It used to happen in beauty and barber shops around the globe. “You need a good mechanic? Oh! You should try Johnny’s Auto Shop on the corner. Word of mouth marketing has been around as long as there have been people talking.
Nowadays, we don’t need to be in the physical presence of someone to benefit from the power of social networking. We have the Internet! Whether it’s Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn or Pinterest, savvy businesses understand the power of using social media to connect with customers.
Here are four tips for using social media to bring people to your business.
-
Don’t Hard Sell
Most people don’t use social media as part of the purchasing decision. It’s not about “selling,” per se. Instead, focus on establishing a relationship and creating interesting, relevant material that people want to know. Here are some things that you can post that do just that.
- Highlights of employees’ successes
- New trends in the industry
- Holiday related messages
- Personal anecdotes that are heartwarming or funny.
-
Start a Blog
It may seem like something that is too time consuming, but writing a blog and then re-posting it is one of the best ways to establish an online presence for your business. Here are four benefits to blogging.
- Drives traffic to your website
- Increases your SEO/ SERP
- Positions your brand as an industry leader
- Develops better customer relationships
-
Keep it Relevant
One of the most important ways to help search engines find your business is to use relevant keywords in your posts and blogs. You don’t have to worry about becoming a SEO wizard. If you’re keeping the content relevant to your business, those keywords will appear organically. If you’re a veterinarian, for example, and post and blog about animal care, then keywords such as “flea control” and “vaccination” are likely to appear in your writing. In fact, organic search engine optimization is even more effective than trying to cram many keywords awkwardly into each sentence. Search engines like Google count that against you, anyway.
-
Trade Links
One way to “double up” on the visibility of your social media efforts is to trade links with others who have related businesses. If you’re a wedding DJ, offer to write a guest blog on the website of a wedding planner, complete with a link to your business. Actively post content on the social media pages related to the entire wedding industry.
In all, there’s a reason it’s called “social” media. It’s about making social connections that ultimately circle back to your business.