It can be hard work for smaller businesses to bring their brand to the attention of their desired consumer base. A lot of money is spent on creating ads, maybe hosting a website and that’s roughly it. What more and more businesses are realizing is that a great deal of money, time and energy can be saved through making the most of social media sites.
Reports estimate that hundreds of millions of tweets are sent each day. With the right angle, such accounts can be the foundation of a loyal customer base. In addition, online consumer bases become the ultimate version of word of mouth advertising – something that can be a boon to any growing business. The trick is to take the right steps to make the most of social media and make these websites work for you.
Don’t Just Be Visible, Be Available
It’s not enough to just create a website or post images on the internet and hope to garner attention. Today’s generation of consumers expects an interactive experience. For instance, a person may have questions regarding a serious injury. Instead of just going online to find websites for a personal injury lawyer, they want to be able to talk to the lawyer online.
Does the business have an active Twitter or Facebook page? More importantly, are these pages updated regularly? If a potential customer saw that the lawyer was online, easily accessible and willing to answer simple questions, it may encourage them to learn more.
Turn the Spotlight On Your Customers
The age of doing business online has evolved beyond the business simply being seen; now, it’s the customers that want to be seen. Many people are in love with taking videos and images of themselves and whatever else they like. When a business encourages people do to that, they will see an increase in popularity.
Ask your customers to take pictures not only of your product but of them with your product. Offer rewards for the funniest or most creative images. Feature images of customers regularly. If customers feel visible and adored, they’ll share their images, which will get the attention of their followers, and likely want to come back.
Encourage Word of Mouth
Once upon a time “word of mouth” was a local term. It meant a business had a few loyal customers in the area that were glad to return and just as glad to promote a company to their friends and family. Now, “word of mouth” has become something far more powerful. Today, millions of people suddenly become aware of a person, company or event they had never heard of just five minutes before.
Sites like Twitter are great for word of mouth advertising. In addition to encouraging customers to tweet about your product, it also helps to be creative with an existing Twitter account. Some brands have made the most of Twitter via hilarious and well timed tweets. The more creative and funny a tweet is, the greater likelihood that it may be shared thousands or even millions of times. A Twitter account that’s amiable and funny can bolster positive feelings about your brand and make customers glad to be associated with it.
One warning: be sure that your tweets are well timed and not tasteless. Just as a good Twitter campaign can boost a customer base, a scandal can badly damage a company’s reputation. You want customers to use word of mouth to praise and promote your business, not steer other potential customers away.
Image source
See also: Does my customer love my brand?
