Building a social media marketing strategy may sound intimidating if you’re a small business with limited personnel and time.
But the benefits far outweigh the challenges and social media can be a great way to get ahead of your competitors.
Social media for small businesses doesn’t have to consume all your time if you’re careful in your approach and you don’t jump in too quickly.
Like any technologically based marketing operative, social media constantly evolves, presenting new opportunities for exposure and watching the old favorites fall by the wayside.
Because of the dynamic nature of the venue, learning social media isn’t so much about becoming an expert on any one or two popular sites, although you’ll need someone on your marketing team with that knowledge.
Instead, the key to successful social media marketing is knowing how to capitalize on the unique opportunities social media presents and being willing to change your techniques as the technology changes.
A lot of people are really excited about social media right now, and for good reason. If used effectively, it can greatly increase traffic to your site, increase your exposure, and build a loyal fan-base for your brand. But there’s a secret that not many people are telling you: launching an effective social media campaign can increase your total sales, and reduce your conversion rate!
If you want to effectively communicate in an ever expanding social media world, you’ve got to have an effective strategy in place before you start creating accounts at every venue available.
You’ve got a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a blog, a Youtube channel, a forum—so what? Social media strategies give purpose to those elements; if you don’t have one, you’ll never see the results you’re hoping for from your online methodology.
All my friends have GPS systems in their cars. I don’t. It always catches me by surprise when they say, ‘“Oh, I’ll just put the address in my Garmin,” and it always catches them by surprise when I show up with printed maps in my hand.
Despite differences in technology, I have something in common with my friends: none of us wants to get lost. Unfortunately many businesses speed out onto the road of social media without a map. If you want to really increase your conversion rates, you need to develop a good social media marketing strategy.
Men and women communicate differently. It’s an age-old problem, one that has provided the inspiration for thousands of jokes, books, magazine articles, and “I can’t believe he said that!” stories.
An entire marketing niche has built up around the attempt to help men and women understand one another, but when it comes down to it, the only way to solve the problem is to set aside pre-conceived ideas and spend time learning about one another’s differences.
In a sense, traditional marketing and social media run into some of the same roadblocks. Traditional marketing tends toward male characteristics such as concrete thinking, direct communication and problem solving.
Social media, on the other hand, lends itself to female traits like listening, sharing viewpoints, and interaction. Surviving in this new marketing climate will require understanding social media and learning to redefine traditional marketing concepts.
Businesses are flocking to social media venues in an effort to increase exposure and gain new customers. For many, their efforts are paying off in the form of increased visitors and new sales. On the flip side, however, many businesses are also experiencing a drop in conversion rates after entering the social media world.
Why? They’ve increased their volume of viewers without targeting the message, resulting in a higher bounce rate, and many more people who aren’t finding what they expected to find. You can improve conversion with social media by keeping the quirks of the system in mind as you design your landing pages.
The toy store at the mall in my childhood home town was brilliant. They had a big display of popular toys right out front where every kid could come by and play with them.
A child who sees his favorite toy on the shelf gets excited, but a child who has that toy in his hands can be downright persuasive! That toy store increased sales by encouraging interaction.
You can do the same thing for your online store. You can increase visitor engagement with social media.Your goal is to make your site as interesting as possible to your visitors, especially through social media. Most people can’t go a day without checking Facebook. How can you make your site interesting to them?
Boy with a Ball by kthypryn
No one likes to be the last one picked for kickball at recess. It seemed like the little guys finished last a lot on the playground.
That is, it seemed that way until those little kids figured out their advantages.
The business world isn’t that different. There are big companies that look fast, strong, and ready to score whenever they come to the plate.
There are small businesses that feel like their legs are too short and weak to kick and run well. However, there are some ways that small business owners can level the field. Social media for small businesses is a great way for the “little guys” to compete with the big companies.
Devote an Hour a Day to Social Media
The value of social media for small businesses is outstanding. You have the opportunity to get involved with a growing network of people who might never discover you any other way.
Have you been searching around the web, and wondered what that square orange icon with the white arcs is?
That small orange icon (and what it represents) can generate enormous amounts of additional traffic for your website.
It represents a link to an RSS feed or Really Simple Syndication, a social media tool.