Okay, so you may think your business is boring…well don’t fret! You CAN use Social Media, and you CAN stand out among your competitors! Think about your employees. You are working with vibrant people, and you need to reflect their vibrancy in your business’ social media presence. Don’t be afraid to change your ways and add some pizzazz online. Here are some tips that will help your business stand out on social media:
- Be more personable– Being more personable doesn’t mean you’re not being professional. It’s important to remember that people do business with people. We often forget that people are posting for businesses’ sites, and adopting a tone with some personality is refreshing.
- Showcase the culture within your business– As a business, you should highlight the actual people doing all the work. Posting pictures of your workplace, your employees or fun office outings is important because you are giving a face to your name. In addition, potential customers may be more inclined to trust your business when they are able to see the ins and outs.
- Write blog posts- Not only do blog posts allow for more traffic to your site, they offer a voice for your business. Blog posts can be a way of creatively communicating with your potential customers. Whether you want to educate them regarding a certain topic in your niche, make announcements, highlight your business’ accomplishments, or showcase your business’ culture, blog posts can make your business come alive. In addition, they can be easily shared on social media.
- Share from experts in your industry- When you follow experts and share their posts, you are put in their spotlight. These experts may check out your business’ profile, and if they find your profile interesting, they will follow you. This is important because these experts, who may have thousands of followers, may re-post one of your business’ posts, giving your business tons of attention and credibility. This results in many more potential customers.
- Share customer reviews and testimonials- When people want to purchase a certain product, they usually start with reading customer reviews. Why not use these reviews to highlight your product? Potential customers don’t want to know what you have to say about your own product; they want to know what people like them have to say.
- Create a conversation- A boring business only talks about itself. If you want your business to be appealing, you have to engage in conversation with your potential customers. When you engage in conversation, you build relationships and start to understand your audience even more.
- Host a live Q & A- Hosting a live Q & A is a great way to create a conversation with your current and potential customers. As a business, it’s important for you to understand your audience’s wants and needs. Addressing certain issues in a live Q & A can be very beneficial for all parties. Communication is key!
- Post information about your community- Knowing what’s happening on your social networks and changing in your industry is vital to your business’ success. Google Alerts is extremely helpful when you want to monitor your community. Simply input the terms you want to monitor, and you will receive alerts at your desired frequency. When you post articles about your community on social media, you can make connections with other businesses and also show that your business is fully aware of current industry news and trends. Additionally, these articles may prompt discussion among followers.
- Explore new social media technology- We all know it’s frightening to invest money in new technology, especially technology related to social media, a “world” that is new to many businesses. However, your industry’s playing field is changing quickly, as is the social media industry. It is important to stay up-to-date with trends, and if you feel that your business can leverage a new trend in any way, it’s important to explore this hunch. Being one of the first businesses in your industry to explore a new feature on a social site can make your business stand out and reach a larger audience. For example, your business may find the new Facebook Live feature to be very useful. You can turn your live Q & A’s into actual ‘Live’ Q & A’s, which will allow your business to engage in a more fun and trendy way.
- Post visuals– Today’s online world is visual. People don’t have the time to read every single world on social media sites. Having visually appealing content such as photos, videos or infographics will attract potential customers. Having visuals also allows for a more human approach when it comes to marketing.
