Social media is a great way to connect with your customers. Many businesses today continue to rely on old-fashioned, offline marketing, but radio spots and newspaper ads simply do not build the kind of customer relationships that an active and engaged social media presence can achieve. Today, any effective customer acquisition strategy simply must include an online presence.

With the power of social media on your side, you can grow your business like never before! Here are some tips to get the most out of your social media presence, expand your market, and grow your business.

Which platforms will best support your brand?

If you’re new to the world of social media, you may find it difficult to determine which of the dozens of popular platforms is best suited to help you reach your target market. Below, check out some of the most popular platforms and how best to use them from a business perspective.

1. Facebook

With over two billion monthly users in the 18-65 demographic, there aren’t many people Facebook doesn’t reach. Facebook remains the most popular social network in the world and the top social platform for businesses. With an arsenal of targeted marketing tools at your disposal, Facebook allows you to zero in on your target market with laser precision.

2. LinkedIn

LinkedIn remains the top choice for the professional community and a great social network for B2B businesses. The clean, no-nonsense network offers a marketing tool with tools to target users by job title and skillset, making it a great place to reach a market of skilled business professionals.

3. Instagram

Instagram is a great way to reach younger customers. The visually oriented network is great for digital marketing campaigns that focus on graphic design, photography, and video content. Instagram is owned by Facebook and benefits from Facebook’s extensive marketing tools, which give you greater control over your target audience.

4. Twitter

Twitter attracts a younger customer base, generally, but is a great way to reach the 18-49 demographic with a steady stream of short, sharply focused content. Great for quick bits of news and information in posts of 280 characters or less, Twitter is an ideal platform for viral content, as it can spread rapidly through retweets and likes.

5. Youtube

Youtube is often overlooked by businesses, but it remains the world’s second-largest search engine behind Google and a great platform for video-based advertising and content. Many businesses successfully keep customers engaged by generating interesting video content, which builds brand identity.

6. Pinterest

Pinterest captures the women’s market in the 18-65 demographic. It doesn’t suit every business, but it’s worth considering if your products or services lend themselves well to a visual medium. Your content can be “pinned” by people to share with others, making Pinterest boards an intriguing customer acquisition strategy.

Leverage social media influences to promote your brand

Influencers are experts in their specific fields. They have large online followings and the power to build a brand with the touch of their keyboard!

Working with influencers can help improve your brand awareness, engagement, and traffic by exposing you to a larger audience. Influencers can increase your business’s credibility, add a different perspective, and send you a ton of referrals. They may also embrace affiliate programs where they receive a percentage of the business that they send your way.

You can see why social media influencers are worth targeting as part of your online marketing strategy!

You can find influencers simply through Google searching keywords related to your business niche, or by using hashtags on social media that relate to your industry. Don’t worry, you will find them! Once you do, it usually won’t take long to discover ways to collaborate. Influencers are ideas-oriented people, who are not afraid to make suggestions!

You can engage with influencers by offering them your product or service in exchange for featured content or a review. You can also offer a prize for the influencer to run a contest for their followers. Finally, you can pay them to post social media content advocating your brand.

If you build the right relationships with the right influencers—those in your target market—the rewards could be enormous.

Provide a valuable customer experience through engaging and insightful content

The best way to engage and build your audience is to focus on the customers you already have. Share content that’s relevant to them, take time to interact and respond to their questions and feedback and you’ll soon see your audience build and your relationships grow stronger.

As a rule of thumb, 80% of your content should be based on engagement and only 20% on promoting your business. Sadly, many businesses get it the other way around and wonder why they can’t attract a following.

So, what is good content? It starts, as most things do, with research. Find out what your customers want to know and what other businesses in your space are sharing with them. Listen to the questions your customers ask you. Each of those could be turned into a blog post! Using social media content to respond to feedback is a great way to retain customers. Have a look at which posts gain the most traction and expand on that information. Break a big topic into bite-sized pieces that your customers can digest in a short read.

Make it interesting and speak in the language of your business and your brand.

Use Bartercard to leverage your business

The Bartercard business network can help you reach thousands of like-minded people, both locally and globally. Bartercard members love to do business with other members. What’s more, you’ll find many influencers in our network who are happy to send business your way and many more who can help your business grow by offering their professional services. Contact Bartercard today to find out more.