These days, almost everyone uses social media. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are all popular. Thanks to them, you can find out what people across the country and the world are doing, saying, and thinking even if you’ve never met them before.
Businesses can benefit from social media, too, but many business owners aren’t sure how to make social media accounts work for them. In fact, some entrepreneurs are hesitant to use social media because of the backlash badly worded posts, negative results from Google algorithms like Panda, or the wrong keywords can cause. However, there are ways to make sure your social media presence is overwhelmingly positive and drawing in new clients.
Use the Right Keywords
Knowing your way around keywords is often the first step to keeping clients and attracting new ones. If prospective clients don’t know where to find you in a long list of internet hits, they won’t visit your business in person. Keywords are crucial even in the shortest social media posts. Be sure the majority of your posts have at least one keyword or key phrase.
Facebook, Twitter, and similar accounts are ideal places to do this. Choose your keywords wisely. Let’s say you own an Italian restaurant in a large urban area. Obviously, “Italian restaurant” isn’t a good key phrase because that could lead searchers to any Italian restaurant. However, the specific name of your restaurant might not be a good choice, either, especially if your website has multiple pages. Non-specific phrases like a restaurant name can lead to duplicate content, which will drive up negative algorithm results. Instead, try keywords like “Giovanna’s creamy Italian espresso.” This will point clients to Giovanna’s Café, and also highlight one of your top-selling items.
Get Talkative
People use social media because they want to share ideas and interact with each other. Give them content that facilitates stimulating, continuing conversation. Let’s say you’re a social worker who operates primarily in the foster care system. Instead of posting raw statistics, write a post inviting adoptees from the foster care system to share their experiences. This will facilitate conversation about an important issue and may encourage searchers to consider adoption.
Depending on your business, Pinterest and Instagram are excellent places to facilitate conversation. Most people are visual, and if they enjoy what they see on the internet, they’re more likely to come to you. Maybe you own a secondhand bookstore that also restores old classics. Post a picture of the first edition you restored last week, highlighting features like gold-leaf pages or a brand new hand-tooled leather cover. Clients will appreciate the care you’ve taken and want to visit the shop to learn more.
Need help with your business social media? Give us a call at SteerPoint.