The landscape of social media has changed over the years. If you are beginning to leverage it today, you are late. Nevertheless, it’s better not to worry and delve into the task. You can still make a lot on the social web. You just need to be a little more creative and leverage strategies that others are not making use of. Of course, you can go for the trodden path as well.

Let’s check out on some social media strategies that you can begin using today.

Host Events

You can easily build a loyal community through online events that put the focus on your fans. Host live webinars. Monetize effort and time by making great offers. Most business houses, both large as well as small, prefer using this strategy. Regardless of whether your fans make a purchase from you, you will locate a significant percentage becoming evangelists for your brand. They will love to spread the word in their community.

Use Images for Amplifying Facebook Updates

It’s time to face the truth now. In case you are posting on Facebook but do not see engagement in the guise of shares, likes or comments, you are simply wasting your time. You need fan engagement if you want yourself to be seen in the news feed continually. Making use of images is one of the best ways to achieve this. Simply search for blank images and add text to them; it can be in the form of a question for your followers. You can check out on this example.  

Focus on Platforms your Customers Are In

Social media overwhelm is one of the biggest challenges faced by the business houses of today. They think that they need to make themselves present in all the social platforms. This spreads them thin leading to wasted time and effort. The solution is quite simple here. Be where the customers are if social media makes sense for your business.

• Find out the place the customers hang out online.
• Choose a platform that you enjoy and fits your business objectives.
• Now focus on these platforms.

There are various strategies to find where your customers prefer to hang out.

• Ask them
• Use the search button in each channel to find communities talking about your business. You can also use Google Alerts.

Set up alerts for your name, industry, business, and the topics of interest. This will give an insight into the conversations that are relevant to business. You can also join those, if appropriate.

Choose Images Wisely

It’s often said that images are worth a thousand words. Since the explosive growth of Pinterest, more emphasis is now being put on the images. They help to convey messages in a clear way. When used in posts, it helps in comprehending and the readers can remember it better as well. Moreover, the images are also possible to share across various networks like Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest, thereby helping with content promotion. The images are open to interpretation.

Before deciding on an image for social media or blog post, ask yourself: will this image communicate my message properly?

Remember that most people scan content as they come across and rarely take the time to go through the comments or descriptions associated with the image unless it grabs their attention. A nudge in the guise of a text overlay plays a significant role in bringing attention to your posts and pins. Only a few words can make the difference between content being overlooked and attracting the targeted audience.

Communicate with the LinkedIn Connections

Sending an email to the connections every month generates sales and leads. We usually connect with people, but do not communicate with them enough. While sending emails, make sure not to make it promotional. Provide something of value that is relevant to your business.

Make Real Life Connections

Connect with your fans and followers in real life. You can take out some time to reach through Skype or give a call to individuals active in your niche. Thus, your social media connections will prove richer as well as significantly more meaningful. If you just look at the people who retweet, comment on, or share the posts, you will find that it’s generally the people whom you have met in real life. You will find that it’s easier to communicate online if you have had a conversation offline.

Make Following or Follower Management a Routine

A Facebook page can’t follow the fans, but it can be done with other platforms, such as:

• Google+
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest

These platforms offer opportunities to the users to search for social media users based on the biography and the content they post.

There are tools like SocialBro  and Tweepi that help to find as well as follow the users on Twitter. There are several other platforms that need you to do more searching and perusing of profiles to follow.

That’s why you need to make following a part of the social media routine. Invest a few minutes every day or 15 minutes a week to find new users to follow while maintaining a comfortable follower/following ratio. This will help you to not just be noticed in various communities, but to build a larger and a more targeted base of followers as well.

If you use social media properly, it can contribute to the success and growth of your business. However, remember that it’s simply a tool and you need to remain committed for it to work. Remember, “When it comes to the Internet in general, it matters less which online community or tool you use, and more on your commitment”.

Image Courtesy: www.business2community.com