Using Social Media

of the biggest complaints I hear from clients is that all of their social media efforts both paid and non-paid don’t usually bear any fruit. There could be a number of reasons why this has been their outcome but the bad taste left in their mouths oftentimes keep them from using social media in one of it’s most basic forms.

Today I want to talk a little about using social media to grow the authority of your business. The idea isn’t that you will necessarily get clients directly from Social Media, but instead when you are researched online, you will have a good presence which will lend itself to more sales and customer trust.

I will give a few tips I use daily in my SEO firm to heighten authority and awareness of my brand and how you can do the same.

Find your audience

The biggest mistake people make in social media is targeting their peers or people who have the same jobs as them. This isn’t always a bad thing but unless your peers buy from you, should they really be your main target audience? I am an SEO consultant so my target audience is businesses owners, marketing managers, small business start-ups etc.

It is tempting for me to write posts about SEO but then those who would read them would most likely be competitors. I don’t mind if they read my stuff but most likely they aren’t going to buy from me making it not the best use of my time. However if I gear my content towards helping business owners grow their business using online marketing, I am going to hit my target a little better and actually provide the value I am looking to.

For your business, look at your customer base and then research what they are looking for. You can then provide them with what they want while sponsoring the content with what you have to offer.

Be Consistent

Whether you post once per day or once per week be consistent. Nobody wants to follow someone who barely seems to be alive most of the year. If you have a schedule for posts keep it consistent so your audience will know what to expect from you. If you do decide to only post once per week, make sure you do a well done in-depth post that will make following you worthwhile.

I personally post at least twice per day. I try to only post relevant information to business owners and posts about my own content “stuff” goes out about 3 times a week, the rest is all just good content I find helpful.

People know what I do and your followers will know what you do. Give them value and when they need your service, they’ll let you know.

Have a Consistent Budget

Even if your budget is $1 per day use it. Having a small amount invested will keep your mind on what you are doing and your game sharp. If you haven’t already, install the Facebook Pixel and Google Remarking pixel on your site.

You don’t have to currently advertise to have the pixels on your site so add them in case you want to advertise later. They will track your users and make it easy for you to show ads to them when they are on other sites.

Back to budget. Try out the different ad types to see what drives the most of what you are looking for. If you want leads, to the lead forms. If you want more followers do that. If you have a small budget I would suggest doing your posts and boosting them to your audience until you have a larger budget.

Keep Your Brand Recognizable

A huge mistake businesses make is having social media accounts all branded differently. Whats worse is when your website doesn’t match your social media as well. A good rule of thumb is to take the colors, pictures and logos from your website and re-use them on your social media profiles. Doing this will help your users recognize you across the web and you will look more professional.

Conclusion

Just do it really. You may love or hate social media, but regardless the world uses it and if you don’t comply you will get left in the dust. If you can’t stand it, hire a social media firm. If you can tolerate it, use an app like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your posts out.

Remember that as a business owner or marketer it is your job to get the best exposure you can for your business. Use all avenues especially social media and you will accomplish that goal.