As an online business in Nigeria, social media has been part of the means for our success in getting customers to know our business and services.
Traditionally, businesses use printed media, such as newspapers, flyers, magazines etc., as means for promoting their services, but the downside of such means is the cost and limitation (coverage of the printed medium) one has to undergo.
If you have a contrary opinion of this, please share, with the comment form below.
Social Media has revolutionized the way people and businesses communicate to the extent that businesses can promote their services for little or no cost, expand customer base and increase revenue, when the right techniques are adopted.
I will like to share such social media techniques, even though the social media platforms I will mention are not new to us, they would give us insight in using them effectively.
Blog
Yeah, in case it may surprise you, a blog is a social media platform. As a matter of fact, social media is defined as a web-based platform that enables the easy creation, sharing, contribution and commenting of information to thousands and millions of people.
Hence a blog can be seen as a social media platform because it offers such opportunities.
Now, how does one use a blog to promote their business?
This article, for instance, is a means by which we promote our service in Nigeria, because we are giving people information, even though it is for free, but as they come across this article, they will also see other things we render and probably patronize us.
So you must also ensure you use the following in your blog:
- Do a research on what people want to know, in relation to your services and develop an article on it.
- Search Engine Optimization tools that will help guide you on how to optimize your article, for it to be easily seen by search engines.
- Sidebars and banners which are used to showcase other information and services you offer
- Comment form, for people to contribute to your article or ask questions, and even criticize for clarification.
- Categorize and add tags to your blogs for better organization and attractiveness
- Pictures to illustrate information in your article
- Sharing buttons/icons for you or others to share your articles directly from your blog. This will help spread your articles across various social media platforms and direct people who see your articles back to your blog
Please, also, always respond, on time, to those that comment on your articles, in order to create a community of your own and eventually increase patronization.
Sharing
As mentioned in the blog section, sharing of your articles is very important. To elaborate: how does a prospective customer know about what you offer if you do not tell him or her. Likewise, sharing of your articles is a means of telling people about what you do and gives them the opportunity to know more.
Accordingly, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Instagram, Google Plus etc. are the best ways to reach out to many people.
These are a few things you should know about these social media platforms:
- You can link your Facebook page to your Twitter account so that whatever you post on Facebook is also posted on Twitter.
- Join facebook groups that are related to the kind of services you render and share information. You can also share information from your page on your personal account in order for your friends and family to see and support you
- Use hashtags, relevant to the information you are sharing, in your social media posts, most especially in Google plus and Instagram. This will help increase visibility of your posts
- In order to increase the effect of your tweets use trending hashtags in your posts.
- Use images that illustrate the information you are offering, as a way to attract people to want to read your article, in the first place, and want to know more
- Make sure you have description of what you do in your social media profile, as well as contact details, in order for people to know more about your business and get in touch
- Post regularly in order to be relevant
With all these said, I have no doubt that, if they are done properly, you will increase your visibility in the social media world and also increase your customer base.
In light of this, it is a privilege that we are recognized as a Top Website Design Company on DesignRush.
Please, if you have contributions or questions, do not hesitate to comment in the form below.
