Social Media: How to Promote Your Business

Although social media has been around for quite some time, its ways are still new in the world of business. Here are some questions to consider before you begin promoting your business on social media:

How many social media outlets should you use to promote your business?

To answer this question, you should first find out where your audience is spending their time? What social media outlets are they on? Generally, when it comes to business, the most active social media users are on LinkedIn so that is probably the best place to start.

Next, you should think about how much time you have. You may want to use all social media platforms available, but you may not have the time to maintain them all. Think about what you are trying to accomplish. If you want a lot of followers and a means of finding employees, LinkedIn would be the best place to go. LinkedIn is also a place where you can interact and have good conversations with your customers and followers.

How do you begin advertising through social media?

When you have decided which social media channels you want to use, you need to think about how you are going to begin advertising your business. The first thing you should do when you create a social media account is to join as a business. Most social media sites have rules about what can be posted on a personal social media page so make sure you don’t skip this step.

Advertising your business on social media relies on your ability to get people’s attention. You want your target audience to see your social media pages and think, “Hey, that’s cool. I want to take a closer look.” The first way to get attention is by knowing your target market so you can cater your posts towards the members of that target audience.

Once you know who your audience is, think again about what you are trying to accomplish. Are you simply trying to hold on to existing customers while maintaining your brand? Are you looking to connect with other businesses in your community? Or are you starting new and just trying to build up your company’s reputation? If you are trying to connect with other businesses, make sure that you are demonstrating your professionalism. If you are building your reputation and you are trying to connect with your customers, your posts will be less professional and more personalized.

Even if you don’t post something daily, you should connect with your followers every day by creating conversation. Ask questions and be prepared to answer questions in return. This way, you will know exactly what your customers want and how to focus your advertising.

What is the best time of day to post?

Every social media platform has its own times that are best for posting and it can give you a headache. First of all, it is important to know that 80% of the US population lives in the Central and Eastern Time zones. This is important to know because you want to post when the most people are online.

In general, the best time to post on social media channels is between 12 and 4 PM. If you are looking to connect with other businesses, you will want to post more during the work week. As a professional networking site, LinkedIn, in particular, has more engagement during the week. If you want to connect more with your customers, you will want to post more during the weekend when they are more available. Social media sites like Pinterest are a little trickier. Most Pinterest users are online during the relaxing hours of the day. For example, the best times to post or pin anything on Pinterest are on Saturdays from 8 to 11 PM, Fridays at around 3 PM, or any day from 2 to 4 AM and 2 to 4 PM.

How often should you post?

This too is dependent upon which social media channels you are using. Because of the set-up of Pinterest and Twitter, it is not a big deal to post multiple times a day. In fact, for Pinterest, you can post up to 5 times a day! In comparison, Twitter is lagging at only 3 times a day. 

For other platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, it is important not to post too much as it can become annoying. For all three, 1 post a day is great; 2 times a day at the very most. Doing this will keep your customers wanting more.

Now let’s take a second to speak about blogs. Blogs are altogether different from other social media platforms. A blog post every day can be too much. It takes time to read through a blog post and no one wants to read a novel every day. It is better to post only a few times a week in order to keep your followers engaged.

Should you only post business related topics, or should you post personal things as well?

There is much debate on this subject. Once again, it depends on the social media outlet you are using. Business pages on LinkedIn and Twitter don’t usually post anything too personal beyond company celebrations. LinkedIn is used mainly for networking and Twitter is typically used as a means of posting updates quickly for one’s followers. Other social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram are more suited to posting both business and personal information.

Some businesses will tell you that no matter what, you should never post anything personal on a business account. This generally makes sense with big corporations. However, when it comes to following personal or small businesses, they usually post both business and personal information to better connect with their customers. When you can create personal connections with your followers they will often become your most loyal customers. And let’s face it, when you are running your own business, often times your personal and professional life blends together anyway. Don’t be afraid to share exciting, funny, and behind-the-scenes moments of your business.

Conclusion

Advertising through social media can be daunting. There is much to learn and many businesses do not utilize the full power of social media in building their brand. It is new and sometimes a bit overwhelming but, the more you use social media, the easier it becomes.

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