Choosing your social media platforms is one of the most important aspects of creating a communication and content plan. The platforms where you engage with your customers dictate the type of content you should create, the frequency of your posts, and the type of engagement you can expect from your customers. When you’re creating a communication plan, you should use the intersection of your brand, your customers, and your capabilities to determine which platforms are right for you and your business. It’s important to consider where your potential customers are particularly active and the type of business you operate, particularly when choosing social platforms.
How Can I Use Digital Marketing to Promote My Business?
Whether you have an online business or a brick and mortar location, digital marketing can help drive revenue for your company. Digital marketing can help put your business in front of customers who would not otherwise find you. I typically recommend that clients spread out their marketing budget across various digital channels, but you can leverage digital in whatever ways make the most sense for your business. Detailed below are some of the options available as digital marketing channels. This is a quick guide to help you make decisions about where you spend your digital dollars.
Social Media Marketing 101: Part 6 - YouTube
The final installment in our social media marketing series is YouTube. YouTube is a fantastic channel for reaching your audience when your products require demonstrations, step-by-step instructions, or detailed explanations. YouTube is also great when you want to create personal connections with your audience or if you enjoy using video content. Your videos might feature a tailored message, a product demo, or a behind-the-scenes view of your workshop and process.
Social Media Marketing 101: Part 5 - Twitter
If your business involves building your personal brand to grow your business, Twitter can help you do that. Twitter is often compared to a giant cocktail party and that analogy is correct. Many users are talking about many topics in a single place. Twitter allows you to find and interact with your audience and people who want to listen to your message. You can share articles, courses, webinars, and other information that's curated for your audience. On Twitter, you can also share images of your 'behind-the-scenes' like you might on Instagram. Use the platform to share the same information that you would share in a regular conversation with a real person.
The Interview Series: Spotlight on Wendy Manganaro
Wendy Manganaro, Founder of Social Abundance Marketing, helps frustrated heart-centered entrepreneurs attract, resonate, and engage with their social media community so that they can feel more productive and stress-free. Before Wendy started coaching she was the social media strategist for such companies as Baby’s Badass Burgers and Source4Teachers. Currently, she enjoys working with entrepreneurs and businesses nationally and internationally. As a natural problem-solver and people connector, Wendy's clients can expect a fresh perspective on their social media strategy and implementation.
Social Media Marketing 101: Part 4 - Instagram
If you have a visual brand, it's hard to overstate the importance of Instagram. No other platform gives you the same opportunity to highlight the intricate details of your product's high-quality stitching or the atmosphere in your physical location. Even if you have a service brand, Instagram can be a powerful tool to interact directly with your audience. You can use short videos to capture the customer experience or quotes and inspirational phrases to motivate your audience to action.
Like most social media platforms, Instagram works best when you know how your audience uses it and create consistent images and messages that speak directly to them.
Social Media Marketing 101: Part 3 - Pinterest
The second social media platform that we cover in this series is Pinterest. We consider Pinterest to be an incredibly valuable platform. Why is it so important? Because people look to Pinterest as a source of information and as a source of products. Your potential customers are more likely to buy your products as a result of seeing them on Pinterest than any other social media platform. Pinterest is also very valuable as a platform for bloggers to share content.
Social Media Marketing 101: Part 2 - Facebook
The first platform that we're going to cover in our social media marketing series is Facebook. This content portion is broken into two parts - one for service businesses and one for products companies. However, some things are universal between both service and product providers. No matter what kind of business you run, you'll probably want to create a page for your business and use it to share helpful information with your potential customers. You'll also need to identify who your audience is and determine how they use FB. Do they participate in groups? Do they follow brands? Or do they just check their feed for the latest posts from their friends and family? Once you understand how your ideal customer uses Facebook, you can create your platform strategy.
Social Media Marketing 101: Part 1 - Choose Your Platforms
For the next few weeks, we'll run a series of posts that offer some basics for your social media marketing. If you follow along, you should be able to build a basic strategy for your overall social media marketing and pick up a few best practices and tactics for each of the platforms that we cover. This week, we cover how to choose the right platforms for your business. Starting next week, we'll go through a few of the platforms one-by-one and provide a few tips that will help you get the most out of each of your social accounts.
When you're selecting social media platforms for your account, it's important to consider three major factors.
Do I Need a Digital Marketing Strategy?
A digital marketing strategy is a plan to increase brand awareness or grow sales using digital channels. Digital channels include everything from your own website and email campaigns to social media and blogs. A good digital marketing strategy helps you reach your customers wherever they want to interact with you by providing several opportunities to learn about, interact with, and possibly even purchase from your business. You can hire a marketing pro to create your digital marketing strategy as part of a larger marketing plan or on its own. Either way, your professional will most likely provide you with a comprehensive plan that leverages your website, email list, social media, and outreach.
What Is a Pitch? Why Do I Need a Pitch?
A pitch isn't just about sales. A pitch is a way of telling your story. More than that, your pitch should be authentic and tell your story in a way that compels others to learn more about your brand and your business, but also shows your excitement about your products and services. If you are truly excited about your business, that will show. You cannot fake genuine enthusiasm.
You need a pitch because a good pitch will engage your audience and make them want to do business with you. Your pitch will help determine whether you get media placement, customers, and possibly investors.
What Social Media Should I Use to Promote My Business?
Social Media planning is important for any entrepreneur or small business trying to build a following for their products and services. If you know how and where to spend your time and create a social media strategy around your business, you can leverage your social media presence to increase your brand awareness and grow your audience. If you operate without a strategy, you can waste valuable time and resources on a platform that does nothing for your business.