{"id":14701,"date":"2021-01-04T13:17:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-04T13:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sanctuarymg.com\/academy\/?p=14701"},"modified":"2022-05-12T10:14:13","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T14:14:13","slug":"intro-to-social-media-for-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sanctuarymg.com\/academy\/social-media\/intro-to-social-media-for-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Social Media for Businesses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a business owner who is relatively inexperienced with new digital marketing<\/a> tactics, it\u2019s easy to feel overwhelmed with the idea of creating and building up a social media<\/a> presence for your company. Where do you start? What\u2019s the goal? How will you get there? While these questions do clearly depend on the type of business you are running, the benefits of amplified traffic to your website are undeniable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your goals are to increase sales, improve customer conversations, grow your brand presence or define your brand\u2019s social identity, then social media is a great place to start. Let\u2019s review how you can take advantage of some of the world-popular social media platforms and grow your business in order to reach your long-term goals for growth and success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Very Basics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The great thing about social media is that it\u2019s free and easy to get started. Most businesses will opt to begin by setting their business up on the four main platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn) and expand from there once a reliable social media strategy is in place (perhaps onto Pinterest or YouTube). If you already have accounts set up, you can still benefit from what\u2019s to come and potentially optimize what you\u2019re doing already!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some quick tips for establishing your business across social media platforms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Usernames Are Important<\/strong> – Your first step should be to create accounts across the platforms under usernames that are very similar, whether they be your company\u2019s exact name or a minor but recognizable deviation that is available across all of the platforms. The reason for doing this is so that when a potential customer types your brand into Google, all of your social media will show up in the same place. It also just helps reduce confusion for people so they can be sure they\u2019re following the right company.<\/li>
  2. The Look of Your Profiles Matters<\/strong> – The next step you should take is establishing a visual branding strategy across social media platforms, from profile pictures to about us statements, mission statements, connections and more. You should also consider the types of content you\u2019re posting on each platform and how it will make your page look overall when someone first discovers you. This is especially important on Instagram where all your images are displayed in a grid format on your profile page.<\/li>
  3. Breathe Some Life Into Your Accounts<\/strong> – Setting up a social media calendar that lays out the types of posts you\u2019ll create and when you\u2019ll post them helps keep you on track with organic social posting. It\u2019s important to post on a regular basis at least a few times a week so that your profiles look lively and relevant. Content types include blog post shares, images, videos, customer reviews and more.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Identifying Your Social Audience & Target Markets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If you own a successful business the chances are that you have already established your target market, but now you have to translate that into the world of social media and figure out how to reach your target market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To help our clients more precisely target potential customers, we often put together an affinity list that collects information about your audience\u2019s interests such as magazines, blogs, social groups and more. We then find those things on Facebook and collect the users who are following those interests into groups we can advertise to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Drive Engagement with Communication<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    In the digital marketing world, you can think about social engagement almost as if it were a gathering of friends for a dinner party. You\u2019ll have the opportunity to greet your social audience, a chance to get to know their interests and a chance to share a bit of information about your company. But you have to keep them interested or they\u2019ll get sleepy and want to go home! In other words, you have to actually put a little effort into your social media presence in order to, well, have that presence. Here are a few ways to drive engagement and show that you are engaged, too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n