How Startups can Leverage Social Media for Growth and Expansion

Satuti Aggarwal
May 1, 2017
3 min read

When a startup has a shoestring budget, the best marketing option which has far reaching effects at its disposal are the social media marketing platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It’s the easiest way to expand your marketing potential and build your online community of followers and fans. Further, regulars on the social platform are always on a lookout for something new. Startups can offer novelty to the users and thereby increase their marketing reach. It’s foremost important for small businesses and enterprises to devise a social media marketing strategy and adhere consistently to it.

How to build a powerful social media strategy for your business enterprise:

Understand your niche Before embarking on a social media campaign, you have to find an answer to some basic questions- - What is your niche? - What is your target market? Target audience age, demographics, preference, needs - What strategies adopted by other firms have worked in the past? - What approach are you going to follow? Professional, friendly, serious, casual The budget With an estimated 1.23 billion users logging in to Facebook every day this platform makes a promising avenue for new firms trying to tap into the audience. Other platforms like Google, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and great places to showcase your products and services, not to forget Whatsapp, which is fast catching up on the social media marketing bandwagon.
Make your presence felt across all social media channels - slowly and smartly With social media channels in galore, you have to ascertain which of them will fetch the highest ROI. For example, a startup dealing in women’s accessories must showcase their products on Facebook and Pinterest rather than on Linkedin. Corporates that target other businesses are more likely to be active on Linkedin. So make smart moves to make your presence felt on social media. Irrespective, with 1 billion users’ active daily all around the world, Facebook is an ‘essential platform’ for social media marketing. As per Twitter statistics, about 68% Twitters account users buy products of brands they follow. Instagram is a favorite with the youth, and about 81% of Pinterest users are females. So post your content more often on platforms where you are most likely to get followers and leads that convert.
Content is supreme "56% of marketers believe that personalized content promotes higher engagement rates - @IBM" Content was and still is the king. Good content will never go out of vogue. The only point is that it has to be reaching the correct audience. Never compromise on the quality of your posts as they also showcase the substance in your brand. Fun creative and engaging content is always an intelligent bet. Come up with innovative ideas to keep the consumers hooked and they come back asking for more. The content you share on social media should not always cater to your business and its products/services. Giving users a better insight into the related activities of the business keeps their interest alive in your posts. The posts should be engaging and seem like conversations rather than advertisements all the time. Videos are the latest rage and are expected to grow manifold in future. Incorporate images, videos, infographics, statistics and other content rich ideas and suggestions into your posts.
Focus on building relationships If you make the right moves, over time, you will develop a ‘connection’ with the regular social media users. Good posts, quality content and informative material will help you gain the trust of the audience. Your social media posts could have links to your websites where you could offer incentives for comments and shares. The idea is to build a strong community of fans and followers who would be your biggest brand advocates. Your fans can be the influencers who speak highly of your products and services. When these fans like, share, and comment on your posts, the brand awareness and exposure to your products increases. It could be a time-taking process, but building bonds with customers would pay off rich dividends in the long run.

Wrap-up

Social media marketing platforms are ideal for small companies and start-ups that have just begun their commercial journey. Social media has many benefits for old and new market players, it just about who can use its potential in the most lucrative manner.