The internet is a large place, and with all the competition and the diverse content, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd and attract potential customers to your website. Although the search engines and social media have made it much easier for businesses to connect with their customers, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
If you’re looking to increase your online presence and attract more customers to your website, then continue reading.
The Dos And Don’ts Of Marketing On Social Media
Forbes has compiled a list of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ when it comes to marketing on social media. Take a look and see if you agree.
- Do engage with users on social media
- Don’t expect instant results
- Do listen to, and act on, customer feedback
- Don’t spam or promote yourself
- Do measure the results of your marketing activity
If you’re looking to use social media to boost your website traffic and grow your business, it’s important that you understand the dos and don’ts of social media marketing. Keep reading to learn more.
1. Do engage with users on social media
It’s important to remember that customers are searching for solutions to their problems on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. If you’re there to pitch your products or services, you’ll appear in people’s news feeds as a potential solution to their problems. If you want to engage with potential consumers and increase the chance of them visiting your website, then you should be using social media.
If you have a Twitter account, you can easily engage with your followers by using the platform to share valuable information, provide helpful tips or answer questions. On Facebook, you can do the same thing by posting status updates, participating in forums or groups, and creating and sharing memes.
The important thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t be doing this to simply generate brand awareness or sales – you should be doing it because it’s the right thing to do. By demonstrating that you’re a kind, helpful person who cares about your community, you’re more likely to gain their trust and increase the likelihood of them purchasing your products or services in the future.
2. Don’t expect instant results
As a business owner, you’ll inevitably get caught up in the excitement of pursuing a new venture and all the associated adrenaline. But take a minute and step back and realize that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and you’re going to need to put in the hours (and in some cases, the years) to see tangible results.
The good news is that you’re not alone in this endeavor. Many businesses – even the largest and most established ones – find that it takes a lot of trial and error before they figure out what works best for them and their particular industry. So while it’s not fair to assume that just because you’re starting a business that it’ll be easy to accomplish, you should still have confidence that you’re making the right choice and keep your eyes open for opportunities.
3. Do listen to, and act on, customer feedback
Your customers will be the best judges of whether or not you’re doing a good job servicing them. If you want to improve, you’ll have to listen to and act on customer feedback. There are several ways in which you can do this:
- Ask your customers for feedback via surveys or questionnaires
- Encourage your customers to engage with you on social media
- Follow, listen to, and engage with, your favorite brands and businesses on social media
By regularly asking for and acting on customer feedback, you can make sure that you’re always improving your service and offering the best possible experience to your customers. Remember: they’re the reason you’re in business in the first place!
4. Don’t spam or promote yourself
While it’s tempting to use social media to advertise your products and attract potential customers, you should resist this urge. Just because you have a product to promote or just because you’re keen to gain some social media presence, doesn’t mean that you have to spam Twitter or Facebook with useless information. People are much more likely to visit your website or buy your products if they see your content organically within the streams of people they follow.
Also, make sure that your posts aren’t too commercial; you should be providing value to your readers while also monetizing your content where necessary.
5. Do measure the results of your marketing activity
Every business owner, manager, and marketer wants to know how their marketing activity is performing. Luckily, there are several ways in which you can find this out without having to measure everything manually. For example, you can use Google Analytics to track the results of your various campaigns and analyze the data to determine the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
The important thing to do is to measure the results of your marketing activity frequently and make adjustments as necessary. This way, you’ll ensure that you always have the best marketing campaign and that your funds are being used effectively.
Marketing On The Web Is Changing
With the evolution of the web and mobile, traditional methods of marketing – such as billboards, radio ads, and magazine spreads – are no longer as useful as they used to be. Thanks to the prevalence of social media and content curation – where content creators and marketers come together to create engaging material that consumers want to share – branding, advertising, and marketing are more effective than ever before.
While the internet has provided businesses with an entirely new platform on which to engage with customers, it hasn’t removed the need to do research, consider costs, and make projections. Simply put, digital marketing is still marketing, and business owners need to treat it as such. If you want to increase your odds of being effective online, then learn the fundamentals of marketing and how to apply them to the internet.