In today’s digital industry, marketing your Business through Social Media is such a vital part of building your online presence! Whether you use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Linkedin, YouTube, Google+ or any of the other platforms, each one can be highly profitable as long as you are using it effectively. Here at Dotsquares we are going to give you a Social Media 101 where we will go over some of the top line factors that all businesses should consider.

PLANNING – “Be the man or woman with the plan”

Before you do anything it’s crucial to create a strategic plan, on what you want to achieve through social media. For most businesses it’s “building followers” but let’s be more specific. You need to who you are targeting and trying to engage with, as there’s no point having loads of followers who aren’t even interested in your business. You want people who will like, share and comment on the content you post. Also what platforms are you intending to use? Certain businesses work better on specific platforms so you need to consider your niche.

CONTENT –“Keep it short but keep it exciting”

Have a think about what type of content you want to post. There is no general rule on types of posts, however certain studies have shown that posts that are short and interesting, will be more engaging than those that are too lengthy and contain far too much content. Posting a picture in a post has proven to gain additional clicks then those without, and those with links and videos are highly effective as well. As a business, ideally you should try and incorporate a mix of these content types to demonstrate your capabilities, as well as keeping your followers interested.

TIMING – “Know your audience”

Posting at times when your audience are most likely to be online will massively effect who sees your posts. As more people engage with your posts, this will attract other followers as they will see you as an interesting account to follow.

ENGAGEMENT – “It’s not all about you”

Let’s think about social media as a conversation between two people. If one person was continually talking without asking the other for any input, the one who is listening will soon lose interest, and social media should be treated the same. Rather than just promoting your services or products you need to give back to your followers. Like what they are posting, comment on things of mutual interest and even share what they posting. As a bonus when people see you sharing and liking others content, they will in turn follow you knowing you will do the same for them.

CUSTOMER SERVICE – “Take the good with the bad”

You’ve heard the term “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”, well that comments not too far off! In fact after building a stable follower base you will open yourself for some indirect customer service. Whether you’re receiving positive or negative comments,you need to make sure you deal as soon as possible, in the most professional manner. Reviews are a great form of brand marketing but you need to expect the odd back lash. By demonstrating quick and efficient service by putting the customer first, other customerswill be able to see how responsive and supportive you are, and might possibly follow you as well.

BE PATIENT – “Results don’t happen overnight”

Whilst social media is an inexpensive way to grow an organic following, you need to be patient. Youcan’t expect to wake up one morning and have 1 million followers it simply doesn’t work like that! Make sure you invest some time in growing your audience daily (at least 1 hour at the very minimum), and over a substantial amount of time you will reap the benefits. We would also recommend that you review your social strategy monthly, and adjust some of the finer details to see if you notice any additional results.

PAID ADVERTISING – “I need fast and quick results”

Like we mentioned above growing your network organically doesn’t happen overnight, but if you got some money you can invest in advertising, then this will help increase your following at a rapid rate. Ad’s come in different styles and each will vary in price so what it really comes down to is what you’re willing to pay. At the cheaper end of the scale you can run ad’s on Facebook for as little as £10. Either way it’s worth doing your research to what suits the needs of your business the most, as you don’t want to take a risk with a company you’re not too sure about and get stung by a costly bill at the end of the month.

This is only the surface layer to some of the general rules on how to showcase your business on social media, whilst building your online presence. Of course not everyone has the time to invest in such a process when running a business, which is why there are Social Media Experts in the industry to do that on your behalf. Here at Dotsquares our experts understand where you’re coming from and can help you take your business to new heights from as little as £25 an hour. Please get in touch if you would like support breaking into the competitive world of Social Media!