By now, it has been established that the popularity of social media is here to stay, it isn’t just a fad. It will only evolve and adapt to the needs of its users. No one is untouched by its reach and that’s why it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to maintain a social presence. Whether you are an interior decorator, an architect or home improvement business, you need to be out there so your target audience gets a taste of what your brand is all about. The more views you receive the bigger your prospect list grows. Now, you must be wondering, “that’s all true, but how?” Let’s get started!
#1. Provide Information that Your Target Audience Wants
Simply putting up all the information you think is necessary won’t cut it. It has to be useful and interesting enough for your audience to engage. Don’t focus it on selling, but on building an audience base. You can provide useful links and even interact with them. Users will often ask questions about your product or service, responding to these individually can make your viewers feel like you care about them, in turn making them feel more included to pick you over competitors.
You can also engage with other people’s social media posts. Always remember: Anyone can be a potential customer. This type of engagement will help you gain new followers and introduce your brand to more people.
#2. Help Your Followers Visualize Your Brand Promise
The beauty of social media is its versatility in terms of content. You can post and share anything ranging from links, articles, pictures, gifs, and videos. You can get creative, put up before/after pictures of your project, DIY videos or simply provide links to videos they might find useful. If you have a large customer base, you can even do live tours of your bigger projects.
But, always keep a preferred audience in mind when you post. If you are targeting home owners, you need to post information relevant to home improvements. Highlighting your commercial projects won’t do much help.
#3. Widen Your Business Reach
There are many ways to increase your follower base. You can track trends your users are following and provide related information. Or, you can personify your brand by sharing business-related information. Tit-bits about day-to-day activities, product updates, team details, awards and recognition received etc.
Another simple way to increase your follower base on multiple platforms is to personally send them details and links of the other mediums you are present on. Every medium has their advantages and disadvantages. Maintaining a presence on two or more platforms best preferred by your customer base broadens your horizons in terms of creativity which in turn keeps your followers interested.
#4. Carefully Select Your Platform(s)
Social Media can open up a whole new world of possibilities, making it a fantastic resource for businesses of all sizes. Most platforms are free to use and have the option of paid promotions which can be customized to target your preferred audiences. But, just because multiple platforms are available, doesn’t mean your business needs to utilize each and every one of them. It is important to choose a platform that suits you’re the social media strategy.
Every platform caters to a different kind of audience, so as a business owner, you need to carefully study your audiences in order to pick the most appropriate platform. For instance, a home improvement business owner notices that her DIY videos and before after transformation pictures were met with the best response. Therefore, she chose to make develop content for Youtube, Facebook and Instagram as these platforms as best known for sharing videos and images. You don’t need to have a killer strategy if you are simply able to narrow down which platform works best for you and your business.
Although, bear in mind, social media can quickly turn into a double edged sword if you don’t do the appropriate amount of research and planning. Every platform has its USP which have rules and regulations to ensure there is no misuse of the platform. They are constantly developing their platform from and this requires every user to keep them updated. And, when you own a business, you have to be even more careful because even a slight chance in rules, may drastically alter your content plans. So, always be in the known and embrace such changes for a more successful result!
#5. Promotional Activities
Once you get the hang of your platform, come the next step – running social media marketing promotions. It is an excellent way to keep your current followers coming back for more and also get them to promote your business. You can create quizzes, run contests and polls or even invite followers to share their home improvement stories in return for small discounts or freebies. The trick is to make the reward seem achievable. This makes sure your followers are always on the lookout for similar promotions and will also share it among their circles.
#6. Creating New Business Avenues
Another brilliant advantage of social media is networking. Many interior designers face difficulties when it comes to finding, sourcing agents, contractors etc. With social media, you can network through groups, events basically anything that aids you in making professional connections as per your business needs. You can also partner with related businesses, share each other’s content, links, information, and promote them which also help you tap into a whole new follower base.
And there you have it. Social media isn’t as overwhelming as it is made out to be. These tips are easy to implement and doesn’t take up much of your day. And who knows, with all the posts and interactions you’ll have going on, it might just become your inspiration bank.
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