I’m sure you’ve heard it time and time again: social media is a godsend for small businesses. Whether you’re a fresh startup with a new website or an established business moving into the online space, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram are some of the best, most inexpensive ways to get your brand’s name out there.
For many business owners, though, the prospect of tending to their social profiles is discouraging. In a lot of ways, it’s seen as babysitting. You spend a few hours with it, you calm it when it’s angry, you try to show it a good time and, at the end of the day, you hope to take home a paycheck. But how can you maximize your time and effort? How can you be sure that it’ll pay off? Let’s take a look at two very simple, very effective ways to make the most of your social media…
You need to view your social media as an extension of your site
In the same way that you’d tailor a custom website to match your brand’s appearance, you need to ensure that your social media profiles are consistent with that appearance, as well. By doing this, you can be certain that your customers will seamlessly transition from one point of entry to another. We’re not talking just imagery here, either. If you run a professional, conservative business, the tones of your posts should match that. Conversely, if you’re a quirky, zany startup, you should feel free to let loose and carry that personality over into your statuses.
The most important thing to remember is that your social profiles aren’t a one-way street. Visitors won’t arrive at them solely from the links on your website. Because of this, you should assume that any given post, tweet or status could serve as a potential customer’s introduction to your company. Which brings us to…
You need to use physical marketing materials to drive customers to your social profiles
If you print business cards, flyers, postcards, brochures, catalogs, pamphlets or, really, anything… you should always save space to introduce readers to your company’s social media profiles. Not only will this drive traffic to your website, it will create future opportunities by cultivating an online audience. Once you’ve established that audience, you can capitalize by marketing to them at any time for almost no cost.
At Imagine Monkey, we offer extensive social media services but we always start with the basics: profile creation and interlinking. We believe that the foundation for successful advertising campaigns through social media lies in the cultivation of an engaged, interested audience. We ensure that social profiles appear prominently on our site designs and inform our clients of the best ways to begin growing their base of friends, fans and followers. Ultimately, our services are geared towards branching out, attracting potential clients and — by ensuring that their profiles act as an extension of their site — driving visitors their site where they can be converted to customers.
