Growing a Business Through Social Media

Whether it be for business or personal use, social media is fast becoming recognised for the marketing opportunities it presents for any size business. Be it a small local trades service, e-commerce site, or large scale company, with the majority of people spending more and more time on their social apps, we cannot ignore the fact that there is a great potential for businesses to embrace.

So what exactly is this potential? What is social media for business all about?

This is a great question and one that can be answered in just a few short paragraphs.

Put simply, social media offers businesses a space to stay connected with their clients and customers. To keep them up to date with the latest happenings and share useful information whilst interacting with and nurturing healthy relationships in their online community. Essentially this is what social media is all about, however there is also the practical elements we need to be on top of.

With the major social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Linked In and Twitter, evolving so rapidly, it is important for businesses to keep up to date in order to be on the front foot in building their online presence. This means assigning someone in-house to look after their social media accounts, seeking professional support when needed to ensure they stay on game. The old saying if you don’t use it, you lose it, truly does apply to social media.

Another aspect that is important for businesses is to educate themselves on how the social algorithms work for each of the platforms they are using. This is crucial in order to learn how to best reach their followers online. With the changes to the algorithms now working against business pages, it can be difficult to reach a good percentage of your followers unless your page has very high engagement levels that will naturally place your posts higher in the algorithm rankings.

So how do we achieve those ‘high’ engagement levels you ask?

Good engagement requires consistency. Not only in the amount of time you put into your social media posting, but a consistency in the quality in which your business operates, both online and off. I personally find businesses that have a genuine feel to their sharing on social media, as opposed to those that use the standard push sales tactics, are the ones I tend to engage more with.

Then of course there is ‘realness’. Being real simply means being honest and transparent, and being yourself, and there is nothing more inviting then a business that lives this. Fullstop! It is the most genuine way in which a business can operate.

Lastly, but certainly not least, it doesn’t hurt for businesses to keep their approach light and playful on social media. Siriously! Have a little fun with it. Social Media doesn’t have to feel like a task or chore, and once this is realised, the skies the limit on what this medium can offer your business in terms of growth and success.