6 actionable social media tips for startups

Social media marketing has become an integral part of most companies’ marketing strategy. Gone are the days when it was considered an optional activity. In fact, it has gone on to become key to building a brand’s awareness and reputation. Social media is also considered an effective medium for distributing content and generating leads.

One of the best things about social media marketing is that it is affordable and even startups with small budget can make the most of it.

According to Rocketpost, 40% of people spend more time socialising on social media rather than having face-to-face interactions. If you’re smart, you will waste no time in using the power of social media marketing to the advantage of your startup. Wondering how you can do that? Read on.

1. Use a Social Media Scheduler

As the owner of a startup firm, you’re bound to be tied up with several administrative issues and strategic decision-making. If you want to concentrate on anything else, you’re bound to need effective tools for that. This is where a social media scheduler comes into the picture.

Using a social media scheduling tool will assist you with composing and scheduling the messages you want to relay on your page throughout the day. Apart from that, you can also schedule announcements, events, milestones, and other important posts with its help.

Further, using a scheduler (and dedicating a few minutes every day to plan and schedule your messages on social media) will free you up to focus on the other important factors that go into running a business successfully.

2. Choose Quality Content over Quantity

Every business with social media accounts would love nothing more than to have a large number of online followers as that denotes its popularity with people. However, do not make the mistake of assuming that just because you have an army of followers, your content is reaping more likes and shares.

Read more: 6 marketing hacks all entrepreneurs should have in their pockets

An unwavering focus and commitment to creating and publishing quality content should always take precedence over bolstering the number of social media followers. A small, yet loyal group of followers that is engaged and enjoys your content is more likely to share your content as compared to a huge group that only scrolls through it.

3. Place the ‘Share’ Button Strategically

One of the easiest ways to increase the likelihood of your content getting shared online is by placing the social media ‘Share’ buttons advantageously.  Apart from the placement, you also need to consider how prominently they are displayed on your page. Make sure you do not crowd it by placing too many buttons together.

Alternatively, depending on the kind of results you get, you could also consider removing the ‘Share’ buttons altogether as they can be perceived as distractions and, therefore, hindrances to decision-making.

4. Use Social Media for Customer Service

Irrespective of the stage of business you are in, it is important to have open channels for communicating with your clients. It is the way in which you respond to their queries, comments, and suggestions that determine the reputation of your startup, especially in the early stages.

Social media not only makes it easy and quick to communicate with customers, it is also a cost-effective and a time-saving solution. Your customer service representative can handle your social media accounts. Plus, setting them up don’t cost a thing.

Read more: How to hack startup growth with Pay Per Click advertising

To make your task easier, you can use a social media management tool like Hootsuite that enables you to handle all your accounts simultaneously in real-time. Such tools alert you whenever you are mentioned on a social media platform. Additionally, they help you quarantine negative mentions of your business and allow you to address them separately. Managing customer service through multiple social media accounts doesn’t get easier than this!

5. Build an Online Community

It makes sense to work towards creating a genuine bond with your customers as doing so can earn you their loyalty. Social media can be highly instrumental in enabling this.

Take your social media audience behind the scenes and introduce them to the people who make your startup what it is. Tell them why you do, what you do and state your reasons for being passionate about doing it. Talk about the inspiration behind your startup. This way, you can build trust with your followers.

Look for social media influencers, connect with them, and make them your brand ambassadors. They can provide startups with exactly the kind of exposure they need to thrive globally.

6. Don’t Be Desperate for Attention

While it is easy to recognise when somebody else is trying too hard to get noticed on social media, it isn’t easy to see that in your own posts. Watch out for the following signs that you’re trying too hard and steer clear of them:

• Tagging people in random images and posts just to generate likes
• Using too many and unnecessary hashtags
• Using too many exclamation points
• Commenting excessively on posts for self-promotion

If you’re doing any of the above, cease and desist immediately, unless you want your social media presence to be frowned upon.

Social media can prove to be a brilliant tool if you use it well to market your brand. It makes sense to experiment with it in order to understand its various features and to decipher which strategies, in particular, will work best for your business. Evaluate the strategies as you make progress and you will stay on track. As a startup, you will need to consider several problem-solving options by thinking outside the box. Social media may turn out to be just the tool that might help you in your endeavour to do so.

Image by Jason Howie via Flickr