Because of the flexibility and convenience that the Internet provides, most people are starting a business online. Other people buy and sell products or services online because all they need to do is to sit in front of the computer, turn it on, and browse on the Internet. Customers choose to buy stuff on the Internet because of fast transaction than going out and visiting the store or company.
Well, if you own an online business, you need to do online marketing to make it grow. You know lots of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can create your account on each of those and use them for online marketing.
Using social networking sites can help you make your business grow and earn more money. Social networking sites can also be a big help to make your website visible on search results because they can drive traffic to your website.
Roel Manarang shared about the things you should add to your social media marketing campaigns that you should check to learn how to run a successful social media campaign.
Always remember that in every business, you have competitors, and they also do everything just to make their business grow forward. If you already know how to use some social networking sites, you might want to know some effective strategies that you can use to beat your competitors.
You know that Facebook is one of the leading social media platforms nowadays. You should be aware that your competitors are using Facebook as well. If you already know all the features of Facebook, then below list can help you learn great strategies on improving your marketing.
- Keep in touch with your fans
Yes! The first thing you need to do is to keep in touch with your fans. Don’t leave the question of your fans unanswered. It is also a way to keep your fans stay with you. If your fan’s question weren’t answered, they would transfer to other Facebook page that can answer their questions.
- Gain fans from your competitors
If your Facebook marketing strategy is not effective, you can check your competitors’ Facebook page and try the strategies that they use. You can also gain fans from them by commenting on their posts. In that way, if people see your comments, they might also go to your page, and if they like your products or services, they might become yours.
KISSmetrics has published a post regarding how to steal your competitor’s social media followers that you might want to check.
- Post infographic content
Most business owners post infographic contents to attract their fans. But, you need to consider the design and the caption of what you post. When you are planning to post something, think like a fan. (If you are a fan, what are the things you like to see on a post?) You can put a good caption wherein you can make people stop and read or click the link that you include. To make it easy, you need to know what people by thinking like a customer or a fan.
You can also use Twitter to make your business grow. Like most of the social networking sites, you can post images or photos on Twitter. You can also customize the background of your personal account to make your profile more attractive. Check out some strategies that you can apply to your Twitter marketing.
- Follow competitors
This strategy looks weird but, to gain more followers, you must first follow other profiles that are related to your market. You cannot guarantee that the people that you follow will follow you back so it is a great idea to follow as many accounts (that is related to your business) as you can.
Note: If you follow people or accounts that are not related to your market, don’t expect them to follow you back or become your followers.
- Post links
Since the characters that you can post on Twitter is only limited to 140 (including spaces), one of the things that you can do to give relevant information is to post a link from your website. Don’t forget to put a blog section on your website. In that way, you can also share them on Twitter.
- Hashtags
Putting hashtags can help to let people know about you or your business. For example, your business is about makeup. When you post on Twitter, you can use hashtags like this, “#makeup”. In that way, if people click “#makeup”, they can see all the users that post content with makeup.
If you do e-commerce, Pinterest is the right social media platform for your business. Since Pinterest focuses on images, you can post your products; in that way, users or customers can easily look for the stuff that they like.
When creating a Pinterest account, you must first choose the category of your business. It is also a great way for people to find you easily. Just like Twitter, you also follow other users, and they can also follow you. Your marketing won’t be effective by just following other people. Check out some strategies below.
- Create a board
The first thing you need to do after creating your account is to create a board for your post. For example, your business is about clothes. You can create a board for pants, shirts, etc. If you just put all your post on one board, it will look messy. Create a board for people or users to easily find what they are looking for.
- Pin/re-pin
The posting process in Pinterest is called pinning or pin. As I’ve said before, Pinterest focuses on images, so it is very suitable for e-commerce. When you pin, make sure that the image that you pinned has good quality.
People won’t bother to click an image that has low-quality graphics. You also need to consider the size of the image that you pin. Choose a size that will catch the attention of other users. If you see other pin or images that you think will be suitable for your business or boards, repin it (it will automatically be yours then).
- Post from your blog
Even if Pinterest focuses on images, there are ways on how to link your blogs from your website on Pinterest. If you can post links on Facebook and Twitter, you can also do it on Pinterest. When you pin an image, you can attach URL. In that way, when users click the images, they will go directly to the URL that you put.
- Comment
One best way to gain customers or followers is to comment on other pins. When you comment on other pins, don’t post negative thoughts. Instead, say something positive and then promote your boards. Say something like “I also have great stuff like this on my boards! Come and check it out.”
The wisest way of commenting is to post comments on a pin that already gained lots of comments. You can also repin that post since other users liked it. You might as well gain lots of comments and likes or even followers.
One great tip to make your marketing more effective is to be active on your social networking site accounts. Your fans, followers or customers will leave you if you are not active on your accounts.
You can also try other social networking sites for your online marketing like Google+. If you know how to manage Facebook, you definitely won’t have a hard time learning on how to use Google+ because it is somewhat similar to Facebook.
Lester Balingit is a former digital marketing strategist and the first content crafter of Enamtila. He loves gaming, dogs, watching movies and marketing.
