Guest Post by Tori Lutz

Social media is no longer just something “extra” that a few businesses are taking on in hopes of reaching younger audiences. Nowadays, the majority of every age group uses social media, with the only notable exception being the 65+ category. Combine that with the fact that 97% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses and you’ve got a mean double-threat.

Businesses that fail to account for this paradigm shift from traditional marketing tactics to social media expansionism can be sure of one thing: their growth will not be nearly as rapid as their social-media-savvy competitors. Conversely, businesses that take into account proper social media strategy can see doors begin to open to all kinds of online success stories.

Branch Out

First and foremost, you need to branch out. If you’re focusing solely on one social media platform, then you’re not going to succeed as well as you otherwise could be. Facebook has more than 2.375 billion active users, Youtube has 2 billion, Instagram has 1 billion, and the list goes on.

Sure, it’s true that many people must have been double-counted (meaning that there are people who were listed as active users for more than one social media network), but the fact remains that there are billions of people spread across more than a dozen social networks.

By “diversifying your assets,” as they say, and splitting your time between two or more social media platforms, you can significantly increase your market penetration without making any kind of drastic changes to production.

Hire Trade Show Models

Trade show models, also known as brand ambassadors or push models, are people who go out to events with the surface-level function of staffing them and the deeper purpose of expanding your brand’s name recognition.

If you manage to secure a few trade show models at an important event, such as a gala or a political fundraiser, you can significantly increase the visibility of your brand through direct actions (such as one-to-one conversation with potential clients) as well as indirect actions (such as appearing in the background of a celebrity’s Instagram post).

The main downside to trade show models is that they tend to require that you hire an event staffing agency that will then contract them out and oversee them. This can sometimes increase the costs in the short-term, putting your company well into the red. However, the long-term benefits speak for themselves.

Shake Up Your Content

There are multiple kinds of content from which to choose when it comes to social media marketing. Everything from quizzes to polls to memes can boost your brand recognition. Memes are definitely something that you’ll want to look into.

In the past, paid-content memes have been blatantly rejected by the internet community, causing an entire counter-culture to appear in opposition to that marketing strategy. The key is to avoid creating memes of your business. 

Rather, creating or even sharing memes that may or may not have anything to do with your business can increase shares, reactions, and comments, all of which serve to boost your social media status.

Build Relationships with Your Followers

Good business is about focusing on people. A crude but effective way of thinking about this point is by asking yourself the following question: How can I convince these people to give me their money if they don’t like me? Sure, you might have a great product, but that doesn’t always stop people from hating you.

By “@-ing,” or “mentioning,” particular people who respond to your content, you not only increase readership but you make people feel heard. And when people feel heard, they tend to come back. Even if those people don’t purchase something, their repeated interactions with your social media posts will serve to drive further growth.

Stick to a Content Schedule

Content production has to be both frequent and consistent. If you’re producing too little content, then you won’t be reaching enough people; and, if you’re producing content sporadically and inconsistently, then you’ll risk either “blowing up” somebody’s feed and driving them away as well as potentially going entirely unnoticed by large groups of people.

The key is to produce different types of content on a weekly or even daily basis. The golden mean varies from platform to platform, with many Youtubers producing videos once a week and many Twitter pages tweeting two or even three times a day.

Conclusion

If you take the time to carefully curate your social media presence through the use of each of these tips and tricks, then you’ll be much more likely to make 2020 your year. There are billions of people on social media right now. All you have to do is say, “Hello!”

Who knows? Maybe by 2021, you’ll be as famous (or infamous) as the Wendy’s Twitter.

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