Social media platforms are very important tools for any successful entrepreneurial effort. Given that there are 3 billion social media users around the world, it’s clear that these networks can help you promote your business, get in touch with your target audience and engage them, check on your competitors, and keep up with the latest trends from your industry. But don’t let that seemingly straightforward process of creating posts and publishing them deceive you – that’s just the final step preceded by a lot of research and planning. Here’s what every entrepreneur should know in order to take advantage of social media.
Know your audience
Understanding your audience is crucial for creating your messages and your overall social media approach. Detailed information about your potential customers will help you pick the right social media platforms and optimize your outreach. Also, it’s practically impossible to tailor the right content if you don’t know who you’re talking to and what their pain points and interests are. After you’ve established an overview of your target audience, you can set your goals and create social media and content marketing plan. Finally, using analytics is essential for identifying how your strategies are performing and whether they’re effective. That’s why it’s a good idea to hire a reliable social media monitoring agency and have all your KPIs tracked and analyzed.
Leverage storytelling
Many big companies use storytelling in order to attract their target audience and connect with them on a more profound level. Your social media followers want to know more about your company, which is why creating a comprehensive narrative can do wonders for the engagement. For example, the story about Nike’s first shoe, the Waffle Trainer, has become legendary and the company uses it to illustrate their culture of innovation, as well as their zest for growth and development. Make sure to include your audience in your story and to make it relatable if you want them to engage and interact with you.
Be responsive
This means that you should answer every single question and respond to every single comment and mention. Many companies tend to post their messages without any further follow-ups or interactions with their audience. Social media platforms are powerful tools for feeling the pulse of your audience and getting their opinion on your business. Don’t even think about deleting negative feedback because that’s completely unprofessional, not to mention that it will generate extremely bad PR. Instead of that, deal with those negative comments proactively, thank people for drawing your attention to the issue, and promise that you’ll look into it.
Provide value
This is a make-it-or-break-it factor that should be at the core of any effective social media strategy. It’s based on the psychological principle of reciprocity – when you give something of value to your audience, they will feel obligated to return you the favor. In other words, by producing helpful content which offers solutions to their problems, you provide your audience with something valuable, and what’s more important you don’t ask for anything in return. They’ll recognize your noble intentions and you’ll win their loyalty.
Be consistent
In order to keep your followers engaged, you need to post and share on a regular basis. But, being an entrepreneur means working crazy hours and it can be hard to keep everything under control. That’s why you need to use social media management tools which will allow you to schedule your posts in advance. The consistency also refers to creating your company’s image and defining a certain voice and tone. This means that you should have a set of guidelines about how you want to present your business on social media networks, and these guidelines should reflect your company’s values, mission, and culture. Being consistent will help you improve your visibility and recognition, as well as build customer loyalty.
These 5 tips can help you navigate the social media landscape and promote your business more easily.
Sources:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/290965
http://blog.marketwired.com/2014/03/06/top-social-media-skills-for-entrepreneurs/
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289363
https://socioboard.org/blog/what-every-entrepreneur-needs-to-know-about-social-media/
https://sieve.studio/contemporary-social-media-hacks/
http://www.businessinsider.com/nikes-first-running-shoes-were-made-in-a-waffle-iron-2015-7
https://www.thebalance.com/principle-of-reciprocity-marketing-3515502
https://mashable.com/2017/08/07/3-billion-global-social-media-users/#QsLfWDfFmaqN