As an online marketing franchise, our digital strategy is hugely important to us and we often use social media to our advantage to gain new business. Whatever your business may be, whether it’s one of the top UK franchises(!) or a hair salon on the high street, our latest social media advice is something that can be adapted for everyone. 

Social media is designed to allow businesses to share a more personal side of their brand, position them as experts in their industry and engage with customers or potential customers directly. Whilst organic social media activity can never fully guarantee conversions, it can allow you to reach prospects, nurture relationships and make connections for now and in the future. 

• Be sociable 

It might seem obvious, but scheduling a few posts is the bare minimum required for social media, but you need to think beyond this. You need to allow time in your social media schedule to spend engaging with your audience, listen to what their talking about (and what’s trending) and joining in on the conversation. This will boost engagement levels and encourage intrigue about who you are as well as increase your follower count.

• Consider competitions

That’s right, introducing competitions into your social media schedule is a great way not only to generate leads, but boost engagement and reach. Prizes also don’t often need to be of great value to create a buzz and you may even find yourself trending!

• Ask for reviews

It’s no secret that many consumers will often consult reviews or recommendations before making a purchase or taking on a new service. So don’t be shy, ask your customers for reviews or testimonials. Many social channels have their own in-built capabilities, such as Google reviews and Facebook recommendations and you can embed these feeds onto your website. 

• Share your blogs

Just like this one, which you have hopefully spotted on our own social media channels, sharing expert content from your field of expertise is not only great for SEO, but is generally designed to capture intrigue, share catch-free content and hopefully attain a new lead. No pressure! 

• Consider response times

Social media has become a magnet for consumer enquiries. It puts your brand in a convenient location where your audience resides and they have no desire to search for answers elsewhere! So be sure to remain responsive when you receive enquiries, either to your page’s inbox or in the comments of one of your own posts. This can help to build trustworthy and reliable relationships within a public space and further influence their opinion on your brand. 

• Invest in paid social media advertising

This is more of a sure-fire way to build your list of leads or ensure sales. This gives your business the ability to specifically target an audience with specific rules. This approach is ideal for campaign-led social media marketing and if your budget allows for it, then you should consider it as part of your ongoing marketing plan. 

• Check your analytics

The only way you will truly define if your social media plan to gain more leads is working or not is to check your insights or analytics regularly. This will help you to make key decisions around content, topics, which channels are more successful and where your gaps are to make improvements. 

So, will you be using our tips this week to improve your social media practice? 

If you’re keen to help other businesses do just the same, then you may consider becoming part of our online marketing franchise and becoming a franchisee with activ. The freedom to run your own business with the expert backing from one of the top UK franchises.