Social media has opened the door to countless opportunities to interact with both current and potential future customers. From Twitter and Facebook to Pinterest, Google+ and even LinkedIn, savvy marketers are using social media sites to engage with customers and drive desired behaviors.
If your goal is to use social media to interact with customers, the obvious question is: How can I get more followers? Naturally, your goal is to rack up as many followers as possible. In the early phase of a social media initiative, however, building your numbers can be tricky. Fortunately, there are several tried and true tactics for getting more followers.
1. Connect with Neighboring Businesses – A good starting point is to begin following neighboring businesses and ask them to follow you, too. While you’re at it, encourage employees, vendors and partners to follow or “friend” you.
2. Share Others’ Content – If someone you follow has put out a useful or insightful Tweet, don’t be afraid to re-Tweet it. Likewise, news blurbs can make for good Tweeting fodder, especially if it is applicable to your industry or customer base.
3. Spotlight Your People – Set up a space on your Facebook page to highlight your staff. Include pictures and brief biographies. Encourage customers to share their thoughts on how these specific individuals have helped them.
4. Spark Conversations – Get the dialogue flowing by posting questions and encouraging others to respond. If you have a new product in development, ask your customers to suggest desirable features. If there’s a new trend sweeping the industry, solicit customers’ feedback on what they think.
5. Comment on Other People’s Posts – Expand your network and share your thought leadership by commenting on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook posts. Invite those people to join your network.
6. Embed Videos – If you have video content you would like to share, upload it to YouTube and embed those videos on your website and on your other social media sites.
7. Include Your Links Everywhere – Every document (electronic or paper) that comes out of your company should feature links to your social media presences. This includes press releases, white papers, sales sheets, advertising and business cards. Even your email signature should include links to social media.
8. Link It All Together – When you post an update to your LinkedIn page, have it automatically Tweeted from your Twitter account. Likewise, when you post a Facebook status, have that show up in your Tweets as well. Make it easy for someone to find your latest and greatest posts without having to scour all of your social media sites.
Building a social media presence is a lot easier than you think. Getting started is the hard part. Once you’ve gotten yourself established in all the major social media channels, you can make them work together. That will better position you to increase your number of followers.
For assistance with all your staffing needs, contact High Profile Staffing today.