Rules to follow when using Social Media Marketing

By Ashley Schultz

It can be scary and challenging when entering the world of “Social Media” marketing for the 1^st time! Success with social media and content marketing requires less talking and more listening. Read your target audience’s online content and join discussions to learn what’s important to them. Then you create content and spark conversations that encourage them to focus and purchase from your brand.

Quality over quantity. It’s better to have a few thousand connections who read, share and talk about your content with their own audiences than millions of connections who disappear after connecting with you the first time. You also have to be patient, it won’t happen overnight, you have to be consistent! Don’t give up!

Take advantage of platforms such as Hootsuite, which place all your social media sites in one place. They also allow you to schedule posts for the future on all sites and determine the best time to reach your target audience. Find those that promote your brand, also known as influencers. Develop relationships with them so that they can further market your product. It is best to not bombard your followers with posts every couple hours, it is better to develop interesting and engaging content and just post once or twice a day. Always acknowledge anyone that reaches out to you, never ignore a message or a comment posted on your page. This person could be critical in developing a successful social media marketing initiative!

Finally, you can’t expect others to share your content and talk about you if you don’t do the same for them. So, a portion of the time you spend on social media should be focused on sharing and talking about content published by others, especially those that are relatable to your brand.