The old and the young, everybody is using social media these days. And businesses are hoping to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. Social media is highly valued by marketers, as seen in the Social Medical Examiner’s (http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/) fifth annual social media study which reveals that a significant 86% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business, up from 83% in 2012. They see social media marketing as beneficial since it increases exposure and traffic to their businesses, and it improves their sales.
The challenge for businesses is to control communications so that their marketing communications won’t backfire or die quickly on social media channels. As an example of how quickly a topic can die, an average of 58 million tweets are posted every day. Researchers from the University of Washington, MIT, and Penn found that most retweets occurred within one hour of their original tweet. So you have to find ways of prolonging your exposure.
Marketing should not be viewed as simply “tools”. Prioritize your message and how to successfully distribute it from the different available social media. If you start, for example, on Twitter, you can link it back to your other social media platforms where you can engage with them more thoroughly.
If you’re looking for ways to add zing to your marketing campaign without too much effort, try these examples:
- Respond to recent events related to your business. Interact with your customer by creating a dialogue with them about current events or news. Show your interest in their views or opinions.
- Connect with your customers through Special Promotions, Sales, or Events. It’s another engaging marketing opportunity especially since everybody loves a bargain and, even better, free things. Customers would appreciate it and their loyalty to your brand would increase.
- Inform your customers about your new products or services. As your business grows, you’ll get more products and services to offer. Don’t forget to tell your customers about it. Customers who love your brand would look forward to trying them out since they know what to expect.
- Don’t forget to update!Even minor tweaks would suffice. You don’t want your customers to think you’re slacking off in your social media platforms. Remember to proofread before you add anything. A well-organized and well-thought-out page goes a long way.
- Share customer testimonials.It shows how you appreciate their feedback. For a more personal touch, you could share an informal message from yourself or your employees.
- Say “Thank you” to show your appreciation.Be creative in showing your appreciation! As an example, you could create something special for their anniversary of customer loyalty. Give them a basket of goodies, or a special coupon.
- Give helpful information. You could create blogs, and how-to-do guides to provide knowledge. Everything doesn’t have to revolve about getting business from them. Customers would appreciate getting something different from time-to-time.
Written by: Lea Serrato