There’s no doubt about it: social media is changing the way people communicate. Wise business owners and Park Slope Softworks, an inbound marketing company in Brooklyn, recognize this and are developing social media strategies to grow their online audiences and increase their sales.

To illustrate the importance of social media strategies to business owners, just look at these statistics:

• 62% of American adults use Facebook
• 83% of U.S. teens in wealthy households are on Instagram
• YouTube reaches more adults (ages 18-34) than any single television cable network
• Pinterest has 47 million users who send traffic to more than 300,000 websites

Are you capitalizing on this enormous captive audience?

Have you introduced a social media strategy to your business that will turn prospects into customers and clicks into sales? If not, don’t waste any more time. Get started today. Consider the following strategies for growing your online audience and increasing sales through social media and inbound marketing.

Writing for Likes and Shares

“Likes” and “Shares” are a sort of currency in today’s online world. If you can get your readers to “like” and “share” your content, you can extend its reach. It will be featured more prominently, and it will gain that most-sought-after distinction of all: friend endorsement.

You’ve done it yourself. You’ve gone to a restaurant or a dry cleaners or a dentist just because a friend told you it was great and you would like it. And often, your friends are right.

It’s the same on social media. When people see that your business is trusted or approved by people they know, they automatically give you consideration. That advantage can be huge for your business.

The following strategies can help you to elicit more “Likes” and “Shares” on social media.

Post Engaging Photos

One study found that Facebook posts with photos generated 53% more likes than posts without photos. As a marketer, you need to find a way to use high-quality, meaningful photos with your social media posts. Your photos should be relevant and enforce your branding.

The same study found that posts with photos got 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs. This is huge. If you can drive traffic from Facebook or Instagram or any other social media site directly to your company’s website, you can increase your sales. In short, catch their interest with a photo, and then send them to your website.

Always use emotion evoking images…

Keep Posts Short

Really short. Another study showed that very short posts (less than 80 characters in length) received 66% more engagement than longer posts. It’s not easy to write a post in less than 80 characters; that’s significantly shorter than the average tweet on Twitter. But if you can manage to do it, you’ll reap the rewards.

Post During Off-Peak Hours

Buddy Media’s research found that posts made between 8pm and 7am received 20% more user engagement. As far as days of the week, the best engagement results from posts made on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Reaching Your Target Audience

Previously, we’ve talked about defining your target audience and identifying their needs. If you’ve done this, you can use this information to increase sales through social media.

Use Keywords

You can directly reach people through particular keywords that you use in your Twitter campaigns. Intentional, strategic use of keywords, especially with hashtags, can help your targeted audience to find you.

Try Interest Targeting

Through the Twitter platform, you can “Add Interests” to your profile such as “Automotive news” or “Ethnic foods.” Twitter will recommend users with these interests, and you can create ad campaigns targeting the users with these interests.

For help with your social media strategy, contact us at Park Slope Softworks.

About Park Slope Softworks: Park Slope Softworks is a Digital Marketing Agency, Specializing in Inbound Marketing services, that helps businesses get new leads and grow their businesses by creating targeted content and exposing the right audience to it. You can reach us at 646-519-3534 or send us an email to: enqueries@parkslopesoftworks.com

If you like what you read. check out our Ebook: “How to turn Facebook likes into paying clients.”