Ecommerce entrepreneurs have this great resource, the Internet and social media marketing, native to their business, and then 95% of them fail to harness its full potential. You have to face the facts: If you do business online, then you are a marketer first and foremost, regardless if you’re selling hand-crocheted rugby jerseys or splash-guards for dog-bathers. Marketing online is a full-time job all by itself. Here’s some fresh inspiration when you get burnt out on it:
- 1. Link fluidly between social media accounts. Your Twitter should mention your business web address, and either your company’s Facebook or Google+ page. Your Tumblr blog should link to your Pinterest blog. Your website should have links out to all of the above for the best social media marketing strategy.
- 2. Sponsor a simple contest involving social media. For instance, drawing your logo or company mascot on DeviantArt, composing the funniest meme image related to your business to post on Tumblr, or run an online scavenger hunt. Simple little exercises with a free product as a prize (and why not your company Tshirt?) will be fun and get customers involved, at the same time, easy social media marketing and getting some publicity for your business.
- 3. Think visual! Images and video are creaming plain text as a social media marketing and general marketing method. A cat photo with a funny caption will garner thousands of visits, while your thoughtful, in-depth article goes unread. And videos on YouTube are hotter than dynamite, if you haven’t heard. Even if you don’t have much to show, posting a video or getting one produced for you will get you masses of attention you didn’t know was out there.
- 4. Let your customer base interview you. A lot of marketers have found success posting what is called an “AMA” on social news sites like Digg and Reddit. “AMA” stands for “ask me anything” and can be a nice little Q-and-A session with your audience, always revolving around your related product. Even politicians campaigning do this now. Along with getting your audience to know more about your field, if you’re observant, you’ll learn something from the questions people ask as well.
- 5. Post early and post often. Studies show that the peak times to post are during office hours on workdays and in the evening hours on weekends. This generally applies whether it’s tweets, blog posts, social media posts, or email newsletters. But the time varies depending on your format and chosen social media marketing demographic.
