Today, almost every business in existence has some kind of social media presence, whether they’re a small local stall or shop, an online-only company or a large global corporation. Because of this, standing out from the competition on social media has become an increasingly more important priority for a number of entrepreneurs.
As tricky as it may sound, standing out on social media is actually easier than it looks as many businesses are still not using it to its full potential. We’ve listed some of the main things that you can do to ensure that your company stands out from the competition on social media.
Customer contact
One of the best ways that businesses can utilize social media to its full potential is to prioritize customer contact and focus on using the platform to build genuine relationships with each and every customer, both new and old.
The great thing about social media is that it provides an easy-to-manage, yet interactive platform on which you can get to know your customers and find out more about the things that they get excited about.
Making sure to answer private messages, reply to comments, and get in touch promptly with customers who leave a complaint or bad review on your page to see what you can do to improve their experience is essential for cultivating strong relationships and improving customer loyalty.
Fresh unique content
A social media page without any content is quite boring, and chances are if the last thing that you posted on your page was an ‘about us’ message back in 2010, nobody is going to be very interested in visiting it. You might think that this sounds crazy, but you’d be surprised at the number of businesses who simply set up an account on social media and leave it at that, believing that their work is done.
However, in order to have an effective social media presence, it’s very important that it’s an ongoing work in progress. You should aim to update your social media accounts with fresh content, for example sharing articles from your blog or other content online that is relevant, updating your status, posting pictures or videos, and giving your followers as much as possible to get involved with and talk about.
Branding
When it comes to social media branding, any professional company offering internet advertising services will recommend that your brand is consistent and has a ‘human’ voice. Although we’re well and truly in the digital age, people do still prefer to deal with real people when it comes to asking questions or making complaints about a company. Business has always been personal. Get close to your customers and show the human side of your business.
Using a member of staff to become the ‘face’ of the business, or simply interacting with customers in a personal way using statuses, polls and more, is a hugely effective way to generate more interest in your social media accounts and stand out in a great way.
Using social media to its full potential is one of the best ways for your company to gain more exposure, leading to growth and development.