Social media is nothing new. With plenty of tips, tricks and strategies out there, the term ‘social media’ has in fact become a bit of minefield. I mean, where do you start?

The obvious answer, and sometimes not so, is to analyse which social media channels best suit your business and not go down the rabbit hole of having a presence on every single one. It just won’t work and the amount of work involved in maintaining content for each platform can add up. You expand over time, but only when it’s right and you’re mastering the basics. 

For example, as a furniture retailer, being visual and engaging is key. So, platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok can be seen as an ideal starting block. You may already have these on the go, which is great, but are you utilising them for maximum impact? That’s the next step, but first let’s explore just why social media tools are important over six key, short and sweet, areas.

1. Brand Building

Establishing a brand presence, maintaining this and regularly engaging across social networks is key. Let your customers know what you are about, services and products you offer and all the bits in between. If your customers don’t know you or what you offer, how do you expect them to interact with your brand? 

2. Stay Active

Share your content with your audience. Whether its new products, offers, sales, work-related anniversary’s, events, etc, you get the drill. Keeping an active feed keeps you in the scroller and more importantly in the face of your customers. It’s cost effective too, and can be really fun when you get into it. Don’t forget to respond to customers and interact with posts. Avoiding this can be seem as sloppy and will get noticed. If you’re transparent, open and inviting, you’ll be surprised how much goodwill can be created – and loyalty.

3. Boosting Traffic and Conversions

From your increased activity, one area that may also increase is online traffic directed from social media. You can even track a campaign with specific links so you can dig deeper on social media performance when linking directly to your site. This is where using correct keywords also has a hand, which can help open your brand up to a wide range of customers demographically.

This can also improve conversion rates, both online and in store. A reliable brand now is considered to be a brand that has a significant online presence and credibility in providing quality services. It is quite commonplace for a customer to do their research on you and if you don’t present well over social media, chances are, the customer has clicked away. 

4. Influencers

This can be a tough nut to crack, but if you have the opportunity to bring in an influencer to help boost brand exposure, it’s certainly a good move. You don’t always need to go for big celebrity types either. If you do your research, you may be able to find people with big followings, active on social and that might be interested in a promotion partnership. Influencers have emerged as a breed of brand ambassadors who usually use social media platforms to review products or draw attention to your brand.

5. Clued up on Competition

How often do you look up your competition through social media? If you’re not doing it, start! It’s free and a good way of keeping track of your competitor’s activity, engagement and offers. 

6. Advertising

The not free bit but also worth taking note of is advertising opportunities. With some spend and a focused campaign, social ads can boost traffic, engagement and conversions through specific targeting. Just remember to set a budget and monitor progress and effectiveness regularly to make sure the investment is paying off!

To conclude, there are many pitfalls a business can fall into when using social media tools, so here’s a quick-fire list of some of the key do’s and don’ts.

The Do’s

• Think before you post. Keep content quality and fresh, and not what you had for breakfast! 
• Post regularly, but quality content (don’t over do it to come across as spammy!) Schedule posts to make life a bit easier too, there’s plenty of providers that offer this.
• Use good quality images. Did you know that social media posts with a photo are 10 times more likely to get engagement?
• Join the conversation – interact with other profiles or relevant trending posts. Is there a community event going on, why not join in with your take on it? Tag a business to spread the word too.
• Engage – respond to customer questions, complaints, praise etc. It shows you’re in the moment and there to help.
• Sharing is caring. Share other posts on your networks that you feel your customers would like. 
• Have fun with it. 

The Don’ts

• Use #hashtags #in #the #right #way. Don’t overdo it!
• Spelling check. Don’t post with mistakes – you’ll get away with some, but it’s best to avoid errors.
• Don’t go off brand. Your customers may feel confused if they suddenly see a post about something completely random that doesn’t fit your brand identity. 
• Don’t over post (as mentioned above). Keep it relevant. 
• Don’t ignore your customers. 
• Finally, don’t be needy or complain over your platforms. Try to find solutions.

Hopefully this will help ignite your social media fire and to use your tools in a more effective way. Having a social media strategy in place is a must. Afterall, it’s free and can be lots of fun. Just remember, social media is a journey of consistency.