Social Media Marketing: 8 Powerful Social Media Strategies That Get Results

Social media marketing is the new way of advertising for both large and small companies. It doesn't matter whether you have 50 clients or five million; your business can benefit from the power of advertising via social media. If you want to improve your advertising and increase your sales, here are eight powerful strategies that will bring you the most benefits.

1. Meet Your Customers Where They Are

One of the greatest benefits of marketing through social media is that your customers are already on the social networks. They have Facebook profiles, follow their Twitter streams and regularly watch videos on YouTube. With this power, you don't have to wait for your customers to come to you or the advertising channels you've used in the past. You can instead target them in an environment they already feel comfortable using. This will make it easier for them to navigate your messages and build relationships with your business.

2. Set the Conversation

When you use social media to connect with your audience, you get the chance to set the conversation. Consumers have more power than ever to research their purchases ahead of time and to find out what others have thought of your products. Many people look online for both positive and negative reviews before trying a new company. Through social media, you can decide what aspects of your product people will focus on. Start conversations and ask people about their favorite features. Begin a dialogue to find out what improvements people would like to see made. When you're open about your company, customers will know they can trust your brand.

3. Build Your Reputation

Though you may already know how important it is to build your rankings on search engines so that you get more traffic, you also need to consider your online reputation. A high-ranking on a search engine doesn't mean much if people don't know whether or not to trust you once they find your page. By using social media to connect with your customers, you develop a sense of social proof that will make new customers feel more comfortable doing business with you.

4. Keep up with the Competition and Make Connections

While most advertising solutions will help you to stay on the same level as your competitors, there are few that allow you to so easily monitor what your competitors are doing. When you're actively engaged in social networks, you can easily look at strategies that other companies use in order to figure out what's working and what's not. Social media marketing also gives you the opportunity to start building relationships with other business owners. You'll be able to make new connections that can easily take your business to new heights.

5. Develop and Sustain Relationships

It's a basic tenet of social media, but still essential: use social media channels to build relationships with your customers. This is perhaps the most profound benefit that social media can offer your business and it will bring you dramatic results. The first step here is to develop relationships with your customers and to provide them with a reason to trust your business. Once you've established a baseline for the type of communications your company will send out, be sure to sustain relationships with continued engagement.

6. Provide as Much Value as Possible

Always provide your customers with as much relevant information as possible. Your focus should be on providing them with useful content before you begin pitching any products or services. Post links through Facebook or Twitter to interesting articles or studies that are relevant to your industry. You can also use a URL shortener like bit.ly to pack more into your tweets.

7. Offer the Right Discounts to the Right People

Be sure you're offering the right types of discounts to your customers. Keep in mind that a coupon or sale that will actually get them in the door to your business or have them checking out your purchase page can be a great investment. While it can certainly be valuable to give people a deal for liking your Facebook page or following you on Twitter, in many cases, you should focus more on customers that are already interested in what you have to offer. A paying customer is more valuable than a fan who might not ever check back.

8. Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Focus on the social media channels that are relevant to your customer base and be sure that you're always keeping your audience in mind. The latest networks may seem like a great opportunity, but if your customers aren't using them, you won't find many followers or new clients. Instead, focus on using the social media marketing tools that your customers know and love so that you engage on a deeper level.

Now that you know these strategies get my free report here: Maximum Impact Social Media Tactics.

Enrique Barba is the principal of Sway New Media where he provides premium SEO services, Social Media Management and Marketing resources.

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