social media marketing | BizSieve.com

Include Social Media Marketing Strategy to Boost your Business Visibility

Social media is a viable means of promoting business. Having a social media marketing strategy is the need of the hour if one is to successfully promote any business idea or concept. An inexpensive way of promoting ones endeavors, social media marketing strategy can be incorporated through various social media websites as Facebook, Twitter. LinkedIn, You Tube and Google plus.

Below are listed the ways through which one can use these social media websites to promote their product or service.

Promoting social media marketing strategy through Facebook

Facebook has increased in popularity over the past few years. Use the same to your advantage and set up a business page on Facebook. This way you can not only promote your venture but will be able to communicate with increasing number of people.

Alternatively to give your social media marketing strategy a cutting edge treatment, you can post polls in form of questions on Facebook. As a reference, if your website deals with clothes, you can post questions on the color and texture of the cloth that the customers would want to see in beginning of summers or winters. This way you will be able to connect with the customers on a personal level and increase your professional reach. Connecting with customers is a multi layered step and you need to engage the customers too. Ask them to share pictures of your range of clothes on the Facebook page.

Try the above innovations and you will find it an easy task to incorporate your social media marketing strategy on Facebook.

Promoting social media marketing strategy through Twitter

Your social media marketing strategy will receive a boost if you decide to use Twitter for the same. You can use Twitter to tweet interesting facts on your business venture. Do not forget to provide link to the product page on your website.

You can also use Twitter to send some short tips on how to use the service or product. Alternatively, you can tweet some pictures that relate to your business venture to people who follow you on Twitter.

Promoting social media marketing strategy through You Tube

You Tube is a social video site that is immensely popular with users. Incorporate your social media marketing strategy creatively in this medium too. You can start by creating a You Tube video for your business venture and update the same regularly. Share the same with friends and family and increase its reach.

You can launch a video contest on You Tube. Ask customers to post videos on the way they use your service or product range. This way you will be able to increase the reach of your service . Ask your customers to vote on the best video thus generated. Your social media marketing strategy will receive a big boost if you follow the above listed measures while promoting your ideas on You Tube.

Promoting social media marketing strategy through LinkedIn

Social media marketing strategy can be promoted through LinkedIn. You can start by creating a LinkedIn profile and adding links to your website. You will need to update the profile with new links or information that is of use for your customers. Alternatively, you can join LinkedIn groups that are popular with your customers. You can post comments or some contests on this social media platform and derive benefits from the same.

You can ask your customers and other business associates to refer some recommendations in the related sectors that you are dealing in. Some of your customers might be having business links and the same can be explored for commercial purpose too. Incorporating your social media marketing strategy creatively in LinkedIn will have great advantage for your professional prospects. Try the measures listed above and reap the benefits.

Promoting social media marketing strategy through Google plus

Google plus is a new addition in the social media circle and the same can be used Innovatively to promote your business endeavors. For a start you can create circles in your personal Google plus profile. The same may be created for your customers, vendors or people who have interest in any of your business venture.

You will need to post interesting content on the Google plus profile to connect with your customers in an engaging manner. You can include blog posts, articles, product reviews and announcements about any new endeavors. Alternatively, you can start a Hangout to solicit some feedback from your customers. The same can be used to discuss some new launches or products that might be in the offering.

Make use of these social media websites to promote social media marketing strategy and boost your business interests.

About The Author: Alyssa is a writer/blogger. She loves writing travelling and reading books. She contributes to Social Cloud.

Social Media Essentials for Small Business Marketing

Most small business owners have started relying on social media networking for their internet marketing needs. It is a simple and effective method of reaching out to your target audience in a focused yet inexpensive form. The sheer popularity of social media has left it an indispensible marketing tool to incorporate in your campaign. Whatever be your target audience demographic, marketing through popular social networks will ensure that your message reaches out effectively and creates a buzz.

It is important to plan your social media presence and campaign in a detailed manner to gain maximum return. Let us list down five best practices which have been known to generate results for small business in the social media sphere.

