The percentage of businesses that want to embrace social media marketing as an effective and cheap marketing strategy grows each year. Businesses are seeing the success that major corporations and brands are having with social media and want what seems like the free exposure that comes with social media. However, just because social media is an inexpensive way to market your business, it does require careful planning and implementation if you want to see results.
It’s important both large and small business owners understand the best ways to implement online marketing. Rhode Island business owners need to target their geographic and focus on growing a client base using different social media platforms.
Gain a Following on Social Media
The first step in gaining leads and clients is to create profiles on the top social media sites. These sites include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+. There are other social media sites, but these seem to work the best for online marketing. Rhode Island web developers can work with your company to help give you an effective online presence that garners results.
One mistake people make is having a friend create these free profiles and expecting everyone to flock to the pages. This doesn’t happen. You have to market your social media pages just as you do your business. You must focus on frequent updates, host sweepstakes or contests, and engage with your followers.
Use Video Marketing
Social media video marketing is effective because people love visuals. With sites like YouTube and Vine, businesses can create long or short videos to market their business. A new trend in video marketing is creating short videos using stop motion photography. There are a number of businesses that can benefit from video marketing, including real estate agents, doctor offices, and those in the beauty industry. You can use video to provide tips and tricks, showcase listings, or explain more about your business.
Make Connections on Social Media
Once you build a social media presence, it’s time to connect with others in your industry. Everyone you connect with will have their own following, and if they retweet your links, share your Facebook page, or pin your Pinterest pages through their own business account, it increases your exposure. With proper online marketing, Rhode Island business owners can greatly increase the percentage of leads captured through popular social media sites.
