As a small business owner, you spend a fair amount of each day trying to figure out how to connect with new customers. Attracting interest to your company can be challenging, but with social media marketing, it is easier and more cost-effective than ever before.
Social media is incredibly valuable, but it is also a broad collection of websites and strategies. Because of that, it provides a lot of options for users – and that can make it tough for you to find the right account and campaign for the best results. So, when first starting out, you should focus on a few specific sites to have the biggest impact on your financial plan and your small business as a whole.
In order to get started, here are a few financial tips and tricks to capitalize on social media marketing:
Balance your time properly
One common social media mistake that can jeopardize your bottom line is a lack of commitment to these websites. While social media is often free, it requires a significant time investment, so you need to have the right people – and tools – in place to handle the demands.
According to Forbes, this can be achieved by using social media management software. A dedicated location with all of your accounts is especially important if you have many networks to juggle, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and more. Sites like HootSuite can place your information in one centralized place, so you don't have to head to each individual social media page in order to make posts, add followers and conduct business. Some options do have a small fee attached, but spending that money can be a smart way to get a strong return on your investment.
Locate your audience
Once you have a method to manage your accounts, you need to choose which social media sites are right for you. According to Entrepreneur magazine, this can be done by finding out where your audience is located.
For example, determine which sites they are spending the most time on. The most people are on Facebook, the news source noted, but Google+, Twitter and Instagram are also incredibly popular. In fact, you might not have an audience even if you have a large following on a site, so make sure you do your research and figure out which social media account will have the most value. No matter what, though, you should sign up for the four biggest online: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+. Then, feel free to branch out into more niche pages to reach all of your target market.