Tips for Growing Your Business with Social Media

Do you feel like a lab rat at times, posting, posting, but never getting anywhere when it comes to your Social Media marketing for your business? 

First and foremost, you must understand why people are on Social Media, i.e. to keep up with their friends and family, post their activities, to be social, and to be entertained, etc.  It’s more than likely not to search for your business.  Therefore, if you are constantly posting ‘buy, buy, from me’ type posts, they are not showing up in anyone’s news feed.  So, what and how should you post?

Here is a list of tips for getting more exposure on Social Media.

1. Set up Social Media accounts in your business name.  Keep your personal accounts separate from your business accounts.  Set up as many social media accounts as you can maintain, because not everyone uses/likes the same media, i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram (especially if you have a visual product).
2. Make or have made a professional custom banner for your social media sites.  If you are a local business and you want people to call you, put your phone number in your banner.  Have your branding, i.e. logo, colors, etc. consistent across all social media sites.
3.  On your Facebook Business Page, list your business as the name of your Facebook Business page.  For example:  If you are a Real Estate agent and work for ReMax Properties, put your Business Facebook page as Jane Doe Realtor, then on your personal page list your business as ‘Jane Doe Realtor’ that way it will link to your business page.  You can list in your ‘About’ section that you are with ReMax Properties.
4.  Link your social media accounts where possible.  For example, link Facebook and Twitter business pages, so that when you post on Facebook/Twitter, it will automatically show up on the other page.  This way you get double the exposure with only one post.
5.  If you are just starting out, ask your friends and relatives to ‘Like’ and share your page.  In
   
   fact, if you can get your close friends to continue to ‘Like,’ comment, and share your posts, that will get your posts more exposure.  Thank people and tag the ones who ‘Like’ your page.  And when they comment, ‘Like’ their comments and comment back if appropriate.  Social Media is supposed to be interactive.
6.  Educate your audience.  Not necessarily about what you do, but more about the industry you represent.  Tips and ideas.  For example, if you are a travel agent, post travel tips, how to pack, where to get a passport, etc.
7.   Use Hashtags that are relevant to your post, i.e. #socialmediatips #growyourbusinesswithsocialmedia #usehashtags.  These hashtags are searchable.
8.  Post information about yourself.  How did you get started in your business/industry/profession?  About how you stay up on your industry, i.e. classes you take, books you read, networking/association meetings you attend, etc.
9.  Post about your clients, especially those that praise your work.  Thank and tag them publicly on your social media channels.  Publish their testimonials.
10. Post as much original content and media as possible.  The more original the more exposure it will get.  Posts with photos get more views than those without.  If you do your own photos, put your logo or website on them before posting.
11. Do videos.  Do Facebook live.  People want to see and hear you.  Get to know you, the person you want them to do business with.
12. Entertain – Quotes, Cartoons, humorous videos, etc. go a long way.  People are more apt to   These don’t necessarily have to do with your business.  For some reason, every time I post something on my business page about coffee, it gets more views than anything else.
    
    share and retweet.
13. Post about relevant news, current events, things happening in the community, holidays, etc.  I advise staying away from politics, religion, and other controversial topics on your business pages.  
14.  Post about holidays.  Find a holiday calendar, like https://www.brownielocks.com/b3bcalendar.html and see what holidays you find interesting and use them for posting.  Or if you like the more bizarre, try http://www.gone-ta-pott.com for the weird holidays you never knew existed like Buzzard Day or Ear Muffs Day.  Yes, Virginia, these are actual holidays.
15.  Share other people’s posts on your page.  Liking, Commenting, and Sharing is caring.  People will be more apt to Like, Comment, and Share your stuff if you Like, Comment, and Share their posts.
16. Join local business groups.  For example, on Facebook there are usually many local business groups.  Join them.  It makes it easier for people to refer you because they can tag you when they list your name when someone asks for a referral for your industry/profession.
17. Boost your posts from time to time to get to a larger audience, but don’t do it all the time because it will lose its effectiveness.
18. Post a survey.  Ask questions.  Start a conversation.  The more engaging a post is (i.e. the more Likes and comments it gets) the more people will see it.
19. Be persistent and consistent.  On a Facebook Business page, you can do posts and schedule them for a future time and date.  If people are looking for you or your business you want to make sure you are consistently posting, whether that’s once a day or once a week.  I’m sure if you go to a Facebook business page and there hasn’t been a post in 6 months, you wonder if they are even still in business.
20.  If you can’t do this all yourself or don’t have the time, delegate it to someone else in your company or hire someone to do it for you.

      We hope you have found this information helpful.  Your feedback and comments are welcomed

and appreciated.  If you have other things that have worked for you, we would love to hear them.

Oh and BTW - We would appreciate it if you would 'Like' out Facebook page.

Happy posting,

Annette

Painted Lady Enterprises

‘Helping My Clients and Their Business Look Good’