Social media marketing can be an effective way for your business to grow without spending a lot of money. But you need a tailored approach if you want to make the most of this type of marketing because there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
So how should you implement social media strategies without spending a fortune? Here are some tips to getting the best return from your efforts.
Use Social Media for Customer Service
How to Achieve Better Social Media Integration for Your Site
One of the best ways to use social media affordably while making a big impact to your business is to use your social channels to provide customer service.
Customer service is one of the most important ways to grow your business. Providing your customers with great customer service encourages them to buy from you again and increases the likelihood that they will become brand advocates and recommend you to their friends.
Even if you provide options for customers to contact you on your website via email or live chat, consider using social media as well.
The advantage of this is that people are using social media regularly. Your customers may have an issue that they want resolving, and you can allow them to contact you and receive help without ever having to leave their chosen social sites.
This makes it easier for them and improves your overall customer support, and it is also cost effective because it doesn’t cost anything to communicate with your customers on social media.
Keep an Eye on Your Online Reputation
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Another way to make great use of social media is to keep an eye on your online reputation.
It’s likely that your brand is getting mentioned in all kinds of places online, including reviews, blog comments, and on social media. Sometimes these are positive mentions, but sometimes they will be negative
You can use social media to respond to both positive and negative comments promptly, either by saying thank you to happy customers or by offering to provide a solution to any difficulties they are facing.
You can use a specialist reputation management tool for this (discover ChatMeter today for one great option), and you can then use this to improve your reputation, provide better support to your customers, and show that you genuinely care about your customers and their experiences with your brand.
Create and Share Content that Engages
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Another great way to take full advantage of social media without worrying about the expense is to create and share valuable content that engages your target customers.
People go on social media to stay informed and be entertained, and you can get involved in this by creating content that they actually want to read.
If you continue to create content that provides value, more people will share it and spread the word about your business. Your content may even go viral if you get it right (and get a little bit of luck), giving your brand awareness a huge boost.
Experiment with different types of content. For example, you could explore live video and see if you can succeed with this. Live video like Facebook Live shows a more honest representation of your business, which many people like to see these days.
Enjoy Great ROI from Highly Targeted Ads
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Finally, don’t forget to explore the possibility of using paid social. While this involves an upfront cost that content creation and customer service does not, it is still worth experimenting with.
Social advertising provides advanced targeting options that you can’t find anywhere else. Facebook especially provides some fantastic options for targeting the exact people you want to reach.
You can create an advertising campaign without spending much money. And you will keep full control over your budget, only spending as much as you want to.
So it makes sense to try it out by starting small. See how you get on with advertising on social networks, and you may find that the ROI is excellent.
Build a Strong Social Presence
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There are many great reasons for using social media marketing for your business. You can grow your audience, build a community, direct targeted traffic to your website, and increase brand awareness all at the same time, and that’s just the start.
Done well, social media marketing does not have to cost a lot. You can see great ROI using paid ads, and even small businesses can enjoy great results with very little investment.
So get your social profiles set up, get involved in the conversation, and stay active. Then you too can take advantage of better social media marketing for your business.
Natasha Mason works as a marketing consultant and shares her tips and thoughts online with her articles. Outside of work she is recently married and confesses to being a bit of a fitness freak!