Like it or not, social media is here to stay, and for businesses that want to thrive in the 21st century it should remain to be a core component of your marketing strategy. But contrary to how some companies use social media, you should do more than simply post funny cat pictures or share memes that are somewhat industry-specific. There’s an actual art to it, and it all revolves around engaging with customers. You can do this in a variety of ways.

Show Off Your Brand

Pictures have always been a part of any social media strategy, but one of the most useful things you can do with those images is to give your followers a behind-the-scenes look into your business and what makes you unique. Show them the inside of your operations, do a meet-and-greet with various members of your staff, or do a Facebook live question and answer session where you interact with the customers directly. It’s a zero-cost, fully-immersive strategy that gives your customers a glimpse into who you are.

Don’t forget to produce actual videos that will help tell the story of how you came to be. There’s a reason your business exists in the first place; don’t be afraid to share that with your audience.

Share Relevant Content

This is one of the cornerstones of any kind of social media strategy because it can be automated and because you can share resources that they will find important. This is a great way to drive traffic to your blog posts, which in turn helps with SEO. Just make sure that your content actually answers consumer issues too, instead of just random articles that have little bearing on your business. Resist the temptation to over-post as well, which can come off as spammy and annoying. The key here is to share relevant content that you can start a conversation with. Allow various members of your staff to interact with the comments below the post, answering questions and providing further assistance.

Tag Other Influencers

Since social media is, by its very nature, social, utilize the opportunity to tag people that you either quoted in your article or key members of your audience that might want to engage with the content. This works particularly well if you have a guest blog that you’re promoting on social media; tagging them in the post allows their network to interact with your post as well. Reach out to influencers that either contributed to or are related to your content too for an extra boost in visibility (make sure that you email them first to make sure or it may create a backlash).

Engage With Complaints

Social media affords customers a unique way to voice their opinion on products and services in a way that other people can (and will) relate to. When you receive compliments, be gracious in your response; when you receive complaints – which is inevitable – respond to them in an equally gracious way. Address their issues and respond in such a way that builds customer trust rather than tears it down. Furthermore, use social media as a tool to help with responding to reviews that people may leave. You won’t be able to respond to every single one, but if someone raises a legitimate issue with your business, make sure you respond.

Use a Scheduler

There is an optimal time to post on social media for every industry and for every demographic that you hope to reach. Sharing content during these time slots helps further your reach since most of your target audience will be online at that point in time, but trying to do so manually can be a major headache and is wildly inconsistent. Instead, use a scheduler to automate your content and post to your various social media outlets without you having to do each one individually. Not only will it save time, but it’ll help you reach the widest audience possible. Make sure to use a consistent voice with all your content and your statuses in advance as well, or else people will have a hard time identifying with your brand.

Using social media in your business doesn’t have to be difficult, but it is necessary if you want to stay ahead of the competition in 2018. By implementing a few tips, however, you make sure that your audience sees the real you instead of a company that appears and feels robotic.

Resources:

Entrepreneur | The 4 Essentials to Building Your Brand on Social Media

UpWork | How to Create Content That’s Both Relevant and Evergreen

Social Media Online Classes | The Ultimate Guide to Social Media Tagging

Podium Online Reviews | Why Online Reviews Matter To Your Business

Post Planner | How to Schedule Social Media Posts Like a Pro