Growing YOUR Business On Social Media?

How to grow a business using social media?

When Desiree Yazdan first graduated from dental school, she chose to work in several well-established dental practices.

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Each day as she walked into work, all she could see was opportunity!

To one day have her own business, to refine her skills, to use those refined skills to help people from all over the world.

About a year and a half after school, she became a partner in what she thought was a very well-established office. Little did she know what a turn the business would take. Shortly after the buy-in, the other partner that was in the office stopped practicing dentistry and I was left without any patients and a staff that expected to be paid. Most of the patients became angry and left, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to make it.

"At that point, I didn’t have money for marketing, so I turned to social media. I saw it as a way to market myself for free. I figured since everyone was on it, I may as well start showcasing my work. And I’m so glad that I did. Today, my practice looks much different than before. Today I have people traveling from all over the world for me to redesign their smiles. I have plenty of new patients in my office each month. And today, I have built the freedom in my business — and my life — that I had always dreamed of. And it's all because of social media.

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In a world where the internet has taken over, it’s silly to think that a new business would choose to not use social media as a marketing strategy.

My first step was to start using Facebook and Instagram to connect with people individually about my business.

I started sharing my passion with the world. Social media is all about the one-on-one connections and recognizing that early on can be a game changer. If you’re on social media, you need to be social. And that is exactly what I started doing — being social."

So, how do you grow a social media page that brings in new business? It comes down to four simple steps.

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1. Pick Your Niche

When you niche down, it will be easier for you to grow. Why? Because people are looking for specificity. One mistake I constantly see is trying to have a very broad audience so that as many people as possible notice you. In my experience, that's the wrong approach.

If you’re trying to establish yourself as a dog-training expert, then you will be marketing yourself to dog lovers and dog owners.

You should be creating content about training dogs: what type of collar to use, what kind of leash to use, what hand signals to use, what age to start training your dog.

If you instead created all kinds of content, such as posts about refurbishing furniture, you’re never going to gain a true following. Pick a niche and then create your social media content around that niche.

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2. Edit Your Bio

Your bio is the first thing people see when they land on your page. Use it to make clear who you are, what you do, where people can find you and how they can reach you.

3. Nail Down Your Ideal Audience

You aren’t going to be able to attract everyone, and you shouldn’t want to. It may feel effective in the beginning, but it’s hard to sustain long-term growth with this method. Why? Because when you’re talking to everyone, you’re actually talking to no one. When you are talking to a specific person, they will be drawn to you because it feels like your content was created for them and their needs.

Let’s say you’re a bride and you’re looking for a wedding photographer. You land on a page that has pretty photos, but they're lifestyle images. You're probably going to keep scrolling. But, let's say you land on a page filled with beautiful wedding photos. You will feel like this page was made for you, and you will likely start to be interested in the content they have created.

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4. Be Consistent

Your following on social media grows when you are consistent. In order to get people to follow you and engage with you, and in order for you to have opportunities from the platforms, you need to be consistent.

You can't expect to post 10 photos one day, then disappear for two weeks and still see growth.

Remember, you're building one-on-one connections. So if you aren't consistently showing up, people won't engage with you. They won't want to see what you are doing next.

If you want a platform that grows, you need to show up every single day, no matter what.

Guest Authored By Desiree Yazdan. Desiree is an expert in Reconstructive & Cosmetic Dentistry. Follow Desiree on Twitter.

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Now that you have your four steps, it’s time to put them into action. 

And remember, social media is about long-term growth. It’s not a get-rich-quick strategy, so stick with it and stay consistent..

• 

  Post Crafted By:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, CO. where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

Start-Up Stand Out Social Media?

Startups come and go in today’s world of business. The simple fact is that 90% of new startups will fail. The reasons are complex and numerous, but one of the most prevalent causes is a lack of brand growth and exposure. People simply don’t know about the startup or their product..

Leveraging the power of social media can provide your startup with the exposure it needs to grow and thrive. Join us as we look at five ways startups can make their mark on social media..

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5 Strategies For Startups to Stand Out on Social Media

The 10% of startups that actually survive have a set of common characteristics that kept them from going under. Modelling these characteristics will give you the opportunity to start on the right foot, but what you do with that start is what matters.

As you take to the modern platforms of social media, consider these five strategies for nurturing and growing your startup’s brand as you make a name for yourself:

1. Be Honest and Authentic

According to Psychology Today, research shows that emotional responses to an ad have a greater influence on a buyer’s intent than the ad’s content itself! Building an emotional connection with your customers is far more important than trying to sell them something through sales tactics.

