Understanding the power of social media and how to use it to grow your business is very critical to your Business.
With recent statistics showing over 62.5% growth in internet users, social media has moved from being just a platform for communication to a powerful marketing tool for businesses. Brands like Amazon and Nike have taken advantage of the huge potential of social media to increase brand awareness and visibility and generate leads on their sales pages with less effort than before.
Some of the most successful brands are those who have opted to maximize their use of social media and applied knowledge to enhance their business. In this article, I’ll be outlining some proven tips on how to use social media effectively to grow your business in the shortest amount of time.
Table of Contents
How to Grow Your Business Using Social Media
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Have a strategy:
Before embarking on any project, it is common knowledge that failing to plan is equivalent to planning to fail. This said, it is of utmost importance that you map out a strategy for using social media to enhance your business. This plan is not written in stone and therefore should be flexible enough to be reviewed and tweaked with time.
Important details to include in the plan should be social media platform(s) to be used, type of audience to be targeted based on product or service being offered, duration of strategy (can be anything from three months to six months to one year, etc.,), brand message, brand image to be projected, content pillars, content calendar, running of ads, etc.
These details and more will give shape to your unique strategy that will help you grow your business online.
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Create a social media presence
Creating an online presence for both yourself and the brand is the base of leveraging social media for your business. It is important that you create a social media presence for yourself because if your brand is going to stand the test of time on social media,, you’ll need to market yourself first. On whatever social media platform(s) you choose, create an optimized profile for yourself and the brand.
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Promote valuable and quality content through your personal network
After creating an online presence, the next step is to begin sharing content on your personal profile. And not just any content but one that is original, quality and valuable. Sharing valuable content entails sharing content that helps your audience find solutions to their problems and this has been found to be a great way to grow your business online.
If you’re trying to sell products or services, it’s important to provide value in the form of content that shows how using those things will make people’s lives better. However, if you have no intention of selling anything at all and just want more exposure for your personal brand (which is also valid), then sharing helpful tips on social media should still be part of your strategy.
For example, if someone asks me how they can get organized with their finances so they don’t end up in debt when they’re older, you can share tips like having enough money saved up each month so bills won’t be late anymore!
Another advantage of sharing valuable content is, it establishes you as an authority in your niche. You might be wondering how.
Here’s an illustration: It is easier to patronize a hairdresser who not only posts that he/she can make hair but shares weekly tips on how you can take care of your specific hair type and goes further to recommend good hair care products, than someone who only posts that he/she makes hair.
So while you’re focused on sharing content, also ensure that your content is original, quality and valuable.
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Make good use of visual content to stand out on social media
Research has shown that due to the short attention span of the average human, visual content is more likely to capture attention than written content. And because people will more readily consume visual content than written content, this goes to show how important visual content is to your business growth on social media.
Images, videos, infographics, etc., are examples of visual content that you can utilize to communicate your brand message and products/services effectively to your audience.
Ensure that your graphics reflect your brand and is visually appealing too.
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Create an online community to grow your business
Social networks provide an opportunity for brands and businesses alike to create groups or communities around particular interests or products they offer so that their followers can share those posts with other users within these groups. This can help boost traffic back towards your site while also providing an additional source of revenue through paid advertising.
Creating a group for your brand not only gives it a more professional outlook but has been known to have a wider audience reach than individual profiles. You can invite people who may be interested in what you have to offer, as this will help you gain followers and build a loyal community of people who trust you.
- Encourage engagement
Engagement is the lifeblood of social media. It’s a way to grow your business and build trust with your audience, build loyal followers and establish yourself as an authority in your niche—all while having fun!
Whatever content you choose to put out, make sure it’s something people want and can relate with so they’re willing to engage with you regularly.
Also endeavor to constantly engage with other people’s content strategically too. Engagement can be as simple as liking or commenting on someone’s post, or it can be more involved like sharing the post that resonates with you so other people in your network can access it too.
Either way, encouraging engagement is an essential part of building your brand online.
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Leverage on paid social advertising to grow your audience:
Paid social advertising is a great way to grow your audience and increase brand awareness. Paid ads are often targeted at specific audiences, so you can reach people who are likely interested in what your business does.
Facebook alone has a user base of about 1 billion users across the globe so it’s an obvious choice for any business looking to spread their message far and wide quickly. It’s also one of the most cost effective platforms when it comes down to buying advertising space on behalf of your company or brand.
You can use paid social advertising on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for maximum impact.
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Track the progress of each post and adjust your strategy accordingly
Strategies are meant to be used, adjusted or changed completely depending on how successful they turn out. Analytics on each social media platform can show you what works and what doesn’t, so use them to make adjustments to your strategy.
Final Thoughts on How to Grow your Business Online with Social Media
I am positive that by now, you agree with me that social media is an excellent way to build relationships with people who could be potential customers or clients, as well as promote content through your personal network.
This is not all going to happen overnight so you must be ready to exercise patience and put in the needed amount of work for results to show.
In the light of this, go ahead and put your business out there and carefully implement these steps, tailoring them to your specific brand, and watch your business skyrocket to the top.