There are a plethora of social channels for businesses out there, but that doesn't mean that all of them are right for your business. Creating your online presence can be extremely overwhelming, especially when you are first starting your business. The sheer amount of apps and services can make choosing the right ones difficult. Here is a simple breakdown to help you decide if your business should be using these one or more of these platforms.
Tip: It is important to note that you need to have the time to maintain these profiles. Not having a profile is better than having one that hasn't been updated since 2014. Remember, every business is different, and what works for others may not work for you. -- The good news is, with DirectLync’s social media management tool, you can schedule your posts ahead of time!
With over 1.71 billion unique users worldwide visiting Facebook each month, Facebook can be an extremely effective way to grow your business. Social media marketing for business pages revolves around furthering your conversation with audiences about your services and offerings.
If you want to be found on search engines and social media, your profile must be complete and correct. Optimize your Facebook profile by ensuring you include these elements:
Add a clear profile and cover photo - Use an image that is at least 851x315 pixels for the cover photo and 180x180 on a profile photo. These images are meant to represent your brand and should be high-quality images.
Add a Call-to-Action button - You can add a button to your Facebook page (call now, shop now, contact us, learn more, etc.). These buttons are designed to bring a business's most important objective to a more visible place on their page. Call-to-action buttons link to a destination that aligns with a business's goals.
Fill out the About Section - This section should be as complete as possible. Topics include:
- Category - Make sure you select the correct Page you want to create from the following categories: (Local Business or Place, Brand or Product, Artist, Band, etc.)
- Username - This will become your URL (i.e., facebook.com/DirectLync)
- Short Description- Limited to 155 characters, it is compelling on your Facebook page. It also shows up in a google search of your business.
- Long Description - The long description has no character limit but is only seen when someone goes in the About section of your business page.
- Address
- Website
- Phone Number
- Email Address
- Business Hours
- Start Date and Founded Date
- Mission Statement
- Milestones
- Awards
Add services/shop information - These sections are designed to help businesses showcase their products or services on their Facebook page. You should add your services/products and pricing to help viewers get to know your business faster.
Interacting with others on Facebook may be one of the most important things you can do to create brand awareness and grow your followers. There are some quick ways to accomplish this.
- Sharing a post: Sharing your business posts to your personal page is an excellent way to increase your reach to a bigger network of people. Sharing more of your company's content means more visits, engagement, and link-sharing from others in your network. You should also encourage employees to do the same.
- Tagging other pages: Tagging customers and other businesses can also help grow your network by increasing engagement and reach.
- Liking a page as a page: Liking a business page as your business can help you make connections with brands with which you may want to work as well as help grow your network.
Get your message in front of new and targeted audiences through strategically boosting your business' Facebook posts.
What are boosted posts?
A boosted Facebook post is nothing more than a standard regular post for which you pay a fee of your choice to reach a larger and more targeted audience, including people who do not follow you. Unlike an ad, these posts appear to be more organic to your audience and can more successfully allow users to interact with your post by liking, commenting, and sharing. A sponsored post will also give you the option of adding a “Call to Action” button to your post, which can help send users to your website, get directions to your store, sign up for a newsletter or send you a message. Depending on your desired reach, you can spend as little as five dollars to boost a post. While creating a boosted post, Facebook allows you to see the estimated people reached within the budget you pick, in the time frame you choose. This allows all businesses to gain exposure, no matter how small your advertising budget may be.
Twitter is the social media marketing tool that lets you broadcast your updates across the web, within 280 characters, that is. Twitter is a great way to give followers industry tips and tricks and to follow trends in the industry. Twitter will be extremely helpful in service industry businesses such as real estate, marketing agencies, and finance.
Instagram allows people to get a personal look at what your business does. Sharing inviting imagery helps to shape your brand. Businesses can use Instagram for any number of purposes, such as sharing products, holding contests, and giving customers an inside look at their latest happenings.
Yelp/ Foursquare
These sites allow you to claim your business. It is important to remember the volatile nature of the users of these platforms. While these platforms encourage people to review your business, the degree of reviews can always vary. Brick and mortar businesses such as restaurants or boutiques are the best suited to use Yelp or Foursquare.
Pinterest is a more specialized network that may not work for everyone. Its primary users are mainly women with the intentions of planning or searching for a project or purchase. Some of these focuses can be DIY projects, fashion, exercise, beauty, photography, and food. Pinterest's image-centered platform is ideal for retail. Pinterest allows small businesses to showcase their product offerings while also developing their own brand's personality with some unique pinboards.
LinkedIn is one of the more professional social media marketing sites. LinkedIn Groups is an excellent venue for entering into a professional dialog with people in similar industries and provides a place to share content with like-minded individuals. You can also create LinkedIn ads, allowing you to reach highly targeted groups of professionals.
Snapchat
If you're not familiar with the app, here's what you need to know: a person or brand on Snapchat can send photos and videos to their friends and followers. These Snaps can then be viewed for up to 10 seconds before they disappear. Snapchat offers several different paid marketing options to meet the specific goals of your business. You can create a clever Snap Ad, build a fun Sponsored Geofilter, or allow your potential customers to interact with a Sponsored Lens. Snap Chats are a great way to catch the attention of your ideal audience.
YouTube
YouTube is the number one place for creating video content, which can be a powerful marketing tool. Instructive videos are an effective way to engage customers. Also, these how-to videos have the added benefit of being displayed on the video search results of Google.
Which platforms are a good fit for you? Start reaching your target audience and get to scheduling your social media posts today with DirectLync!
