idea of what posts received more engagement, which in turn lets understand what their audience really likes.
The following are some examples of some of Ben & Jerry’s most recent Instagram posts.
Our Church Street scoop shop is sporting a fresh (and greener) new look today! #peaceloveandicecream A photo posted by Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) on
The first example
In the first example, Ben & Jerry’s is talking the same language as their audience and is inviting their audience to celebrate Halloween with them.
The second example
The second post is more traditional, but it is still a clear and direct invitation to visit their store.
How to use Twitter effectively
This third example, is from a post in Twitter.
The #ParisClimateAgreement is in effect! UN Climate Summit begins soon in Morocco. What to keep an eye on > https://t.co/JKV1g5e5au #COP22 pic.twitter.com/BLlXBw67vP
— Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) November 5, 2016
In this post, the intention is to talk about topics of interest to their audience and relevant to the values of their brand.
Every social media network, has advantages and disadvantages and their effectiveness depends on the goal of the strategy and who is your target audience..
I have designed an infographic that illustrates the 3 simple keys of why a social media will boost your business success.
Code to embed the infographic on your website
<div style="clear:both"> <a href="https://www.netklik.com/social-media/how-to-use-social-media-effectively-for-your-business/"> <img src="https://www.netklik.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/How-to-use-social-media-effectively-for-your-business-i.png" title="How to use social media effectively for your business" alt="How to use social media effectively for your business" border="0" /></a> </div> <div> Cortesía de: <a href="https://www.netklik.com/social-media/how-to-use-social-media-effectively-for-your-business/">Netklik</a> </div>
Conclusion
I know my friend now has a clear picture of what his social media strategy should look like and also is aware of the benefits of using social media in his business.
I hope this post has helped you to understand how to use social media effectively for your business. The example that I used, mentions Instagram and Twitter, but it all applies to other social media networks too. The key is to choose the social media platform that best works for your business, remember to capture the attention of your audience, to start the conversation and more importantly the beginning of a new relationship with your audience.
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