Businesses large and small take advantage of the brand-building power that social media has to offer. Business owners who previously believed that social media was too time-consuming and did not contribute to direct sales are now seeing the value in a social media campaign. As more word of this power spreads, businesses are taking to social networks like Twitter and Facebook to build their brand.
It is no secret that a strong social media presence can help draw in potential customers. This allows businesses of all sizes to improve their marketing strategies and build up their customer base. Companies are now starting to see social media as a necessity rather than an option. As for the cost of building a social media presence, well, that is another issue entirely. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to how much it costs to build up a strong presence on social media sites. The costs will vary based on how much you plan to use the site and your ultimate goals.
The first step to building up a strong social media presence is to see if your target audience is already using the sites. If you are planning on using Twitter, make sure your target market uses it. If you have a larger target market, such as a younger crowd that tends to be more active on Facebook, there is no question about whether they are on the site.
The plan should include some form of a message or call to action. This could be something as simple as spreading the word about a new product or service or something more complex that will require a long-term effort. This plan should also include the tools you will be using to try and achieve your goal. This can include how much time out of each day you will devote to the project or what other marketing strategies you will use to navigate to this site.
While you may be able to launch a successful campaign once in a while, most businesses will need to have a constant social media presence. The reason for this is because you are not likely to get a massive number of followers right off the bat. The people you do get to follow your posts may not be the type of customers you are looking for. You may need to post regularly until you begin to find your audience and build up a customer base. As you get more and more followers, your audience will grow, and your business will notice the difference.
Obviously, your business wants to appeal to potential customers, but it is important that users relate to the business. Showing that people run your business just like them and not a giant faceless corporation can help win over new customers. This may be hard if you are a large business, but try to post pictures of the people behind the company to help build up a connection.
Infographic created by Clover Network, a credit card processing company