Let’s be honest. The day you realized that the hair salon next to your house had a profile on YouTube and that even your mother took advantage of a promotion because she had seen it on Facebook, you started to wonder: maybe the time has come… And me, what? How can I promote my business through social networks?
At first it seems like an easy task, but we better tell you that it is not as easy as it seems. Yes, it is easy to open a business page on Facebook, or fill out a Twitter profile. Now: how many businesses do you know that have a page abandoned to their fate on Facebook? How many profiles do you know that barely reach fifty followers? They are examples of a lack of planning and a bad strategy in social networks. And the experts already say it: in terms of your online reputation , it is worse to have an empty page on Facebook than not to have one buy facebook comments.
To start promoting your business through social networks you must have a very clear strategy, a plan and time to develop it. To begin with, however, it will be good for you to know the main social networks. We give you a small summary of the main ones:
Facebook
It is the social network that is most used and with the most users. It allows you to reach a large number of people, and it is quite easy to create a page. It also allows you to stay up to date with customer behavior, as well as create content and promotions easily.
Twitter
It is a network that allows you to be up to date, especially in terms of news of general or specific interest. It has a limited number of characters, but precisely because of that it is much more dynamic. It must be said that it is a social network that is very fashionable.
Google+
a very complete social network, which has gone beyond the very concept of a social network, combining different services, including recommendations, video, chat and group messaging. By classifying our contacts into circles, it allows us to share different information depending on the type of client.
LinkedIn
It is the most reputable professional social network. As we explain in this article , it is a network from which all types of businesses can greatly benefit through the creation of a company page with which to promote activities, talk about its members, etc.
Tuenti
Those companies that target a younger audience should not have to hesitate when creating a profile on this social network. Through it you can also create events and upload photographs and videos.
Youtube
Speaking of videos, it is the video social network par excellence. If you have a video marketing strategy, don’t think twice and upload your creations. It also helps you position yourself very well on Google.
instagram
If the image is powerful for our company, we cannot forget about this social network, which allows us to share creative photographs with followers. They can also be tagged according to the topic, and it is a means that also allows you to hold contests and encourage participation.
Pinterest
Another social network based on image, which has more and more followers in the world thanks to its philosophy: it connects people through their tastes and hobbies. Its simple mechanism also helps: users share images and multimedia content on a board and classify them by subject.
Social networks appear almost every day, and there are more specific ones, but now you have an idea of which ones are the main ones. Now we will give you five basic tips applicable to your social media strategy:
Study well which social networks your potential clients or members of your community have a profile on. Find them and invite them to participate.
Be active: reply to all comments, invite your entire community to join and generate interaction.
Take advantage of social networks to drive traffic to your website. But without abusing it.
Don’t use your profile or page exclusively to talk about your business: you could cause rejection. Share valuable information for your followers.
Encourage participation. Contests on Facebook or Instagram, mentions to your followers on Twitter… There are a good handful of strategies. Choose the best one for your business, load your strategy and go ahead!