Monday 10 June 2013

Social Media - Generating a Following.

Do you use Social Media for business?
Have you been wondering how to increase your traffic & following?

The first thing you need to know is that building relationships with clients via Social Media takes time and effort. Running regular promotions and specials as a way of interacting with your fans and followers is a great way to show them that you have an interactive online presence and responding to everyone is an important way to show your following that you can engage with them, be their post positive or negative. 



With any Social Media, "You no longer own your brand message - the consumer does! You need to understand  how your audience views you and adjust as needed."  says Social Media & Branding Strategist Kim Garst.

These days Social Media has been moving more in a visual context direction, with both Facebook & Pinterest having enlarged their photo displays. Even websites have been using a more visual display to show their context. Twitter being known for their 140 character updates have also had to incorporate some visuals, by including videos and also enlarging image display. 

Twitter:

Most news hits Twitter before it hits the news channels. It's real time. The great thing about twitter is that you can tweet many times a day, whereas on Facebook this would be considered overkill. Short bursts of information a few times a day is a great way of showing followers that you are online-active. BUT - There is a big difference between bombarding followers with information and being fun and informative. Followers are more likely to interact with you if they feel you are more approachable.


Facebook:


On Facebook, gaining likes to your page is generally easier than gaining followers on Twitter since most of us have a personal profile with many of our friends on Facebook already. With Facebook there are many ways to gain a following to your business page, like linking the page to your personal profile in the Employer section. 

You can ask questions, run polls and get the opinion of your fans, and this way you can alter future posts to include what they like to show them that they matter to you as individuals. 
Something I've been seeing on many Facebook pages is the "Promo for Promo" initiative where pages of them same topic share each other with their fans to get more likes to each page. There are many ways to gain more likes on Facebook but this takes effort. The key to all Facebook updates is sharing great content. Don't waste any updates.

GOOGLE +:


Google + is still relatively new to the scene in terms of marketing your business (behind Facebook and Twitter), but that doesn't mean that you can't use it to your advantage. Google Hangouts are a great way to engage with your clients. You can use Hangouts to communicate with them publicly about your brand and your business. You can also use it to introduce new products / services to your clients and see how they feel about it. Clients can also post their generally opinions of your business: what they like and what they would like you to do differently.


YouTube:


The greatest thing for any YouTube account is exposure. Sharing your videos on your other Social Media accounts is a must.  A YouTube subscriber is someone who has chosen to “follow” your channel and your content so they can stay updated with your latest videos. In essence, a subscriber can become a raving fan who watches, comments and shares your videos with others. Building up a strong subscriber base is essential for creating a powerful community online, and will attract them to your other Social Media pages. Your videos need to provide value for the watcher, posting videos today is not just about tips and services anymore, you need to approach it with a marketing end-result. Convey your content in an engaging and entertaining format that separates you from the rest.


In summary, gaining a following on your Social Media is all about how much time and effort you put into it. Adding your Social Media links to your email signature, website and business cards is a basic necessity. Running promotions to gain more likes / followers, advertising campaigns,  sharing frequently are just a few ways to let clients know that you are embracing Social Media.





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2013-ITWWW-Odette Nieuwoudt




1 comment:

  1. The first thing you need to know is that building relationships with clients via Social Media takes time and effort. buy instagram followers

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