Whether you like it or not, social media is here to stay. What once started with people looking to connect with old friends and meet potential dates has now grown to encompass every aspect of our daily lives. Nearly every business and outlet has its own hashtag, which connects people to a social media account that promotes the brand and showcases all of the products and services that they have to offer. If you’re still insistent on using traditional advertising methods, you’ll inevitably be left in the dust. Social media is an incredibly powerful platform that lets you reach people all around the world with just the press of a button – why would you not take full advantage of that?
If you want to make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead of you, you’ll need to know what does and doesn’t work. The tricky part of social media is that you can achieve instant notoriety for seemingly trivial things – and that is just as likely to work against your favor than for it. You’ll want to treat your image in the digital world just as you would your real-world self, but it doesn’t hurt to tap into some of the trends that help keep other businesses in the spotlight.
It doesn’t take much to manage a social media account, but you’ll have to get creative if you want to maximize your impact with your intended audience. These following tips will help you decide the best way to go about using social media to your advantage.
1) Watch your Competition
Sometimes it pays to be an iconoclast. But more often than not, it pays even more to follow a proven model. Always keep a close eye on what your competitors do – learn from their mistakes, and leverage their successes. If there are certain buzzwords that grab people’s attention, consider looking into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so that your webpages contain terms that potential customers are more likely to look for. If your competitors are creating viral videos, consider making your own. Just make sure you know what it is that you are trying to emulate – a video that comes off as too forced will not generate the kind of attention you are seeking.
2) Start a Blog
Advertising and promotion will always be staples for any business, but social media allows you to get a lot more creative and personal with your approach. If you start a blog, you’ll have an opportunity to expand upon what it is that your business stands for. Even better, you’ll be able to relate to your clientele on a more personal level – many blogs include personal stories and anecdotes that relate the author’s experiences to those of their readers. Maintain it regularly, and it can be a potentially powerful source of traffic.
3) Expand your Presence
It’s 2018 – having a website is merely expected at this point. If you want to reach out to a greater number of people, you’ll need to open up more avenues for your potential customers to reach you. Facebook is a popular option for many businesses, since it allows for easy communication and feedback with a large number of people. You might also consider opening an Instagram account – this will let you showcase photographs of everything that you can offer, and it’s best utilized by taking professional photographs of the very best things your business has to offer. Yet another option is Twitter – many major corporations have enjoyed a lot of success by using Twitter’s laconic format to post short witticisms and clever retorts to other businesses’ accounts.
4) Research new Trends
Things change on the Internet at a far faster pace than what many industry veterans are used to. Viral videos can explode in popularity overnight, only to be rendered completely irrelevant a week later. Before you decide the direction you want your advertising campaigns to go in, make sure that you’re tapping into a long-term trend and not a short-term fad. Basing an advertisement on a meme that hasn’t been relevant for two years is only going to make you look out-of-touch. Stay on top of what’s popular, and you won’t run the risk of looking out-of-date.