Marketing on Social Media: The Basics

When you first start marketing on social media, it can be difficult to know where to begin. It’s simple enough to open a Twitter account, but once you’re faced with the little empty text box, waiting for you to enter up 140 characters of marketing gold, what do you say? You want your potential clients to pay attention to you, but that can be a double-edge sword. What if you make a mistake? What if you make a BIG mistake?

If only you had a brief overview of best practices for marketing on social media to help you out. Don’t worry—we’ve got you covered.

Think ahead.

Step into the social media arena with your game plan already mapped out. Ask yourself and your team the following questions: What target audience are we aiming to reach? Where does this audience hang out? What goals are we trying to reach through marketing on social media? What is our strategy for achieving those goals?

Your customers need you.

When clients approach you for help on social media, it’s of the utmost importance to put your best foot forward in terms of customer service. What you say on social media is the face your company presents to the word. Unhappy customers may let everyone know how unhappy they are with you. Once you’ve made things right, happy customers may do the same. Make sure you’re following through and doing all you can to transform potential negative word-of-mouth into free advertising from the clients whose problem you’ve solved.

Combine marketing and interaction.

If you’re only posting marketing messages on (for instance) your Facebook page, you are missing out on the chance to engage your audience. Social media—even marketing on social media—should feel like an interactive experience for your clients and leads. It’s a good idea to respond to some of your customers’ comments and posts on a regular basis. You won’t be able to answer everyone, and you certainly shouldn’t aim to do so. But a little investment in interacting with customers can go a long way in terms of building brand loyalty and attracting and retaining an audience for what you post to social media.

Consistency is your friend.

It is absolutely crucial to make sure that you maintain a consistent image of your company across all social media marketing services you use for marketing. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube: your presence on each of these sites needs to paint the same basic picture regarding your company, its services, and how you’re positioned to help clients.

So, do you feel ready to get social? It may seem incomprehensible at first, but once you get the hang of it, you may find yourself looking forward to marketing on social media. Ready, set, engage!