I get asked often, from business owners, “How can I improve my social media?” That question alone may mean different things, but ultimately I hear that they want to increase their reach (meaning touch more people and prospects with their message) and that they want that reach to result in more sales!
Keep in mind that for most businesses, it’s practically impossible to track sales from social media – the exception is eCommerce stores! Now that we have set the baseline, let’s talk about three things you can do today to improve your social media…
1. Create a schedule, and pre-schedule some posts for the next month. You won’t need 100 posts, a couple per week, depending on your industry, should be a great start. Use Hootsuite or the Facebook post scheduler on the status window (it’s the clock to the left of the blue post button as of today).
2. Peruse Facebook and twitter as your company or brand, and comment. Have some real interactions and dialogue with others. Don’t debate, but have conversations. Simple comments like “I agree” go a long way and shows others viewing that thread that you are involved, and they will see your brand.
3. Create a simple contest and give something away. We call it endorsing your page with a promotion. It works. Often we give away 5lb chocolate bars and we seem to get a great buzz when we do that! It works. Think out of the box and get creative about what you can do. Offer a gift card to a local restaurant, or a free service. There are many options, just come up with something and run with it.
Bonus tip: Rinse and repeat. After you do these three things, review the results to see if they worked, make adjustments and do them again.