Find Your Voice: 10 Steps to Establishing Your Business on Multiple Social Media Platforms

It’s no secret that social media is dominating the world of business with its frequent range of advertisements and millions of business profiles. Whether you personally follow your favorite business accounts or stumble across ads for new products, social media has a way of sending businesses to the forefront of users’ minds every minute of the day. Each platform offers different features that can highlight your brand and give it a voice online.

So now, the million dollar question is: How do you establish a voice on multiple social media platforms? The answer is different for everyone, but these 10 key steps can help you determine where to start and how big to go.

1. Pinpoint Your Target Audience
   First and foremost, who do you want to reach on social media? There are several factors to keep in mind: age, gender or geographic location, among others. For example, if your business is more local, a smaller-scale social media strategy can get the job done. An international brand, however, should take the “bigger is better” approach, going after a much wider audience and wider use of social media platforms. Once you figure out exactly who your desired audience is, research where they hang out online and aim toward using those social media platforms.
2. Get Creative – Showcase Your Unique Features
   Each company has something unique to offer; use social media to show off your unique qualities. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are all great examples of platforms where you can incorporate multimedia to visually engage your audience. You want your audience to see what you do in the most exciting way possible. This will get your customers talking and hopefully drive in new business.
3. Start Small and Work Your Way Up
   Patience is key. Gaining your voice will not come over night. Start small and think long-term about what you can do now to better your future outcome. Focusing on one platform at first can be very beneficial for a business. This allows you to gain footing and experiment with what works for your personal brand.
4. Take a Peek at Your Competitors
   I’m sure a lot of you are thinking, “Why would we want to engage with our competitors?” Well, I’m here to tell you learning about their brands and audiences can only help you. Dive into reviews on consumer opinions and take notes. Seeing what people like and don’t like about a competitor can give you insight into what they are looking for in general so you can apply it to your brand.
5. Cross Promote Your Other Social Media Pages
   Having a presence on more than one social media page is always a plus, however sometimes this means users engaging with one instead of the other. Encourage your users to check out your business on all platforms through cross-promotion. For example, a simple post on Facebook saying, “Be sure to follow us on our Instagram @username to stay up to date,” can help get the word out about your company’s presence online and help increase your following.
6. Get Personal
   Sharing a story about your company, such as the reason you started it or and your company mission goal can help with forming emotional attachments to clients. This gives them a personal reason to engage with your company and continue to support your business. Social media is the perfect place to get this message out due to its easy accessibility and widely known reliability.
7. Engage With Your Customers
   Key word – Communicate! Encourage your customers to write reviews about your services or submit testimonials. Responding to all consumer reviews and highlighting testimonials through social media allows you to show care and gratitude toward your clients. Also, potential clients can publicly see your good customer relations, which will make them want to engage with your company as well.
8. Consider Social Media Influencers
   It’s important to always invest your money wisely. With Instagram influencer programs on the rise, this could be a good place to invest in advertising. Depending upon your type of business, influencers can give your company the boost it needs by giving it a bigger voice. Hearing about a business from an influencer on social media can make word travel much faster and allows for external parties to discover your brand.
9. Promote a Post
   Even if you have a fairly established audience, promoting a post can continue to get your voice heard by more potential users, therefore increasing business. There are different levels of promotions, so you can choose which scale is ideal for your business. This will allow you to narrow down your target audience for specific posts, so it has the ability to reach exactly who you choose.
10. Brand Yourself the Same on All Platforms
    When establishing a voice on social media, it is important to create a brand for yourself, and by that I mean make sure the people can identify you quickly and easily. Try incorporating company logos, slogans or colors into your varying social media pages. This will allow your audience to remember you no matter where they see your signature marks.

Last, don’t forget to keep your audience up to date once you have established your voice online. Staying on top of posts, customer communication and overall updates will allow you to keep your business booming on social media.

Looking for a helping hand in establishing your voice on social media? Contact the Fiore Communications team.