Feb 2019 Why operating an Instagram, Facebook and Linked-in business profile is a crucial marketing strategy
The most significant and powerful change in small business marketing in the last 12 years has been the introduction of Social Media.
As the online world continues to grow and evolve, new social media sites tempt us to use them to market our services and products. With many social media sites to choose from, three sites continue to be the most effective for small business – Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
So how do you utilise these sites for your benefit?
The Benefits of using Instagram
Instagram was bought by Facebook in 2012 and its popularity has grown exponentially, now claiming it has 1 billion active users per month. Instagram is easy to access, easy to post images, interact with other users, relatively easy to gain a large following and a great platform for highly visual businesses, making it an ideal first choice for businesses in the Landscape/Horticulture Industry.
So what should you post on Instagram and how frequently?
Regular posting of quality images is the key to building a good profile with a growing number of followers. I don’t think a business should be posting just for the sake of it, rather, posting QUALITY images regularly (once or twice a week) is more important. If you run a landscape design and/or construction business, engage professional photographers to photoshoot your garden designs and builds, so you can post quality images. If you operate a commercial landscaping, maintenance or a nursery business, professional images will always portray your business in a much better light than just taking quick shots with your iphone. Many of your potential clients will probably already have an instagram profile and may first become aware of your services and products through Instagram. Many potential clients look at both a company’s social media and website before purchasing, so making sure your instagram profile presents well is very important and should be part of your marketing plan.
Being effective on social media is not just about you and your posts. It is important to support your followers and other businesses and people of interest by liking and commenting on their posts often. By doing this you actively engage your growing network which helps build your profile and brand.
Marketing to potential new Employees
Building your brand means making a greater number of people and businesses aware of your company. Building your Instagram profile can pay dividends when searching for new recruits because many future employees will also have an instagram profile and be visiting Instagram regularly. Although they are probably passive job searchers (not actively looking for a job), if they are following your posts and like your brand, your vacant position post will not go unnoticed.
The Benefits of using Facebook
Facebook has been allowing members to create a profile since 2006. It is the still considered the most effective and largest social media site and has 1.4 billion users. So it is essential that you operate your facebook profile in a similar way to your Instagram profile by posting quality images of your projects, business, team, events and educational posts that could be useful to clients and followers and showcase your business in a positive light.
As you probably know, you generally start a profile on Facebook by creating a personal facebook profile and then a business page can be created and attached. They can operate independently of one another and you can expose followers/friends to both profiles.
Facebook bought Instagram in 2012, so all your facebook friends (on your personal and business profiles) can be offered to follow your Instagram profile as well.
Marketing to potential new Employees
You can advertise on Facebook by posting a free advertisement on your profile or paying for a Facebook ad campaign. Potential employees (even if they aren’t a follower) could see your advertisement on Facebook (paid or free) directly or indirectly by one of your followers sharing your post. Paying for an advertisement can boost the amount of people that see the advertisement. Also there are many members groups on Facebook that you can advertise on. Local sporting sites, mother groups etc can be a very effective way to find employees.
The Benefits of using LinkedIn
LinkedIn was created to help corporation employees’ network and advance in their career. But many small business owners could see the value in having a profile and became members. Statistics suggest that LinkedIn is the most effective platform for marketing product launches and distributing news and information about new products. So as a Business to Business networking platform, LinkedIn is one of the best. You can also post articles that are relevant to your business that could be of interest to your database and followers, which is an effective strategy that can help indirectly promote your business to potential employees and clients.
Marketing to potential new Employees
Linked-in is a good platform to promote available positions to your followers. You can advertise for free or pay per month.
No matter what audience you are trying to reach, focusing your marketing efforts in these three social media sites should be part of your monthly marketing campaign.