3 Ways To Utilize Social Media Marketing

Social media is becoming one of the largest marketing platforms in the world. According to Fast Company, 93 percent of marketers use social media for business. However, many find it difficult to employ social media marketing without any prior experience. Here are three easy ways to utilize social media marketing for your start-up or small business:

1. Engage your Audience

• All posts need to be relevant to your target market. You can add value by providing data or information useful to your customers.
• Post frequently and strategically. Posts should go out during off-work hours. People are more likely to engage social media before and after work. Here are the recommendations for frequency:
  • Instagram: 1-2 posts a day
  • Facebook: 2 posts per day max
  • Twitter: 3 tweets a day or more

Another excellent way to engage your audience is to provide customer service via your social media accounts. It is important to engage users who mention your company on social media. Most if not all negative complaints regarding your business should be addressed. This will give your customers confidence that you're constantly striving to provide top notch customer service and prioritize customer satisfaction.

2. Use the Networks that Matter

• Facebook: Highest volume of daily active users (1.2 billion)
• Twitter: Highest volume of messages (500 million tweets per day). Great for customer service and prospecting new customers.
• LinkedIn: Considered the "professional" network. Excellent tool for B2B marketing and recruiting.
• Google+: Communities are formed on the platform for users to discuss specific topics. Great for hyper-targeted marketing.

3. Build an Online Presence

• Incentivize sharing content: Often times companies will offer raffles or give-aways to anyone who retweets, reposts, or shares their content.
• Use relevant hashtags: This will optimize your content and make it more visible across the platform.
• Purchase followers from 3rd parties: While this is sometimes frowned upon, it's a simple way to create a "buzz" and is quite commonly used. I'm more for the building it, but this is a decent way.

There are many other more advanced techniques to using social media marketing for your small business. However, if you are new to social media and have a small business of your own, make sure to utilize these three simple techniques to leverage the power of social media marketing!

3 Ways to Utilize Social Media Marketing was originally published on Due Time Tracking blog by Renzo Costarella.