Social media: It’s a big-time game nowadays. If your business or product doesn’t utilize social media, it can be the difference between making it and – not. Often people are unaware of how hugely important marketing is to the longevity of a business. It’s a sobering learning process, but once you understand what works for you, with it comes confidence in your marketing abilities.

 

Treat your Social Media Like a Business

You’ve established your idea, and you’ve got the ball rolling. Now what? This is where many tend to fall short. They choose a platform, or they choose every platform they can think of and make a little post here and there and call it good for the month – or they abandon the platform altogether. Most advertisers aren’t getting anywhere because they haven’t stuck to one social strategy. Choose which platforms you see the most potential in, set a goal and discipline yourself; consistency and quality are essential.

 

Using the Strategy That’s Best for You

Repeat: Not all businesses are the same. Don’t watch how an online clothing retailer advertises on their Instagram page and apply that to your mobile food truck business and expect to get the same results. Your customers are different from another companies, and they prefer to know and see different things. Your food truck business is not going to thrive on cool logo designs like an online clothing store, but it will boom with appetizing pictures that would convince someone on their lunch break to stop by for a taste.

 

Give Your Product Meaning

Remember this: caring is sharing. Yes, you read that correctly. People love to share heartfelt content they see on social media, so take advantage of that. The community also wants to feel connected to the people they hand their money to; they want to know who’s behind the screen. Ask yourself if you would feel more inclined to eat at the fourth-generation-owned ice cream shop who posts photos and funny employee stories, or the shop you know nothing about that only posts blanketed advertisements on their pages? For most, it’s an easy decision.

 

Think to How Marketing Used to Be

In some cases, the traditional ways of doing business are the best. Think about how Facebook became the largest social media platform in the world. You couldn’t exactly tag your friends on it – that feature didn’t exist yet. So how were they able to grow? They took advantage of referral marketing. Referrals are all about having a genuine relationship with customers, who return the favor by vouching for your services. Word of mouth marketing can be a painstaking process, but it reaps long-term benefits with repeat customers.

 

It’s an Easy Game but Hard to Master

Keep in mind that social media marketing is not simple. There’s this idea that anyone can become a social media marker, which is not untrue, per se. Wherein lies the problem is that not everyone is able to learn the psychology behind consumers right away, which inevitably leads them to give up. Do not be discouraged. Marketing, in general, takes a learning curve and social media marketing is just another branch to train yourself in. Once you have gained the knowledge through trial and error, you’ll feel much more confident in your ability to adapt to the ever-changing habits of consumers.

 

The Takeaway?

Social media marketing can be a pain, but as it goes with all forms of business marketing, there’s no way around it. You need consumers more than they need you. There is no magic wand to bring social media success, but by absorbing information and learning hands-on what works for your unique business will set you on a much more positive path to the place you want to be.