The first step in winning the trust and loyalty of your customers is being yourself. People don’t want to see a logo or read some corporate jargon, they want to connect with the people and the passion behind your brand.

This is why it’s important to start a blog and create emotional connections. Being honest and true to your customers will ultimately win them over far more than a clever ad ever could.

2. Tell Stories

Your business blog, social media accounts, and even your emails are all places where you can tell stories. Today’s top successful startups are leveraging the power of storytelling in their marketing to forge true bonds with their readers and mae them part of the startup’s brand.

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It’s important to tell stories because people can easily connect with a memorable tale, but it has to be done correctly. You make sure your customer is the sole focus of the story. Create situations where they can place themselves in the character’s shoes.

Incredible research has revealed that stories can make our brains think we’re actually experiencing something when we’re just reading about it. A perfect example is when you read about some sort of food in a story. If it’s described well, your sensory cortex lights up as if you were eating it.

Furthermore, motion in a story triggers your motor cortex. Our brains can convince us we’re experiencing something when all we’re actually doing is reading about it.  This is why you can’t just tell them, you have to show it to them with visuals, video, or a combination of the two. Illustrate how your product can solve a problem they encounter in their daily lives.

Above all else, avoid these storytelling pitfalls in your marketing:

• Don’t tell them how to feel, instead show them through actual images or well-written text.
• Avoid using complicated terms that can confuse your readers. Stick to standard language
• Don’t remove the human element. Keep it focused on the human side of things and your customers

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• Don’t leave it hanging. Give your story a clear beginning, middle, and end
• A lack of conflict makes for a boring story. Establish a goal and show the ways your product overcomes adversity to reach it
• Don’t force it. Gather stories from employees and customers that are authentic and real

3. Develop A Consistent Brand Voice

A brand’s voice is a collective way of engaging and speaking to users. Whether it’s on social media, your blog, or even in person, the brand’s voice should be consistent. This is not only how you stand out on today’s social media platforms, but it’s also how you build trust and overcome obstacles.

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When you first start engaging on social media, you should ensure your entire team is on the same page with how communications should be handled. Depending on your product or service, you should create a chart that everyone can reference when they are interacting on social media.

Among other things, this chart should illustrate the following:

• Your brand’s overall tone and approach (casual, professional, etc.)‘
• How people should describe your text, visuals, and marketing (Bold, exciting, controversial, etc.)
• How you are different than your competitors
• Examples of how your customers prefer to communicate
• Action verbs and terminology to use (or not to use)
• This should be an ever-evolving chart that constantly shifts to meet the landscape of social media and the current environment that your brand is trying to promote. A brand’s voice is always evolving, but consistency is key for building trust.

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4. Target The Right Platform

Major corporations tend to have a presence on a lot of social media platforms, which sets a precedent that startups need to meet that goal. Unfortunately, that’s just not possible. It takes teams of people to run multiple social media platforms at once, and that’s not time or manpower that a startup can afford.

But, you know what?

It doesn’t matter! Your audience isn’t bouncing around social media platforms. They tend to stay with the ones they’re comfortable with. That means that your startup can safely focus on one or two platforms and still find success.

The challenge comes in choosing which one is right for your brand? To do so, ask yourself these questions:

• What types of customers are you targeting?
• Where do your customers typically spend their time on social media?
• What kind of content are you creating? Which platform would best utilize it?
• What kind of tools does the platform offer to make your job easier?
• Which platforms have the best ROI?
• What kind of features or tools does the platform have for engaging other users?

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5. Host a Live Event

Our final, and perhaps boldest way to stand out on social media, is to host a live event. Live streaming has been huge ever since Facebook Live launched. With the press of a button, you can instantly connect your brand with your customers on social media.

Whether it’s a new product unveiling, a behind-the- scenes look at your company, or something else entirely, hosting an event like this can garner huge results for a startup and bring countless people into the fold.

A perfect example is how Tastemade brought tiny kitchen cooking to the masses with their live broadcast. As of this writing, the archived video has over 45,000 likes and 18,000 shares! Many of these people had never heard of tiny cooking before this video, myself included.

It shows the power of going live and harnessing the excitement of the moment. This is something startups can easily tap into for huge returns.

Guest Authored By Matt Banner. Matt is the Founder of OnBlastBlog. Follow Matt on Twitter.

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“Startups and social media are a match made in heaven.

The power of these platforms to reach your audience is unparalleled.

You just need to know how to reach them.

Which strategies would you suggest for standing out on social media? Let us know in the comments!.”

• 

  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

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