Here are two of the comments that I hear most often from those thinking about, or just getting started with social media. “If we had more followers we could be more effective with social media.” “How do we get people to follow our page?”
Excuses, excuses. Social media is a place to get people to engage with your company and to share their experiences. One positive interaction can literally lead to hundreds of new customers. You must connect with your prospect audience, listen to their issues and learn their preferences. Remember the 80/20 rule (Click here to read about the 80/20 rule) and behave as a lifestyle forum for those interested in your company and its services. Companies that are just starting down the social media path can enjoy high engagement with the initial group of interested followers.
Try these 3 easy tips if you’re a small business and new to social media.
1. Leverage your e-mail list.
While you may not have a large initial social media following, you may have amassed a significant e-mail list…which represents your lowest hanging fruit. The people on your list are already interested in your company and are most likely to join your online community. Send out an email with a clear call to action. Urge them to use a hashtag that is uniquely yours. Offer an incentive such as a coupon or discount on their next purchase. Hyperlink directly to your pages where they will be a click away from following.
2. Face to face.
If you have a brick and mortar location, encourage customers to become new followers by using in store signage at various strategic locations, such as at the cash register. Offer a small incentive such as an instant saving once they have followed you or when a post has been made. Urge them to post pictures of your products using a specific hashtag. Make sure to monitor your hashtags and to repost and retweet. An in-store screen showing a live feed of your various platforms can influence thier engagement. Show your followers that you are paying attention.
No storefront? If you are a manufacturer or distributor of products that sells to retailers you can certainly drive traffic to locations that sell your product. This will help your retail partners…and who doesn’t need support in today’s competitive business environment? You’ll subsequently have case studies to clearly demonstrate how you supported them, your brand and the stakeholders. This will make your products more attractive to a new customer and help build natural demand through the retail channel, as opposed to aggressive promotions or discounting.
3. Create buzz with incentives to share or join.
The most cost efficient way to organically grow your community is to give existing followers an incentive to share your content or give potential new followers a reason to follow and engage. Shares are like referrals. It’s a trusted friend sharing your content with their friends. If the content is relevant and if there’s a benefit it becomes a win/win. Running a contest is a great way to reach a new group of potential followers and to reward existing ones for their loyalty. There are many ways to monitor entries, including the use of a dedicated hashtag. Consumers, in general, like to “win” something. It doesn’t have to be an extravagant prize. Gift cards of varying denominations, bonus or discounted products are all cost efficient and great ways to grow community.
Where do you go from here?
Get in touch with your favourite social media consultant to discuss various strategies and your business needs so that you can stop worrying about how many followers you don’t have and leverage the ones you do!
Questions…comments? Get in touch! It’s called social media for a reason!