Image by Pete Simon

Try to be Subtle

Social media does not come with the time limitation of more conventional advertising platforms like radio or television. One must respect this fact and try to inculcate their marketing message subliminally with content that your target audience is interested in. Social media is about information – Create your space and posts around interesting information related to your product or service.

Once you have the attention of your potential client only then should you go for turning him into a lead. Going social helps you build trust among your audience, but only if you let it build by offering content relevant to their interests.

Social Media is about Socializing

At times business owners fail to understand the whole purpose of social media which is to socialize with like minded people and communities. Your presence on social media should never be about ostentatious self promotion. Try to engage with your audience in an interactive way. Your business should come across like a brand personality which understands your audience and communicates like them. Be as interactive as possible, hold contests, ask questions, answer queries, be like a person.

Try to be a friend, there is nothing more trustworthy than a good understanding friend. Clients that you will be able to build like this will most likely remain clients for life.

Go Wide With Your Campaign

Social networks might have its high rankers and they command involvement in any sensible social media campaign but one must not ignore other platforms at any cost. There is a long list of networking sites and each one has some following. As a business owner or marketer you don’t want to leave any stone unturned.

Make accounts and gain presence at as many platforms as you know of. You may decide to prioritize your level of focus, that is acceptable, but do not ride on just one or two networks.

Work on Your Appearance

Just because you are a small business it doesn’t give you the right to look less professional than the big guns. In fact, many small business owners brag about their customization capabilities over big brands. All your content, designs and texts should go under a magnifying glass before being posted. Be aggressive in your strategies and let the world know that you mean business. You may not be able to match with the big players on size but you must equal their quality if not exceed it.

About the Author: ZK is an expert associated with WebTrafficROI, which is a web marketing blog aimed at people who are interested in web business and blogging. The blog also helps entrepreneurs, bloggers, companies and small businesses to make their business better on the online forum.

The Value of Your Response on Social Media to Upset Customers

In this article, you’ll learn…

From my recent experiences as a customer who complained over social media
5 tips on how to respond to angry customers who have lashed out at you over social media

One of the best ways to learn about social media marketing and the impact it can have for your customers is to use social media as the customer of some other business. You can learn a lot of valuable lessons on how to treat your customers, particularly angry customers, if you are first one yourself. Pay attention to how you are responded to and how that made you feel. Are you more or less likely to do business with the company based on how they responded to you through social media? I have personally had 2 instances in the last couple of weeks in which businesses earned my respect because of how they responded to my displeasure with their business.

Experience #1: I was instructed by my wife, on the morning of the last day of school, to go to McDonald’s and get a gift card for one of my kids teachers as an appreciation gift. This teacher loves McDonald’s. The morning was packed with things to be done and there really was no time to spare. I pull up to the drive up and ask for a gift card. Sadly, they tell me they are out. Okay, fair enough. I travel to the next closest McDonald’s and pull up there. I ask for a gift card and was told that they are out of gift cards. “Really”, I thought to myself? This is a monster chain restaurant. Can they all really be out of gift cards? I tweeted at them expressing my displeasure and end the tweet with the hash tag of #fail. Shortly after, I receive a tweet from someone on the McDonald’s Twitter customer service team. Did you know they have a whole team, website, etc. dedicated to providing customer service via Twitter? I didn’t either. We exchanged several tweets back and forth, which ended with a direct message asking if she could send me some gift cards directly. I was very impressed with how this was handled. They were very professional in their approach and very accommodating. Respect earned.

