Is Your Business On Social Media?
Posted by Catherine Christianson on
Don’t Fall Off the Grid
Why is Social Media important? Because that is where a significant percentage of consumers are now shopping for products and services. If you’re not on the social media platform and using it in the best way you can, your business could lose potential customers. Luckily, social media platforms like Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are all user-friendly and intuitive. Here are some basic ‘Social Media 101’ tips that can help you navigate the social media landscape.Management
After setting up your pages, which is incredibly easy to do, the next step is management. Your pages will require some regular monitoring, posting, and sharing. Appoint someone to both share and create new content for your pages weekly or biweekly. What you don’t want to do is set up a page and let it become stagnant. Posting regularly will increase your brand’s awareness as well as improve your website’s ranking and ‘appeal’ on search engines like Google or Bing. Statistically, customers who can find your business on social media are more likely to buy what you’re selling. Consumers want to put a ‘social-media-face’ to the name, so to speak.Gaining Followers
After establishing your pages, your initial followers should come from your existing client base and your staff. They are already part of your squad! They will be the first people to share the page with their friends, further expanding your network. Don’t be afraid to ask, “Please share our page with your friends and family!” After tapping your existing connections, search and follow other pages & users who align with your brand identity.Give Your Followers What They Want
What do you post on your accounts every day? Some use the “80-20 rule.” Basically you want most of your content (80% for example) to be informative or educational. The posts should teach your followers something new or interesting, relevant, and engaging. The 20% is reserved for promotions and sales-oriented posts. If all your posts were designed only to promote and sell products or services, your followers would quickly dwindle. The need for new, interesting content is key to keeping your current followers happy as well as gaining followers in the future. You should aim at providing some sort of ‘value’ in order to win a spot on a user’s newsfeed.Imagery
Not only can a picture illustrate 1,000 words, but statistically speaking- social media posts are rated more engaging and shared more frequently when the post contains an image. In the world of skincare, pictures are priceless, and client testimonials are gold. If you can get the approval to share their story, you may consider using it in your marketing in a strategic way. Before and after pictures are extremely valuable tools as well. A client should be able to reflect on the visible differences from a service, if possible.
However, not all posts have to contain client images, and for confidentially reasons- you may not want to include them at all. In that case, choose photos that align with your brand’s identity- photos that are inspiring and will make clients want to visit your office. Depending on the unique identity of your business, images may reflect professionalism, tranquility, escape or luxury for example.
Ask and You Shall Receive
Another great way to find out what is effective with your specific followers is to ask. For example, you may say, “What type of content do you most enjoy on our page? Comment below!” to gather some instant, valuable feedback. Polls are also a great way to engage followers. Twitter is a popular forum for quick-polls, and Facebook has an option to create “quizzes” for your page.
Next, “How to Gracefully Include Skin Care into Your Practice”
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