Social media: are you making full use of it

Social media is the most powerful and efficient way to reach customers and market your brand.  We all use at least one social media daily for a number of reasons.

However, not all businesses require social network presence to be successful. There are companies that do not depend on social media promotion, but they are mainly business-to-business oriented.

Franchisees receive marketing support from the franchisor but they still need to promote their businesses in their local community. If you are a proud owner of a business-to-customer franchise and you still haven’t gone social, you might be missing on opportunities to build brand awareness and to attract new customers.

Social media provide endless opportunities.

You don’t have to use all social media at once. Instead, focus on choosing one or two that you like and that would help you reach a specific target audience. You don’t need to be omnipresent. It is better to be active on a single medium than to scatter your energy on a few different channels without being consistent.

Once you go social, commit to it. That doesn’t mean that you have to do it daily. Depending on the type of business being consistent could mean providing content five times a day, but it could also mean once a week.

Keep it simple and prepare in advance a posting plan for at least two week ahead. It will save you time and keep you organized. You can write down the dates you want to post, search for quotes or videos that you want to share. You can also schedule in advance the online promotion of special offers and new product marketing campaigns.

Be flexible in scheduling and providing content for you social media page. Try different things like posting at different time or different amount of content and see what works best for you and your followers. Social media platforms usually provide page insights like traffic and fan activity and you can keep track of your performance. What you initially started with might not work well so sticking to it might not always be a good idea; instead, adjust as you go.

The amount on content on the Internet could be overwhelming. Facebook alone generated over 30 billion pieces of content each month. Many social media have hashtags and key words to keep it organized. They are easy to use and are a great way to attract people based on their shared interests.

Since you are a franchise and you probably carry a prominent brand, you compete not only with local businesses but also with world-known brands in your industry. In order to attract more followers you have to differentiate yourself. You can do this by the means of content.

Your page will generate traffic only if the content is original, interesting, and relevant to the product or service that you provide. If they find something they enjoy, followers will like and share your posts with more people. Thanks to this, your content will reach prospective customers in no cost. This is why quality and relevance are more reliable than quantity.

If you manage to engage your audience to be active on social media, that would be a great advantage. Always provide answers to questions and inquiries from fans and followers. You will make them feel  but they can also provide you with priceless information. By sharing their experience with your brand, followers can actually give you valuable feedback that will help you improve your business without spending as much as on marketing research.

With the invention of smartphones we entered a new marketing era. People are mobile at all times which is a precondition for instant interaction. You can use this to your advantage to offer daily promotions and attract customers. For instance, if you run a bakery and after lunchtime you notice that you have more inventory than usual, you can offer 20% off on selected items for the day. If you send a message via the Internet, it will reach customers instantly and increase your sells. Customers would be happy and you would be at a profit.

However, our mobile society could hurt your business as well. Customers no longer complain to the company if they are dissatisfied with its products or services. Instead, they share it with the whole world. Put out once, a complain cannot be undone. What your reaction is, however, could mean the difference between an inconvenient situation and a crisis. You can fix a problem or make it bigger and out of control.

Be polite and fast in your response to an unsatisfied client. One angry customer means the loss of a lot more. Be nice to your clients and don’t lose them.