Start-ups often make the mistake of putting off their social media strategy. They may not know where to begin, or perhaps they feel there are “more important” things to do. With a direct approach, we guide our clients from the outset by asking, “What could be more important than connecting with potential customers today?”
In this article, we share social media strategies for start-ups. Here are steps you can take to accelerate your launch:
1) Evaluate the best social media networks for your business and build a solid, professional presence.
There are so many platforms to choose from, yet you don’t want to be stretched too thin. Start by figuring out which social media platforms your potential customers are using and decide how you can most effectively utilize those platforms to support them, get on their radar, and answer their questions.
Complete your corporate profile and company pages professionally and try to avoid appearing stiff or formal. Write like you are having a conversation with your customer.
2) Optimize the search engine to maximize your social media presence.
There are thousands of tactics to improve your SEO rankings on social media. We know you’re busy, so we’ll focus on three simple strategies that can give you quick wins:
- Select your target keywords and strategically place them in sections of your social media profiles.
Brainstorm for keywords that your target audiences would use to find a professional such as yourself. Are these keywords that competitors are also using? Utilize tools such as Google Keyword Planner for relevance and inspiration. Once you’ve identified them (5-10), feel free to carefully select and place some of the keywords in various sections of your Social Media Profiles. Remember, this should appear natural – keyword stuffing is a big “no-no” and, in some instances, could hurt your ranking.
- Create posts and articles using keywords.
When you create content, think about how you can organically include a few of those keywords in the text. Including relevant hashtags with your target keywords is also recommended.
- Add links from other (credible) websites that point to your social media profiles
This will increase visitors to your social media profiles and boost the link juice of the search engine. Remember, these links have to make sense for your business, or they could lower your ranking.
3) Be social!
This is one of the biggest mistakes we see people making on social media. They set up a bunch of accounts and then become anti-social. When you make a new connection, take the time to get to know those people and build a professional relationship beyond social media. Get the conversation started with a personalized message to your new connection and request a telephone or video conversation to become more acquainted. Social media platforms are the initial point of contact and a gateway to developing professional relationships with your target audiences (clients, prospects, collaborators, partners, recruiters, ideal candidates, investors).
4) Create content that offers value for your target audience.
How can you determine the content that will be most helpful to your target audience? The easiest way is to ask your new connections about the problems they are facing. What questions do they have? Armed with these answers, you can write content that confidently addresses their most important issues.
5) Administer your helpful content to ensure your audience will see it.
When you write a unique piece of content, tactically plan to distribute it so that many individuals from your target audience will read it. Ask yourself the following:
- Do my connections/followers consist of my target prospects?
- Which hashtags do my target prospects follow?
- To which groups do they belong?
- Can I engage contacts within my network with my new content whom my target audience members also follow?
Of the numerous mini-goals and milestones to consider when growing a Start-up, many are achieved simply by connecting with the right people. So much of that happens through social media. The five techniques above can fuel your efforts and spark some of your most vital professional relationships as you navigate with the knowledge that potential clients, investors, and stakeholders are all here with you on these platforms.