Are you using social media for business?

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Facebook and Twitter have become a huge part of our daily lives, and millions of companies successfully use social media for business, engaging with their customers and boosting their online presence.

But which social networks are right for your goals? And what should you post on each platform to get the results you want? We’ve taken a closer look at Facebook and Twitter to give you some ideas about how you can utilise each to your advantage.

We’ve also shared our most popular posts, which might spark some inspiration for your own social media content.

WHY YOU SHOULD USE FACEBOOK FOR BUSINESS

• The opportunity to connect with 1.15 billion users
• It’s the most popular social network by far
• 50% of social media users follow product and service recommendations from their friends
• You can engage with your customers on a personal level, as your content shows up on their timelines among family photos and articles shared by their friends

A SUCCESSFUL POST FROM BOXED RED

WHY IT WAS SUCCESSFUL

• Showed a glimpse behind the scenes at Boxed Red
• Gave an insight into the culture
• Featured a member of the team so our audience could relate to them
• We tagged a brand with a huge following, so the post achieved an even bigger reach

WHY YOU SHOULD USE TWITTER FOR BUSINESS

• Enjoy instant engagement with your customers and audience
• You can quickly respond to enquiries and improve customer service
• Listen to feedback from your customers and act on it immediately, where appropriate
• Keep an eye on your competition

A SUCCESSFUL POST FROM BOXED RED

WHY IT WAS SUCCESSFUL

• Shared a fantastic achievement, the team winning an industry award
• Showed members of the team
• We tagged Bill Turnbull, the television presenter who presented our award, this gave us the opportunity to expand our reach to his followers
• We used relevant and topical hashtags, including #BESMA – the official hashtag of the event, this ensured our picture showed up in searches for this term

OUR RECOMMENDATIONS

Share images of your work, your people and activities you’re involved with to give some insight into the culture of your business. Your customers love to see ‘behind the scenes’ and images generally achieve better engagement in the form of Retweets, likes, comments and shares.

Look for opportunities to engage with other users by using hashtags and tagging people or brands with popular accounts. This can extend the reach of your posts to a new audience, who might decide to engage with you further, or follow your activity for more content.

Don’t forget to communicate, talk to your followers by Tweeting them, commenting on their posts and sharing their content. Social media is a two way street and you’ll start to build genuine connections and loyalty to your brand.

And one last point – don’t ignore Tweets and messages from your customers, users expect a quick response on Twitter and it’s a great opportunity to speak to people who are genuinely engaged with your brand.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN…

Using social media for business can be fun and a great way to help you achieve your goals, whether you want to generate more sales, make genuine connections with your customers or share valuable content that improves the perception of your company.

Let us know your biggest social media challenge in the comments, and we’ll share our best tips for success!

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