Get more clients through Social Media
A website for your business is great to increase your audience reach and allow potential clients to get informed about your services and products before making the final step to buy them. However, your website is not enough if nobody knows you exist. That’s why it’s essential to be part of the very useful of social media networks.
Establish your business as an authority in the industry – invest into creating a social media strategy that will bring you closer to potential clients.
Choose your social media channels
Before we start getting into social media marketing, choose wisely the platforms you’re going to be present on. It might be tempting to create a profile on every social media network out there in the hopes of attracting more customers. In reality, this doesn't make a lot of sense and would be a bad idea.
Let’s compare a few of the most popular networks:
With over 1 billion users, chances are a portion of your target audience has an active account on Facebook, no matter what your niche or specialization is. You can capitalize on Facebook by creating a page for your business or participating in Facebook groups that are comprised of your target audience.
Having an active Facebook page where they share articles published on their site as well as invite their fans to attend tutorial-style webinars to learn more about what it is they do. They also promote their services as well as share posts that are more personal in nature.
Twitter is a fast paced network that works extremely well for connecting with others in your industry. If you prefer working with a younger audience then Twitter can be an excellent way to reach them. Another way to use Twitter is to use their search function and search for keywords related to your industry. You can see everyone who has tweeted about needing a specific category of professionals or industry.
Businesses and Individuals use their Twitter profile not only to share their work but to give brief insights into their life as well. This enables for an even closer relationship with your target audience. They also share tips related to their respective industries but also blogging and social media tips that help their clients get in touch with them and their products.
Touted as the social media network for professionals, LinkedIn is a great platform to be active on if you prefer working with corporate clients. Aside from an optimized profile, you can use LinkedIn Answers, LinkedIn Pulse, and LinkedIn Groups to form connections and position yourself as an authority, which leads to more visibility.
Instagram is a highly visual platform where you can benefit the most by sharing your portfolio pieces or giving your followers a behind the scenes peek into your creative process. Followers here are organic and them following you means they are interested in your content. Serve them well with daily posts, be gentle.
Another highly visual platform, comprised of mainly female audience. It’s a place to discover new things but it’s also where visitors go for inspiration whether they are remodeling their home or looking for a website redesign. There are plenty of boards that save pins with inspirational images of a huge variety of categories, so the potential for getting warm leads is quite high, especially when you consider the fact that Pinterest referrals spend 70% more money than those coming from any other social media network.
You can Pin your work and also useful posts on topics that appeal your audience.
Which one should you use?
This largely depends on who your target audience is. In order to attract your target audience you need to go where they are, which means you should choose social media channels where your ideal customer likes to spend time. Research, keep notes and take action.
Go where your audience is!
Because of that, the first thing to do is to visualize who your ideal clients are. Think back to your past projects and clients and identify which ones were the most satisfying to work with.
- Who were they?
- What were their interests?
- What demographics did they belong to?
Once you have your ideal customer avatar, you can determine which networks they are using the most. From there on, it’s a matter of adapting and joining the various networks, creating your profile, and personalizing your content in order to be appealing to your future clients.
..everyday is social media day..
How to attract your target audience
To attract your target audience on your chosen social media channels, you need to post engaging content that will appeal to them as well as take time to cultivate relationships.
Being active with a positive attitude will only lead to an engaging audience who will be the voice of your growing success.
Sharing is caring!
Post the right content
It’s natural that you want to promote your work and your website in order to gain more visibility. But constantly posting about your work and services will most likely alienate your customers because nobody likes people that are overly promotional. People don’t like to feel forced into buying something, especially from someone they don’t really know.
In order to turn your followers into customers, you need to establish trust and the best way to do this is position yourself as an authority. This means you need to share content that your target audience will find helpful and enjoyable, even if that content comes from your competitors.
Sharing third-party content may seem counter-intuitive but it will in fact position you as someone who stays on top of industry trends and knows the industry from the inside out.
You can pair that with content posted on your website, tips that show people how your specific industry impacts their life, client case studies, and occasional posts that discuss what you are currently working on. The golden rule is that you should share third-party content 80% of the time and your own 20% of the time.
Grow & enrich relationships
Take time to respond to your followers and engage in conversation with them. Offer tips and feedback without asking anything in return.
By doing so, you will show them that you care about them and not just about the number of followers that you have. Establishing a personal relationship will go a long way toward allowing your customers to get to know you, which further strengthens the trust factor.
Focus on providing value and listening to what your potential clients have to say.
Start using social media today
Social media is a powerful tool in any business owner or freelancer’s arsenal. When you take the time to cultivate relationships and post the content that places you at the forefront of your customer’s mind, you can gain more visibility for your business and improve you chances of turning followers into customers.
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Social Media is the place to be in 2017. An ever growing world wide window where clients are literally just a click away. Contact us for free consultancy on how to successfully manage your personalized online social network.
Help freelancers attract more clients | Ambassador at Gigger
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