Establishing Your Social Media Profiles
In Social Media Marketing For Your Business: Part 1 we introduced you to social media and the available networks. In part 2 we’re going to discuss branding your profiles and getting started with content.
Branding Your Social Media Account
Here are some basics to branding your social media profiles:
- Profile Photo – Have a profile photo that is eye catching and related to your business.
- Logo – Include your logo within your profile so that your profile is immediately recognizable.
- Customize Your Profile – Customize your theme with a custom background, header, or profile colors.
- Descriptive Info – Fill out any “About Us” sections or description areas so that people get an introduction to, and summary of your business.
Posting On Your Social Media Accounts
After you have created and customized your accounts, you may be wondering… “What do I do now?”. The purpose of your accounts is to connect to people and spread the word about your business, so here are some examples of the kinds of posts that create success in social media campaigns:
- Company News & Events – Keep people up to date with what’s going on with your business, promote any events you’re taking part in, encourage people to take interest in your company as a whole. Have new members been added to your staff? Has your business received any awards? Have you opened a new location? Are you going to be appearing at a community event? These are the kinds of things that help people “get to know” your business, which can help build trust, and set yourself apart from your competitors.
- Deals, Sales, Coupons, Discounts – Promoting any kind of deals, sales, discounts or coupons on social media is a great way to attract new customers and clients. Saving money, or being offered something “extra”, is often the little bit of encouragement that turns potential customers and clients into actual customers and clients. These opportunities can also encourage customers who have maybe drifted away to come back, and if you offer various deals on a regular basis, they can keep people coming back. Your social media accounts are a great way to get the news out about your deals, and a great way for people to share them with others.
- Website Updates, Blog & Article Postings – Has your website had a redesign or a new addition? Let people know. Are you blogging regularly? Post notices about all your new articles and blog postings. Your social media accounts should eventually bring people back around to your business website.
- Industry News & Events – There are many companies that post and tweet and reblog about anything and everything to try to draw attention. While this may draw in people to some extent, it can water down your message, and your brand can get lost in the abundance of information. It’s good to periodically post about and discuss things that are happening in the world around you, but it’s most effective to a. stay focused on topics that relate to your business and industry, and b. make sure you use these types of posts to bring the topic of discussion back around to your company.
Part 3
Now that we’ve discussed establishing your social networks, check back next Monday for “Social Media Marketing For Your Business: Part 3”, where will go over some tips for interacting on social media.