Does it surprise you to learn Australian Businesses have failed to embrace online opportunities, particularly when using social media has become one of the most accepted methods of marketing management? Is it pure complacency or is there a fear factor involved? It’s a little bit of both. Social media can be daunting for small businesses but whilst common sense propels us through the doors to enjoy the entertainment why not use it for marketing purposes?
1. First Things First
Look, even if you absolutely detest the thought of using social media for marketing campaigns, at least claim your name. Open up a free account with Facebook and Google+ and claim your name and whilst you’re at it, claim the name of your business. There is nothing more frustrating than having your name or part of it used on another media platform some times for other tasteless purposes when all it takes is a few moments to create a valuable account that is absolutely free. You can thank me later, but even if you do nothing with the page, at least your name is safe and cannot be taken from you.
Let’s assume, however, that you’d like to give social media a chance to prove itself. Let’s assume that you’re eager to get started in this proven to be an exciting, valuable exercise called marketing.
2. What Tone of Voice are You Projecting?
Before doing anything you need to get a grip on your brand, what you want to promote, what your niche is and how you want to be heard when all is said and done.
- What are you trying to achieve?
- Who is your target audience?
- Are you looking for subscribers for your blog?
- What are you offering?
- Are you going to solve common problems?
- Do you want to generate new leads?
Once you’ve got each of the above points clear in your game plan, you need then to decide if Facebook ads belong in your marketing strategy.
- Do you have an existing website?
- Do you have an eCommerce store
- Do you have an email list?
- Are you able to create content about your business?
3. Let’s Assume You’re Ready To Begin Your Campaign
Your content is your gateway to introduce yourself and warm up a cold audience. You want to provide free and valuable content. You’ll want that same content to entertain, educate or inspire and motivate your target audience. Your ideal client is waiting to hear what you have to say about you, about your business and what it is you have to offer. Use videos and blog posts to provide that information. Using Facebook ads and marketing via email gives you twice the effect when customers find your message in their inbox while they’re scrolling through Facebook.
4. Engaging People Who Interact with Your Ads
Consider installing the Facebook Pixel on your website. When a potential customer visits your site you’ll be able to re-target them which is another strategy that is often overlooked. When you use the Facebook pixel and conversion tracking you can then easily figure out who your custom audience is, how long they stayed on your site and what calls of action they took.
Page engagement custom audiences give you the opportunity to target those who have recently interacted with your Facebook page. Facebook can cleverly ‘clone’ your existing audience by creating a lookalike audience. Facebook takes the specific data from an audience that you specify and then uses that information to find similar people. If you’re interested in further information, this step-by-step article explains lookalike audiences and how there are four different types you can use when you launch your next ad campaign.
5. Listen to What People are Saying
Don’t rush in where angels fear to tread is an adage that can guide you on a trip-free journey through Facebook advertising. Don’t start spruiking your brand and content until you’ve heard what people are talking about. There are several ways to find out what the topics are that your brand has something to say and offer to. Have a stroll through Twitter Hashtags and WhatHashtag to find out what’s happening after you’ve supplied a keyword like #SMEsocial media. The last thousand tweets relating to your keyword will then be sorted by popular hashtags by frequency and then you’re able to grab the most relevant.
If you’re fond of Google Alerts, then Mention might be your go to for personal and client mentions. You have 500 results generated per month for three keywords for free. If you require broader usage the premium service begins at $19.99 per month.
Social media can be complicated at best and it’s possible that things can go wrong so it is advisable to have a backup plan just in case. If something does go wrong and you’ve made a mistake, remember firstly, everyone does at some point or another. Just acknowledge it, be respectful and honest. Your integrity isn’t worth the compromise. Apologise if you’re at fault. It’s very effective. Then do something once you understand the cause of the problem. Fix whatever went wrong with an honest approach and let your customers know you’re onto it. Their appreciation will be payment in the long term.
6. Make Audience Engagement a Priority
Whilst listening to your audience, take every opportunity you can to engage them. Giving them something to come back for is what you’re after. You engage in person to person conversation and the rules apply here on social media. When someone leaves a comment, respond immediately and use their name when you’re addressing them. Let them know you heard what they said. Acknowledge people who share your posts by reacting (like or love button) on the shared post. You appreciate their share, let them know it.
And Now, It’s Over To You. Just utilising some or all of the above tips will get you travelling toward a significant increase in the organic reach of your posts. And one more thing before I go, when you post a link to your blog, don’t just post a link; it’s difficult to get an organic reach with just a link post.
If you add an image from your blog post as a visual treat instead, then insert the link in the status update, you’ll post as an image which in turn is rewarded with better organic reach. And better than that, when you post native videos with the same process, you’ll be interested how the reach triples.