How Social Media Will Help Your Small Business Blossom

With all the technology available these days, ignoring social media services is a big mistake for any business owner. Social media has changed the way we communicate in all aspects whether it’s with friends, family or business professionals. It’s important to know how to use social media services to boost traffic to your website, create more awareness or simply just to connect with others. Another thing to keep in mind is to know your audience. The Guardian said it well, “If you try to speak to too many you will end up speaking to no one.” Since social media is a two way street, customer feedback is a great way to engage with audiences and build relationships. Here are the necessary steps that are needed to be taken in order to increase your business audience.

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Step 1. Build and Maintain Your Online Reputation

How people in your industry view you is incredibly important. For a company to maintain a respectable reputation on social media is as important as maintaining a credible reputation when you were a teenager in high school. It’s smart to pay attention to what is being said about you and/or your company. If there is false information or any problems floating around on social media about your company, it’s best to comment and respond with helpful information as soon as possible.

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Step 2. Draw In Prospective Clients

 Social media is the place for companies to take advantage of gaining attention and standing out from other competitors. It’s incredibly useful to use creativity and strategy in order to engage and inspire future clients. When responding to your audience on social media, it’s nice to take interest in prospective clients and make sure to stay “real” when responding to their comments and questions. This will attract potential clients and increase the volume of your audience.

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Step 3. Connect With Fellow Business Professionals

In the world of online business, it’s beneficial to network with others in your industry. By taking the time to connect and comment on their posts, you build friendships and reciprocity. By giving others attention and following their posts, they will do the same in return which will increase followers and build relationships.

Step 4. Broaden Your Marketing Efforts

Don’t be afraid to branch out. Traditionally, there are several different outlets for marketers to connect to. By combining PR abilities, online advertising and social media, you’re essentially taking the old traditional way of marketing and applying it online which will boost your business.

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Step 5. Save Time and Money

There are websites such as HootSuite and Social Sprout that allows you to post on multiple social media servers all at once. This will help you and your company save countless hours by not having to log in and out of Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  It’s good to have a strategy so you can save time and money.

Step 6. Attract People to Your Website/Blog

If you are unfamiliar with Google Ad Words, keywords, or tags, it’s time to do some research. It’s important to understand what keywords and phrases your company can use in order to attract attention to your business. It’s recommended to incorporate newsletters, blog posts in addition to your company’s website. Something else to keep in mind is that content is everything. The higher quality of the content, the more attention and feedback you will receive. High quality content needs to provide up to date information and should consist of topics that are interesting enough to engage targeted audiences and attract businesses and clients.

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Step 7. Maintain Relationships

Nurturing professional relationships with clients is just as important as maintaining relationships with family and friends. Whether they are past or present clients, keeping a strong rapport with them will build connections which will be beneficial in the future for you and your company.

In addition, It’s important to know how you want people to view your company. Remember that once something is posted on social media, it stays there, so be sure to brand your company carefully. Know who you are reaching out to. By recognizing your audience, you will have a better way to attract specific viewers.  Any business owner should be taking advantage of social media and how it can benefit businesses. When used correctly, businesses will be able to save money on marketing costs, gain feedback and most of all build a community. It’s important to be heard, therefore it is highly recommended to not only get on one social media service, but consider using all of them for example Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

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