Social Media Marketing: Get Customers First, Then Think Big

Social Media Class
mkhmarketing / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Hearing the success stories of businesses who marketed on social media, and the growing numbers of followers and customers these companies are acquiring, have given first time business owners unreal dream and expectations in the short term. Depending on the product and the demand, some businesses can experience outstanding sales in a matter of months, but realistically, it takes time, determination, and commitment to finally get a loyal and strong customer base.

The question every business owner should asks themselves when it comes to social media marketing is, “How did the businesses who looked to social media become successful and grow their companies?” The answer shouldn’t be any different than what business owners gave 20-30 years ago. Be aggressive and constantly search for where the customers are, and where the money is. Social media shouldn’t be looked at as a tool that gives you overnight success, but like all avenues of marketing, should be utilized consistently and built up through persistence.

For startups, it’s going to take time to build up a clientele that can further promote your brand. Promote your company on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest; link to your business’s website and drive traffic to every aspect of your marketing strategy. Essentially what your goal should be is to drop as many bread crumbs as possible and lead customers to the main dish; your website, online store, or retail store if you have one. Just posting statuses, maybe tweeting a bit, and posting a picture every week isn’t going to cut it. You must reach out to where your customers are going to be.

A few months back, a man who designed t-shirts wanted to sell some shirts that pertained to Auburn football for the BCS Championship. While he already had his business on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, he took another step and joined group and fan pages on Facebook to promote his shirts, and not surprisingly, he was getting customers off these pages. Old school marketing doesn’t pay off with immediate dividends like that, and neither does social media marketing when it’s not used aggressively. If you want customers, you must go to them. Join other Facebook groups and pages where your customers are going to be and promote your brand to them.

Like all of you, I wish being an overnight success through social media marketing was true, but hard work, commitment, and determination will get you results. Remember, this isn’t the 90’s anymore. While cold calling and old school marketing is looked at from a customer’s point of view as bad, social media marketing can be seen as friendly and direct, yielding positive results you’re looking for.

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