Promoting Your Business' Website With Social Media
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Showing off your online real estate. It’s the name of the game, really - bringing users to your digital garden of eden that they might bask in its glory and actuate where they ought to. Content, SEO, advertising, all of it is an answer to the question of how to get people to come visit. And yet few people acknowledge the considerable power of social media, probably because the platform(s) are considered child’s play. Let’s talk about why that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Social media. It’s a term sure to provoke collective groans from baby boomer businessman all across the globe. The skeptics of social’s power typically ask the same questions -
“Why does our company need social media accounts? We already have a website, isn’t that enough? What the hell is a social media manager?”
While having a modern and responsive website is a solid first step towards an online business presence, social media is a fantastic and practically necessary follow-up. What used to be an internet space reserved for college and university students is now the place for advertising, promotion, and all things marketing. However, there are still a number of commonly held misconceptions regarding social media’s value.
Social Media Misconceptions
Social platforms can be wrongfully interpreted as a nonessential business venture. Part of this has to do with how businesses spend their money. Social media doesn’t fit within a typical budget - should it be grouped with advertising spend, or marketing? Often it’s not even budgeted for, and some unlucky unpaid intern ends up being tasked with creating a social network from scratch. Not an ideal environment for any type of meaningful development.
Social media is also seen as an unquantifiable investment. There are many companies that would rather pay thousands of dollars for a physical billboard to promote their business than pay to have a professional social network. When you buy a billboard, you usually have a representative comfort you and reinforce just how many people will see your investment. It feels safe - you know what you’re getting. Social media doesn’t come with as much hand-holding, and is truly a “you get what you put into it” investment.
For some businesses a billboard makes sense. Geographically specific markets or an awareness of offline customer bases are two of many good reasons to sidestep digital. But, if you’re looking to invest in a platform that is scalable, modern, and infinitely more accessible than a really big sign, social media is an awesome avenue to pursue. Here’s why:
3 Reasons You Should Be Using Social
1. The Perfect Promotion Platform
Social media gives your business a venue unlike any other for promotion or awareness campaigns. This rings especially true for non-profits - the ALS ice bucket challenge was a perfect example of social media’s global reach. The campaign raised over 100 million for it’s cause, and even President Barak Obama got doused.
Small businesses and individuals can also benefit from an expertly crafted Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profile. Creators on the online ‘handmade marketplace’ Etsy can expect their craft to be promoted via Etsy’s social channels. With a following of 2.7 Million users, it can act as a catalyst for huge sales.
Humour goes a long way, too. Even though I don’t eat at Burger King every week, I’m always checking their twitter feed for a witty comment. I’m often left smiling, and craving #BuffaloChickenFries. Those villains.
2. Feedback
While it may seem like a double-edged sword, your social accounts are a fantastic place for customer feedback. Yes, not all of it will be good, but it’s better to be in a position to react to your customer’s dismay, rather than keep yourself in the dark.
For a Headspace-specific example, we once received a direct message through our Facebook regarding our local phone line. The sender informed us that our number was hitting a dead end, and kindly wanted to make sure we were aware. Although we didn’t end up securing their business, without their message we could have missed out on multiple prospectives due to a phone line bug.
3. SEO Value
Google knows all, and they are very aware of whether or not your business has social accounts. In fact, Google rewards you for regularly updated social accounts. Your business’ website will rank higher in search, and is likely to be served as an answer to more queries. It makes sense; Google only wants to promote websites that are modern and up-to-date. That means being active in a social capacity.
Using social media effectively
Social media can be a force to be reckoned with, but only when used properly. Simply having all the accounts linking back to your website won’t be enough - regular posting, publishing and maintenance is necessary. These channels iterate rapidly, and the next big thing can quickly become obsolete (I’m talking to you MySpace).
If you’re looking to take your social media game to the next level, I’d highly recommend these two websites to help you along the way.
Canva
What is it? Canva is a free to use design platform that’s built for social media gurus. It offers a host of backgrounds, fonts, photos and icons you can use to make interesting social media graphics. It also includes design templates that fit within certain social media restrictions, such as a twitter post or a Facebook cover photo.
While it’s very beginner-friendly, there’s a ton of complexity for regular Canvasers, and their design blog contains loads of useful tips. A lot of their image catalogue isn’t free, but there are enough to make Canva an absolute must for social media creatives. To help, you can always use photos downloaded from Unsplash!
Hootsuite
What is it? Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media management systems, and for good reason. Users can manage all of their business’ social media accounts through its easy to use dashboard. It’s a service that can be a godsend for a professional social media manager (or a team of them), but it’s not without its faults.
If you’re only managing your own business’ social pages, you’ll be able to operate for free within the platform and that can save you a lot time. It also sports many feature-rich analytics metrics, and should be everything you need to send a report to big guns upstairs.
Hopefully our social media walkthrough has been enough to get you off to a solid start. There are many social media platforms and all of them are changing constantly, which can seem daunting. Nevertheless, it’s a time investment that’s worth its weight. As a cherry on top, hit me up if you need any more tips.