How to Market Your Business on Social Media

When customers can’t come to you, you need to go where the customers are. With many people working from home and shopping online, social media is often where consumers make crucial decisions before getting out the credit card. Here’s how your business can capture their attention.Plant the seeds of awareness“First and foremost, you’re looking for brand awareness,” says Brian Murphy, Senior Manager, Social Media Solutions. Brian’s team of specialists at Yellow Pages Digital & Media Solutions advises thousands of Canadian business owners on how to get started in social media marketing, and take their campaigns to the next level.While your ideal customer may not be browsing social media to buy something right away, Brian points out, if you’re top of mind when that time does come because of an effective strategy, they’re likely to remember your product or service.Engage your audience“Interact with people on your posts whenever possible,” Brian recommends for increased engagement. “Don’t just ‘set and forget’ your content.”“It’s also important to be conscious of the balance between promotional content vs. non-promotional,” Brian points out. “If you balance your lead-generation activity with non-promotional engaging content, you’re more likely to build a loyal following.”Authentic and personalized messages will help humanize your brand. Once the conversation has started, you can work toward converting the connection you’ve created into brand loyalty.Mix and match strategiesBrian advises businesses to leverage both paid and organic posts, which his team can help manage through YP’s Facebook Solution and Facebook Ads Management. As an official Facebook Marketing Partner, YP offers clients the services of a team of certified experts who provide custom solutions tailored to the business goals at hand.Organic posts throughout the month, daily community management, and paid Facebook Ads that target your specific audiences will drive leads while building a following for your content.Don’t try to be everywhereAlmost 70% of the Canadian population uses a social media platform every month. The question is: Which one?“For us, Facebook and Instagram are the two main pillars,” Brian says.Instagram’s strength is engagement and works to reach a younger audience, while Facebook is more useful for achieving higher visibility and for distributing information. It’s important not to waste resources on the wrong platforms, talking to people who won’t ever be your customers.Know when to ask for helpThe learning curve can be steep with social media advertising platforms, and a strong campaign requires supervision and hands-on optimization.“Our small-business owner clients don't really have time to invest in managing their social presence, so we take over the management for them,” Brian says.Businesses who choose the YP Facebook Solution are paired with a campaign manager who takes on the creation and ongoing optimization of all elements of the campaign.Look at the resultsIn addition to regular reporting provided by the campaign manager, YP clients have 24/7 access to Yellow Pages’ proprietary analytics tool, YP Metrics. Here they can find a real-time snapshot of how their campaign is performing, and understand the return on their marketing investments.“YP Metrics offers a live dashboard they can filter by date,” Brian says. “It depends on the campaign goal, but we look at things like demographics, reach, and engagement, as well as impressions, clicks and cost per objective.”And it’s these types of insights that translate into business success stories.“One of our clients specializes in home healthcare,” Brian explains. “Their goal was to set up more franchises, so they wanted to target people who were interested in ownership opportunities.”The client had been running campaigns to entice franchisees but to no avail. YP’s team of Facebook experts quickly designed a lead generation campaign with an audience strategy that targeted the right prospects. The results?A high number of qualified leads at a low cost-per-lead. Based on the success of the campaign, the company hosted several information sessions for prospective clients—and have sold three new franchises.Need help managing your business’ social media presence? Yellow Pages Facebook Solution can help you grow your business. Find out more by visiting Yellow Pages for Business, and connect with a Yellow Pages expert today by calling 1-877-553-6883.