Building up your business and staying relevant without social media has become virtually impossible with the rise of digital technologies. If you don’t have a website, you don’t exist, and if your brand is not on social media, then no one can hear your voice. Social media has taken over as the leading mass media communication tool, rendering radio and television advertising unimportant in the digital world.
In order to bring your social media game to the top level and compete with the leading brands in your field, be sure to follow these social media strategies for a startup that will skyrocket your brand and bring a never-ending stream of traffic to your website.
Effective Social Media Strategies for a Startup
Building a Social Media Strategy
Developing your social media accounts doesn’t simply mean running them in any way. On the contrary, it requires prior strategizing and a plan you will follow at all times so that your story resonates with people.
Consumers can recognize honesty as well as dishonesty, they sense if you are being truthful and if you believe in what you’re doing. That’s why it becomes all the more important to figure out how you want to brand your company. In order to have a consistent value set across all platforms, digital as well as non-digital, it is best to align your social media approach with your brand personality.
Does your business pertain to a luxury brand catering to the upper class, and therefore, has a unique voice that resonates with that demographic? Or, is your brand an easy going, relaxed workplace that cherishes personal growth and inspiring ideas? Those are two very different approaches and your social media efforts should portray them fully.
A Limiting Budget & Word of Mouth
Startup businesses are notorious for having a limited budget that is preventing entrepreneurs from investing large sums into online advertising efforts and launching campaigns that would position their brand on the market and attract consumers. On the one hand, you realize that you should invest in some type of marketing and advertising, and on the other, you know it’s costly and would deal a potentially crippling blow to your budget.
But, there is a middle ground that allows you to reach your target audience with a limited budget. That middle ground is word of mouth (WOM) marketing. This type of marketing directly correlates with social media development and has been the main driving force of startups. With the development of social media platforms, it has become easy and effective for entrepreneurs to reach global audiences from their laptops.
Importance of Visual Identity
Before we move forward with social media development, we need to cover an area which so many entrepreneurs neglect at first. The state of your website, from responsiveness to visuals, will determine whether a consumer will stroll along to your competition or get attached to your brand. While storytelling, values and messages are the most important components of brand development, images and visual identity are the elements that will get the visitors hooked and entice them to explore what your brand is all about.
It is very important to build a website that corresponds to your brand early on, way before the launch. In order to become relevant, you need to follow those visual identity trends that people love. Your social media efforts will directly serve as lead generation and traffic development for your website. This graphic design studio suggests that some design trends in 2017 will be animation in web design, minimalism, bright gradients, typography and motion graphics.
Now that you understand the importance of visual design, let’s move on to social media goals.
Keep in Mind
No matter what are your development plans, aspirations and end goals, there are several key points that you need to follow when managing your social media:
First of all, listen more, talk less. Social media provides invaluable sources of feedback that could make or break your startup dreams. So, instead of talking and posting without hearing what the customer has to say, listen carefully to your consumers, talk to them and gather the information that you can implement right away to better reach your audience.
Secondly, create a base of followers. Surround yourself with people who believe in your story and want to be an active part of it by sharing and inspiring other people with your values. These are called brand ambassadors, and they could be one of your most valuable assets.
Lastly, be unique. If every sheep is white, then put a clown hat on yours so that it stands out. Just don’t follow the masses, do something different. Find unique ways of promoting your brand and people will love you for it.
Social Media Success
Contrary to large corporations that utilize social media to facilitate growth in all areas of business, a small startup will focus on determining and working towards their most important goals.
The first goal will be brand recognition. This is one of the most important parts of brand development and you create it by posting relevant articles, link your website, and engage with audiences on a daily basis.
Secondly, generate more leads. Your social media platforms should generate leads that drive traffic to your brand. You need to be patient and persistent in creating lead generation accounts as results are usually seen after six months to a year.
Thirdly, content is king. You might have heard the famous quote somewhere before, and if you have, you understand the importance of content for your brand recognition. Content dissemination is just as important as content creation, so make sure to post your content regularly on social media and people will become personal promoters of your brand by sharing, liking and reposting.
Lastly, boost conversion rates. You’ve reached the potential of your SM accounts if they are raising your brand recognition, and the content you post generates prospects that later on turn into clients. You should be striving for prospect acquisition with your SM efforts.
Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of the importance of social media for startups, and you finally have a plan on how to grow your business on a limited budget with word of mouth marketing and brand awareness.
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See also: The Importance of SEO Marketing for Startups
