Social media isn’t just where you share the images of your last restaurant meal and spring break photos. If you own a business or want to build your brand, social media can serve as a critical public relations tool to develop and manage your relationships and add to your bottom line — if you do it right.
Here at Send it Rising, a social media Las Vegas marketing firm, we present a few winning tips for transforming your social channels in a successful business-building tool.
Start with a Strategy
Which platforms are your target markets using? How are they engaging with one another? Every platform has its advantages and disadvantages. Become familiar with them and figure out where your prospective customers spend their time. Once you’ve narrowed down the social channels, invest time into learning how to best adapt your message to the platform and culture. The way people use social media is constantly changing, making it vital to revisit your strategy every 3-6 months.
Build Relationships
In the dinosaur days of public relations (before the internet and social media), you sent out a press release to launch a product, introduce a new hire, or put out a PR fire. Your audience consisted of the people who find your release and read it.
With social media, you need to step back. People no longer want a product with no story. Introduce yourself, meet people and start the conversation. When you gain a following and they become engaged with your brand, their loyalty will turn into some of your business’s biggest assets.
Listen as Much as You “Speak.”
Don’t just drop a post to your customers and call that relationship building. Just like in the real world, communicating is as much about listening as it is about speaking. Add to the conversations of others and encourage direct interaction.
This isn’t just the “nice” thing to do. When you fully engage, you encourage others to tell you what’s really on their minds. Sure, this might mean complaints about a defective product or poor customer service, but open communication allows you to directly reply to those unhappy consumers. When they see you care, they’re more likely to come back to your product.
Converse, Don’t Sell
No one like to be perpetually sold to. Your customers want to relate, not just have your latest must-have stuck in their faces. Remember storytelling is key. There are plenty of ways to subliminally incorporate products into your social media channels. Introduce your team behind the products, so followers can gain an understanding of your corporate culture. Start conversations, and ask what kind of products followers wish to see in the future.
Build Your Brand
This is social media’s main strength as a communications tool. In using words, images, sounds, and video, you can give your customers and prospects a full, enriching picture of you, your company and culture. Make sure that the way you communicate on your social media platforms is authentic and welcoming.
Reach out
As a leading SEO company in Las Vegas, we’ve watched companies evolve and brand themselves solely through social media. If you have any social media or digital marketing questions for your business, let us know! We’re happy to help and show you the path to social success.
