Do you have a personal Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account? Well, so do most of your current customers and future customers. What better way to grow your business than by connecting with those customers through social media? Social media also allows your business to connect with other local businesses, which is always a plus.
A wise group of people, The Spark Marketer Crew, enlightened me on the important role social media has in branding your business, increasing web traffic to your company website, and making your online presence stronger. It just makes sense. Social media plays a major role in businesses today because most customers do their research on a business via their computers and smartphones before they make that call.
Our company has been using social media for years and it has been a great tool for us for building relationships with other businesses and customers. We started off using Facebook, then added Twitter and Instagram. These social media platforms allow us and our customers to engage with each other on a regular basis, not only when our services are needed.
Don’t be afraid to try social media for your business, but remember, it takes time and commitment for it to grow — but it’s all worth it.
Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Don’t use your personal account — have a separate social media account for your business.
- There are many social media platforms to choose from, so choose the one you feel the most comfortable with. In my opinion, Facebook is the easiest.
- You need to post daily on each of the platforms you choose and always have an image with your post.
- Keep it professional, but fun. Share repair work photos, employee work anniversaries or birthdays, helpful tips that you or your customers would enjoy, etc. Mix it up!
- Like and share the posts of others.
- Don’t always try to sell something — it’s social media. You need to find a balance between business and popularity and use the platform to be social.
Social Media for business is necessary if you want to stay in front and grow your company, but it takes time and commitment. Stick with it! Your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram followers will be people who know your company and have most likely done business with you in the past. Use social media to show them who you are and what you’re about and to build relationships, turning one-time customers into long-term fans. These are the customers who are going to tell their friends about you!
Linda Roydhouse is co-owner of Clean Sweep of Anne Arundel County and offers social media management tools, tips, and consulting services to other business owners through Roydhouse Effect. Check her out!