There can be a tendency as a small business to feel the need to jump on ALL of the social media platforms and start creating accounts. This is one strategy to get your slice of the social engagement pie. While it’s smart to connect with your customers on social media, biting off more than you can chew is counter-productive.
Active, consistent engagement on just a couple of channels is key, along with relevant fresh content. It’s much better to plan and use smart strategies to keep your social media updates on schedule and ensure your customers are not getting radio silence when they try to tune into your message.
Decide which Platform (or Platforms) Fit Your Needs
There are a dizzying array of social media platforms, and each comes with its own audience, set of rules and social media etiquette. Familiarizing yourself with each can help you judge which platform (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google +, Pinterest, etc.) is best for your company.
Complete your profiles
At the very least, your profile should have a photo, which should be a high-res image of you or your company logo. Beyond that, fill in the profile section as much as possible with your company’s service or product, a brief history, mission statement, and contact information.
Understand each network
Effective social media isn’t all about cat videos and selfies. Facebook has a different culture than Twitter and LinkedIn, so it’s important that you understand the distinction. Spend some time listening, observing, and learning the nuances of each community.
Measure your results
It’s important to follow analytics and ensure you’re reaching your audience, but don’t live and die by your numbers. Social media is about much faster interactions than your website, or even your blog. You can start to A/B test posts and tailor them to your audience, but your staff (and intern) will probably become overwhelmed. It’s far better to aim for fun, consistent content rather than trying to be perfect.
Consistency is key
Determine which social media channels will yield the best results and most engagement with your target audience and then work with your team to determine when you’ll publish on each channel. Here is a general guideline:
Twitter: 3-5 tweets a day
Facebook: 1 post a week
LinkedIn: 1-2 posts a week
Be personable
Get engaged and involved. Post as often as you can manage, keep things visual, keep them entertaining, and get awesome content to your waiting audience! Your followers want to know there is an actual person behind the tweets and posts. Talking about topics that aren’t specific to your business and product will help to make this distinction
What’s most important to understand is that being active on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn isn’t going to single-handedly close more sales for your business, although it may be a byproduct. Your killer social strategy is a way to build relationships with your customers, create awareness about your product or service, and improve customer satisfaction and experience.
Note: This post was sponsored and written by Insightly.
About the sponsor
Insightly was designed as a simple to use yet powerful Web-based CRM system for small businesses. With integrations to widely used applications such as Google Apps, Office 365, MailChimp, and Dropbox, Insightly CRM keeps you connected to the right information at the right time—including contacts, sales information, project activities, and more. Because we handle all of the technical issues like server upgrades and security fixes, you can focus on growing sales, not maintaining an IT support staff. Insightly CRM helps you concentrate on what matters most, running your business.
The post How To Go From Social to Closing a Sale appeared first on Succeed As Your Own Boss.