Starting any new business can be daunting, as the time and money it takes to start your venture can be a challenge at the best of times. The hardest part though, is to entice and keep clients for the longevity of your business. For entrepreneurs, building and maintaining relationships with your clients is the most important aspect when it comes to offering the best service in your field.
In recent years technology has changed everything, especially in how we run our businesses, communicate with clients and grow our network. Social media has the power to build a brand, but you need to know how to use the right tools in order to reap the benefits. Using social media, the right way can mean the difference between making a profit and falling flat. There's no question that your customers are spending time on various social platforms, whether it's Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, or any number of other apps and websites where people are hanging out in the digital form. Since you want your brand to be where your customers are, it makes sense to figure out how to grow your business using these platforms. Every brand and business needs a custom social media strategy based on their current social media standing, goals, and resources available to them.
And while everything in social media tends to hinge on a bunch of independent factors, there are some universal, core building blocks which you need to have in place to ensure that your business gets the most out of its social media initiatives.
Brand Yourself – People do business with people they like, know and trust. Your personal brand and how you present yourself online is so important these days.
Define Your Audience – Before you can grow your business you need to be crystal clear on your target market and who you are talking to.
Understanding Your Audience’s Biggest Challenge – Discover your customer’s biggest challenges, problems, pains, dreams, desires, and questions.
Create Value – As an influential leader in your field, you need to consistently create valuable content for your audience.
Building Relationships – As a leader you need to be engaging with your audience. People will buy from you if they believe you will make a difference in their lives.
Provide Solutions – For every problem there is always a solution, and this is where you as an expert come in. Show your audience the problem they face and how your service or product can help them.
Social Media Audit - You need to regularly look at the overall state of your social media presence. Make it a habit of conducting regular social media audits on your channels. A self-audit can help you catch inconsistencies, learn more about what campaigns worked and which are a waste of time. Review benchmarks, and maybe even set new goals, enabling you to consistently improve your social media strategy.
The Right Platform – There is no doubt that social media can be quite overwhelming to most, therefore you need to define which platform is best suited to your business. You should also know that just because a network is popular, doesn't mean it'll be a good fit for your target audience, or your internal capabilities.
Website – Make sure you have a professional website that is mobile friendly and has all your social media platforms linked to it. It’s important to keep your website updated and relevant. Your social media channels should drive traffic to your website.
