For many marketers, whether you’re the owner of a small business or a Marketing Manager at a large corporation, utilizing the power of social media can only serve to build your business’ bottom line. The amount of exposure you can receive while controlling your brand’s message is vital even beyond your balance sheet – as your brand’s reputation as an industry leader grows with each post that engages its audience. While building a large network of followers and fans obviously increases your ability to reach people and convert those opportunities into sales, I find that many businesses aren’t doing enough to reach the people they’re already communicating their message to on a regular basis.
Leveraging your current leads and clients
Chances are, with a successful marketing plan, you’ve already gained enough foot traffic and online traffic to keep your business afloat and successful. You already have a pipeline of people who know your brand and what you have to offer – now it’s time to bring them on-board as ambassadors. Social media platforms are great avenues for you to post content that’s relevant to people seeking what you have to offer in the marketplace. If you’re not already doing so, bring your offline leads and clients into your social media conversations to further enhance your reputation. Offering some sort of benefit (ie. sale or discount) for doing so is the easiest way, but you should also be utilizing the data available to you to see what kind of content those people are already seeking and push that content their way.
Creating brand ambassadors
If you have a network of dedicated consumers who call on you whenever they need what you have to offer, guide them to your social media so that their networks can see just how powerful your brand is should they require the same products and services. Word-of-mouth will always be the most effective marketing tool your business can leverage for greater sales. Why not use those who you’ve already converted to help spread the message? If you’ve delivered on your brand’s promises, getting the people satisfied with you to help deliver that message is as easy as engaging them further through social media.
There’s still time for your network to grow
We’ve reached the point in social media marketing that brands that have utilized those channels effectively are thriving. If you haven’t, or even haven’t done so effectively, there’s still time for you to take advantage of the opportunity. Traditional marketing is the perfect example of that. While most companies have shifted their budgets to digital and social, that was still an effective marketing tool for almost 8 decades. We’re only moving into social media’s 2nd decade of existence now. Finding the right way to do so now doesn’t mean you’re “behind the times.” It’ll just mean that you’ve recognized the best way to reach people in 2016. Starting with your dedicated clientele and appealing to their content needs online is the best way to build that network and grow your pipeline of prospects. More importantly, building greater opportunities for you to convert and build your brand’s image and balance sheet on the foundation of the work your business has already done.
