It seems that everyone is a twitter about – well, Twitter... and Facebook; still some on MySpace and all the other top social media hotspots. It seems as if everyone has a Facebook page and a Twitter account, so of course your business should have one too. But there’s a big difference between just “having” a social networking page and “working” that social networking page to its full potential. Here are some tips that will help you to make your social networking pages work for you!
Tip #1 – Make Your Posts Share-Worthy
When you post on Twitter, make sure to include links that your followers will want to re-tweet to their friends; such as links to photos and promotional items, as well as discussions on your blogs or postings on Facebook that will encourage them to post comments. Spend time paying attention to what your customer base is interested in and post pathways to discussions about those topics to encourage participation.
Tip #2 – Incentives = Actions
When you offer an incentive to your customers, you will usually get some sort of response or action in return. Incentives could include a special link to unlock some type of exclusive content, a discount or an opportunity to win something. The prize doesn’t have to be huge – a $5 gift card to their favorite coffee shop or discount off purchase or shipping price could really get some customers excited.
Tip #3 – Give It a Lot of Thought
One of the biggest mistakes that many businesses make is to just post any old thing on their Facebook and Twitter pages. You’ve got to spend time thinking about what you want to say, how you want to say it and what you want to offer to your readers as a reward for following you on a regular basis. Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think, “what is in it for me to click on this link or read this post?” Once you understand how your customers think, what they want and what you can do to encourage them to participate or make a purchase, you’ll find the process will be simple and effective.
Tip #4 – Cross Promotions
Working together with owners of related businesses to do contests, promotions and other customer rewards is a great way to promote both companies, expand your reach to a whole new demographic and hopefully, bring in new business. Finding out what your customers like and what cross promotional products they would be interested in is half the battle in making this one work.
Tip #5 – Watch Your Stats
You can’t just “do it” and see what happens – you’ve got to monitor your stats, track your campaigns and know which marketing methods are working, and which ones aren’t. The more you know, the better you’ll be able to market and promote future marketing campaigns because you’ll know what type of promotions your customers respond to the most. Remember to calculate the value of your time. An added bonus is that you’ll be maximizing your ROI on your time spent…and it’s really all about the ROI, isn’t it?
