Marketing & Sales

8 Tips on Using Social Media to Advertise Your Business Online

Written by Felix Yim

Running a business is hard work. There is a never-ending list of things that you must do to keep your business running smoothly and successfully. Seeking out new customers and clients is one of the big challenges that most businesses face, and this task takes up valuable time. If a company isn’t constantly sourcing new business then it’s doomed to failure.

Studies show that the average person now spends more than two hours a day on social media. That is an unprecedented amount of time to market and advertise your business to potential clients for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional media marketing on the TV, radio and newspapers. Keep reading to learn about our favourite tips and tricks on how to manage your business’s social media presence for optimal customer engagement.

Make social media a priority

Social media is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes. It allows you to both advertise and dynamically engage with customers. As the nature of social media is interaction, customers are likely to be discouraged and will form a negative impression of your brand if a social media profile feels unengaging. A social media presence that isn’t a focus or priority can often be more damaging to a business than not having a presence at all.

Put a personality behind the page

The keyword in social media is social. Your social media profile shouldn’t be thought of as a billboard for your business. Instead, it should be more like a sale rep greeting and engaging with customers as they come through the door. A good social media page has personality. People are much more likely to interact with something personal than a static corporate billboard.

Experiment with different types of content

Different people seek out social media for different reasons and use it in different ways. Some people only check it once every couple of days, mostly to see updates from friends and family, others are on hourly, sharing things they find interesting, commenting, and engaging, while most people fall somewhere in the middle. Developing the right type of content strategy is a fine balance. Experiment with different types of content and engagement to see what best works best for your business.\

Measure engagement

Another great thing about social media is that it allows you to monitor and measure engagement in near real-time. Real-time engagement feedback is a powerful tool, enabling you to tweak, tailor, and revise content strategies and tactics from the moment the campaign goes live. Analytics are only useful if you look at them, though. You should constantly measure engagement and make adjustments to your straegy whenever necessary.

Read follower feedback

One of the great things about social media is that it not only allows you to advertise effectively, it also facilitates real time communication and feedback with customers. Don’t treat a social media profile as a ‘fire-and-forget’ advertising method; be active and follow up on postings and messages to get valuable feedback from your customers.

Have a budget for promoting the page

A lot of businesses think social media is free advertising (minus the cost of staff to maintaining the page). The truth is that while social media can be much more cost-effective than traditional advertising methods, it may still require some expenditure. Before launching into complex social media plans and strategies, allocate a reasonable social media marketing budget.

Have a north star

Social media campaigns rarely benefit from a scattered approach. If you have a clear direction and focus, a north star, you can use it to guide all your strategies and tactics. Once you have a north star to focus on, you’ll be able to follow the latest social trends to boost engagement without losing focus of your core strategy.

Stick to your commitment when results don’t come

One of the downsides of social media is that some campaigns are simply going to be unsuccessful even when you do everything right. Unfortunately, that is the nature of benefitting from direct communication with your customers. The important thing to remember is the failure of a campaign doesn’t mean social media should be written off. Stay committed to your strategy and it will pay off in the long-run.

Social media differs from traditional marketing channels in that it requires an active presence. Once a TV or print ad has been made, it airs or circulates largely without further input. Conversely, social media requires a constant management presence. The direct nature of social media means that you will be interacting with potential clients constantly. What’s important to remember is that social media is much more fluid than traditional marketing. The tips in this guide layout a core framework for a good social media strategy. Keeping them in mind when making and developing your social media strategies is sure to put you on the path to success.

“The opinions expressed by BizWitty Contributors are their own, not those of BizCover and should not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice. Please read our full disclaimer."

About the author

Felix Yim

Felix is a young aspiring design student. Having recently graduated from university with a finance degree, Felix actually found his calling in interior design and aspires to have a career in the industry. In his spare time, he likes to write for his supercar blog.