4 Social Media Tips for Boring Industries
With so many advancements throughout social media, many businesses are finally jumping on board. However, if you're not in the retail business and focus more B2B, it can be quite challenging to craft engaging things to post on any platform. It's no secret that some brands and products are more attractive than others and that it's way easier to target customers directly. But this shouldn't stop you from pursuing social media.
If you have a business that (by social media standards) is considered boring or uninteresting, there are things you can do to give you the edge you need to be successful online. Besides, don't let the word "boring" sway you - your business will not be boring to the right audience. Make sure you find them by using these tips:
Be Interesting & Informative
It can be easy to forget that your online audience is made of people just like you. If you don't like being inundated by sales messages in your news feed, your audience probably won't like them either. Instead, provide information that your followers can use - either about your products and services, or about the industry you serve. "10 Things You Should Know Before Calling A Plumber" could be a great blog post for a local plumbing company. However, it's also important to mix it up. Try using images & video when possible to showcase your products, company culture, testimonials, or other things that may be of interest to your audience. And then, every so often, you can throw in a sales offer or promotion. Remember: your audience is looking to gain something from following you. Whether it's ideas, information or they just really like your photos, they aren't going to follow you if they can't benefit. Make sure to fill that need. Otherwise, another company will.
Be Consistent
Consistency is key and it's the easiest way to help form a habit. If you begin to post certain information at a specific time on a designated day of the week, posting on social media will become engraved into your marketing habits, making it that much easier for you to keep it up. Additionally, your followers will pick up on what days you post and will (hopefully) look out for that information. Keep the schedule going even if in the beginning it feels like no one is listening. What people don't tell you is that buildling up the right following is hard. And it can take a while to get to where your company wants to be. But being consistent will help speed that process along. Find what times work best for your audience, try to post every day, and use tools like Hootsuite and Buffer to help schedule them. That way you never miss a day!
Be Engaging
If you want to build a social following that cares about your brand, you need to respond to every comment and message, and reach out to new fans and followers as they join. A little effort goes a long way. Other methods to engage your followers include creating simple contests (with relevant prizes), posting special promotions that can only be found on your social platforms and offering unique information to those that follow you on a certain platform. Don't just sit idly either. Make sure you're engaging with other company pages as well. Building up a following isn't just about the number of followers you have but how well and often you all interact. Aim to build a small community!
You should also try to avoid posting the same content on every channel. While it's okay to recycle some information (like deals, sales, company announcements and blog posts), try to tailor things to each social media platform because your audience on each will act differently.
Be Creative
In order to ensure you're reaching your target market, you're going to have to get creative. Don't view that as something intimidating! Instead, this allows you creative freedom to develop your brand's voice on the Internet. Think outside the box. Research other successful campaigns in your industry. Develop a unique hashtag(s) and find out what resonates with your viewers. Actually putting time and effort into your social media strategy will get you noticed. It's easy to tell quality, thought-out content and graphics than something that's been thrown together, unclear and messy. Your audience will appreciate the effort and reward you by continuing to come back, engage and hopefully do business with you.
There are many different ways that brands can use social media to enhance their web presence — this is just the beginning. There really are no limits! Social media can be used for any business - just make sure you find out how it can benefit your company.
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