Experience #2: My wife called me to tell me that the local water park was closing down for the day because they were not making money. She had been there with my kids for the last 2 hours and they were now being kicked out so that they could close. It was a colder day, sure, but that is not why they closed. If the park had been packed they would have stayed open. They tried to claim on their Facebook page that they had closed for the “health and safety of their customers”. I took issue and commented on the post. Needless to say, I stirred a pot with others who “like” them on Facebook. Some supporting me, some saying that I should have my head examined for taking my kids to a water park on such a cold day. In some cases, it got personal. However, The local water park maintained a professional approach in their responses to my “calling them out”. They left my posts up on their Facebook page. They replied several times and was part of the conversation. I noticed that they did delete one post that was particularly personal against me. While I did not agree with their business decision to close the park that day, I gained some additional respect for them based on the fact that they did not shy away from the conversation and kept things respectful when I am sure it was not comfortable for them.

Business owners and marketing professionals everywhere need to learn the lessons of social media customer service. Here are some tips on how to respond and how not to respond to angry customers on social media.

Pay attention! Someone needs to be monitoring the company’s social media accounts and what people are saying.
Do not delete the post of an angry customer. This will only anger them more and send them on a longer rant, and potentially to other places to leave negative reviews.
Address the post in “public”. Let others see your responsiveness and your professional customer service. This will shed good light on your customer service.
If you need to go behind closed doors after first responding publicly, that is fine. In many cases you will want to do this to make sure you do not get a rash of fake complaints trying to get free stuff.
Do not become personal, stay professional. Even if you do not gain them back as a customer, they will respect the fact that you stayed above board on the situation and they are less likely to talk negatively about you.

About the Author: Rick Hardman is an SEO manager at seo.com who loves to use social media personally as well as professionally.

How To Market Your Small Business on Facebook

In recent years, there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of social networking sites. These sites are now not only being used to connect with friends, family and business contacts, but also being used to market products and services. Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites and many small businesses market their products and services through it. However, these businesses are still struggling to gain expertise in this area. Here are a few things to consider when using Facebook to market your small business:

1. Share Useful And Updated Content With Potential Customers
Many small businesses set up a profile page instead of a business page, while also starting a group for their business. As a result, your fan base may get divided and you can struggle to engage with the audience. It is very important that the business shares meaningful and updated content with the people, which creates a difference in their lives. Broadcasting your message is a big turn-off for people as it sounds too pushy. You should only share updated and engaging content with the audience, and seek their feedback. You should also plan your posts well so that your content does not become too boring or predictable. The shared content should be a mix of multimedia and other useful articles. Sharing exciting and new content increases the chances that people will talk about you with their friends and family. It is also advisable that you do not publish most of your content directly from your blog or other platforms.

2. Take Facebook Seriously
While many small business owners realize that social media, particularly Facebook, has changed the marketing landscape, they are simply not investing enough time to leverage its power. By not investing adequate time in social media campaigns, the business is losing out on marketing opportunities. Facebook should be central to any social media campaign and, therefore, engaging content should be regularly shared with the audience. You should use Facebook to establish strong relationships with your customers and ensure a timely response to their queries.

3. Explore Facebook’s Tools
Businesses can do a lot more than merely setting up fan pages and groups on Facebook. To maximize the marketing potential offered by Facebook, you should explore all of its functionalities and tools. This will help you in creating a great online experience to engage your audience. As a small business owner, you may utilize the info tab and also create a custom welcome page to create better awareness about your business. By using Facebook Insights, you can benefit from the medium’s built-in analytics system and analyze what type of content caused the greatest stir among your audience. This can be of great value when publishing content in future.

4. Follow Rules of The Game
When using Facebook to market your business, you should be careful not to violate the terms and conditions set by the site. By violating these terms, you may risk your reputation and remain ineffective at building a helpful community. Some of these common violations include setting up a personal page instead of a business page, tagging people in images without seeking their permission and sharing abusive content.

By keeping in mind these simple Facebook marketing tips, you can develop strong personal connections with your audience and grow your business.

About the Author: Donna Hays works full-time as a marketing consultant for an online advertising company. She writes for several sites including Degree Jungle a resource for college students. She takes keen interest in social media marketing and is a regular contributor on social media marketing topics.

Image: GOIABA (Goiabarea) / Flickr