By Fritz Colcol, serial entrepreneur based in Chicago. Need help getting more leads? DM me @fritzlifestyle.
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Social media has become an integral part of our lives. From a place for connecting with friends and family, it has become increasingly important for business, offering a variety of benefits to those leaders who know how to use it. Here are some of the most prominent ways I have seen businesses use social media to grow their brand.
1. Networking
Social media is beneficial for networking. You can use this tool to connect with potential employers, reach out to industry professionals and even collaborate with other entrepreneurs.
The majority of my success came from social media, mainly Instagram. Some of the strategies I’ve employed include simply liking and commenting on the profiles of my target audience.
For example, I’ll often view a high-profile CEO’s most recent Instagram post and see who liked that post. I then go find those profiles that have an orange and pink circle around their profile picture, which indicates they’re active and just posted an IG story. Since the audience who follows the CEO’s Instagram is likely to be into entrepreneurship, the profiles I like and comment on are also likely to engage with my profile and eventually follow me. Repeat this process 15 to 30 minutes a day and I believe you are sure to grow your brand.
2. Sharing Information
Social media is also a great way to share information. You can easily share articles, videos and images to inform and educate your followers about your beliefs. You can also use social media to promote your business or personal brand in order to reach new customers and stay up to date with the latest trends.
One tip I can share that is guaranteed to help increase your brand awareness is using trending sounds. These especially work with Instagram reels. I recommend periodically watching the Reels space to survey all the trending reels.
In the top left corner of these reels, the audio with an increase arrow icon indicates that that specific sound is being used by many and therefore trending. Companies, content creators, influencers and even celebrities are all using these strategies to keep their audiences entertained and creatively showcase the many ways to engage with a popular sound.
3. Increased Exposure And Awareness
Social media can also provide businesses and individuals with increased exposure and awareness. By sharing content and engaging with followers, you can reach a wider audience and gain more exposure for your brand or cause.
This can be especially useful for small businesses looking to grow and expand their reach. Additionally, social media allows you to target specific audiences, such as people living in a certain location or with specific interests. This makes it easier for businesses to reach the people who are most likely to be interested in their products or services. All this can be done either organically or through formal advertising.
Organic advertising would be all about the content a business is creating and promoting. Is it informative? Giving value? Is it Entertaining? If it’s none of these things, then make sure to change the content and look at the style.
Organic advertising can also be in the form of your engagements (liking, commenting, direct messaging and sharing). By engaging with your target audience, your brand awareness can increase tremendously since your profile will show up more frequently in their notification feed.
4. Opportunities For Customer Engagement
Social media provides businesses with the opportunity to engage with customers in a more personal and meaningful way. You can respond to customer inquiries and concerns, offer support and even solicit feedback to improve your products or services.
This level of engagement can help build trust and loyalty with your customers, which is essential for long-term success. The personal touch goes a long way as people can tell whether you are being genuine or are just another automated bot.
Bigger companies can get away with having automation and bot responses. However, if the company has less than 100,000 followers, then I find it can play to your strength as a smaller business to be more authentic and find ways for a virtual assistant or social media manager to respond within 24 hours. If budget is an issue, I recommend simply blocking an hour of your time each day to respond to your messages and comments.
5. Improvement Of Communication Skills
Using social media can also help improve communication skills. Whether you’re writing posts, commenting or composing messages, social media provides an opportunity to practice writing and articulate your thoughts and ideas.
This can be especially helpful for individuals looking to develop their professional skills and improve their chances of success in the workforce.
Overall, CEOs should always be the ones controlling their social media. You know yourself better than any social media team could ever portray. As you can see when it comes to any successful CEO profile, such as Elon Musk, his personal brand is in many ways bigger than his business brand. The same applies to Bill Gates and many other successful entrepreneurs. Authentic personality always triumphs.
6. A Platform For Political And Social Activism
Finally, social media can serve as a platform for political and social activism. By raising awareness and connecting with others who share similar beliefs, you can use social media to advocate for important causes and bring about meaningful change.
Whether it’s raising awareness about an issue, supporting a political candidate or promoting a charity, social media provides a powerful tool for making a positive impact in the world.
In conclusion, social media offers a wide range of benefits that can improve your business and professional life. Whether it’s building professional networks, sharing information or even making a difference in the world, social media is a powerful tool that I believe should be used by all entrepreneurs, coaches and business owners.
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