Social media is one of the most popular internet activities today. Either for personal use, entertainment or for businesses big and small.

Statistics show that from 2010 up to 2021 there will be an estimated 3.02 billion social media users around the world. In 2010, there were 970 million users, and this year, there’s about 2.62 billion users. That’s a lot of people on social!

People in The United States, Canada and Alaska rank among the top social media users in the world.

It’s no wonder companies all over the world have seen the potential of having a strong social media presence.

Now the question is, does your home business need social media?

Does your home business need social media?

Having a good presence on different social media channels brings brand awareness and brand building. If you have a small business or you’re just starting to build one, having a social media presence is essential.

Here are some tips to help you establish an online presence.

1. Know Your Target Audience

There’s no point in having an online presence if the wrong people are following you. Target the right audience and you will be able to get mileage and reach on social media. Some of the things you need to know for your target market are:

• Age and gender
• Their preferred budget
• Location
• Are they buying from a competing business?
• What do they value when shopping online?
• What other social media platforms do they use?
• How frequently they use social media

You can use a questionnaire or a survey to get this information from your target audience.

2. Create A Logo

A clear and easy to understand logo is the visual representation of your business and if you have accounts on different social media channels, use the same logo on all of them. It should be consistent across all channels because it will create recall and brand awareness for your target audience. It goes the same with promotional pictures that you upload to all channels; these should be clear and follow the suggested picture sizes for each channel.

3. Take Advantage of Photos And Videos

Multimedia content gets more engagement on social media as compared to plain text. Insert interesting images that are related to your business or to the content. High-resolution photos can enhance an article, for example. You can also post how-to’s or tutorial videos about the industry you’re in or possibly videos giving professional tips about a certain subject related to your business or brand.

4. Listen To Your Target Customers

Once you have established a presence on social media, communication with your followers and target market is important. Most social media users prefer to use messaging apps because it is quicker in establishing communication with your business.

They will be able to give you insights, feedback or commendations about your brand. Listen to their complaints or grievances and provide the resolutions needed. This will build trust between your business and your customers. They will also see that your brand cares about their customers. And again, these people will be your unofficial but trusted brand ambassadors.

5. Create Valuable and Relevant Content

Content can be an article, a video, a sound byte, a vlog or blog, an infographic or a podcast just to name a few.

You should be consistent in posting content by creating a schedule across all your social media channels. Map your content schedules and your business promotions that will give value to your followers. Consistency is the key.

If your target market finds your content valuable, informative and educational, they will not hesitate to share it over their social media accounts which will result in a wider reach for your brand.

6. Be Aware of Social Media Trends

Yes, you want your social media presence to be unique and different from your competitors, but you need to be aware of any trends. This way, your business will not be left out and feel uninteresting to your followers.

One popular trend in social media is live video streaming. Promote the time and the day of your live broadcast where your followers are mostly online because this will be a real-time engagement between you and your followers. If most of your followers are in one country, try to schedule the live video for a time that would suit people in those areas.

7. Automate Your Content Strategy

You can do this by using tools that automatically post content across your chosen social media channels. One good example is Buffer where you can copy and paste a link to your content from your blog for example. You can have the content posted at the same time across all channels or you can make schedules by setting the time and date for each platform.

8. People Should Be Able To Relate To Your Brand

Keep your content simple and relatable to your target market. Also, people in social media don’t really want to talk to “companies” or the “brand” but the people behind it. Yes, they can be loyal to the brand, but the people is where the connection happens. By being relatable, direct and honest, you put a human face behind the brand that people can trust.

Creating a social media presence takes time and work, but it’s not impossible to have a solid hold on different social media channels – these tips can help you make it.

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