Anyone who knows me well or has been part of my networking group can tell you how much of an advocate I am for marketing your business on social media!
It’s essentially free, widely used and pretty simple to use. Don’t get me wrong; you can’t just throw anything up there, hoping it will do the trick. It requires some careful management, and if you’re not strict with yourself, it can become an inefficient use of your limited time. (Speaking of which, if you need tips on working smarter on social media, I have a blog for that too!)
In this blog though, I’d love to show you six simple ways to supercharge your business social media accounts to help you optimise sales opportunities, build YOUR tribe, and raise brand awareness. Let’s go!
1. Use hashtags for visibility
If they’re not already, hashtags should become an essential part of your social media content strategy. Commonplace on platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn, hashtags are an easy way for your audience to find or share your curated content, for you to join like-minded conversations, or to piggyback onto current popular trends.
Different platforms suit varying use of hashtags. For example, on Facebook and Twitter, it’s much more effective to be specific and use just one or two hashtags that are super relevant to your post. Too many hashtags can actually DECREASE engagement with your content!
When it comes to LinkedIn, hashtags are a relatively new concept. While there’s no limit on how many hashtags you can include, I think up to three is enough to help people discover your content.
Until recently, Instagram used to be all about using as many hashtags as possible. But now the current advice is only to use between three and five. The social media world is constantly changing, isn’t it?!
2. Find your ideal clients
It can be tempting to dial down elements of your personality or product features, hoping that everyone on social media will ‘get’ or like you. In the real world, you’re going to come across people who you don’t gel with or who aren’t your cup of tea. But do you know what? That’s fine. In fact, it’s better than fine. It’s great! Instead of trying to talk to everyone and not speaking to anyone, speak directly to YOUR ideal clients and customers.
What kind of people do you love working with? You know, the ones who get the real YOU! That’s who you need to market to. Your authentic, amazing self needs to shine through in everything you share on social media.
My previous blog has plenty of helpful hints and tips for defining your Ideal Client Avatar (ICA). So why not head over for a quick read?
3. Network, network, network
What’s that age-old saying? It’s not what you know; it’s who you know! If you aren’t leveraging your networks to raise brand awareness, demonstrate how you or your products offer solutions or gain word-of-mouth recommendations, then it’s time to start!
These days, so many brands are opting to come away from the typical ‘sell, sell, sell’ approach on social media and are instead focussing on refining spaces for their tribe to hang out and get to know each other through channels such as Facebook groups. If you create the right environment, it’s a fantastic opportunity to attract YOUR people into YOUR world and create a community that everyone can benefit from.
4. Brand awareness
When most people think of brand awareness, they think of things such as a logo or colour scheme. But brand awareness is about so much more than that. It’s an opportunity to talk about your passions, values, journey, inspirations, and everything else that motivates you to do what you do.
Creating eye-catching content is at the heart of raising brand awareness, and building engagement and loyalty with your audience. This doesn’t have to take up lots of your valuable time though. Here are a few ideas to make your content creation as straightforward as possible:
Create branded templates in tools like Canva
When you see ideas, jot them down or add them to Trello
Reshare content and add your take on it
Use simple questions or gifs to start a conversation and interact with your audience.
Use different types of content to keep things fresh. For example, photos, videos, Lives etc.
Re-purpose your content to use across multiple platforms.
And don’t forget to inject as much of your personality and a little humour along the way. Let people see the personal side of your brand.
5. Share your reviews
People buy from people, even if they don’t actually know them! How many times have you researched reviews before making a purchase? I do it all the time. With so many products and services on the market (not always the best quality), it’s important to choose wisely. Previous customer experiences can help us make the right choice.
If you’ve received fantastic feedback or testimonials from your clients, share them. You could also actively ask for reviews or comments to share. Reviews are such a powerful way of demonstrating your competency or shouting about your product’s benefits.
Try to respond to reviews (good AND bad) to show your audience that you care and can deal with constructive criticism to make continual improvements. I’m always impressed when I see a business owner has taken the time to interact in this way.
6. Engage on LinkedIn
Do you automatically think of LinkedIn as the platform for networking, researching or career planning? If so, it’s time to think about what else it has to offer and how it can boost your social media strategy!
With over five hundred million users, who are in professional mode and primed to connect with brands, consume updates and learn about current business content, it’s the perfect space for starting conversations, building your network and improving engagement with your brand.
Just because it’s the ‘professional’ social media platform, it doesn’t mean your content has to be stuffy or boring. It can still be personal!
Are you ready to supercharge your social media success?!
If you found these top tips helpful, you’ll be pleased to know that with our popular Gossip Gals Gold subscription we are not including monthly Social Media Planning Sessions for all members! Check out GOLD here.
Come and join a fantastic group of small business owners for more planning, inspiration and scheduling advice
Hopefully see you there!
Emma x