Using Social Media to Promote Your Startup

startup social media

Social Media isn’t going anywhere. Many businesses are scrambling to try to figure out how to leverage the constant influx of new social media platforms to their advantage. This is proving to be easier for larger businesses and firms that have the marketing budget to research how social media can be used most effectively. Smaller companies and startups with smaller budgets generally do not have that luxury and are forced to figure out the world of effective social media on their own. There are a few things that startups can do, to make the most out of their social media presence:

 

Create A Social Media Marketing Plan

Many startups make the mistake of starting social media platforms for their company without a strategic plan. It’s important to establish a strategy so that you have actual goals to focus on and benchmarks to work towards.

  • Determine what your goals are. Is it building awareness for your brand? Distributing content for your brand? Generating Leads for your business? A combination of the three? Make sure that you establish what you want to accomplish.
  • Determine who target audience will be. What is their primary means of communication online? How do you plan to interact with them?
  • Determine who will run your accounts. Make sure that whomever has access and posting privileges is aware of your objectives and procedures. The last thing that your company wants is to have a sloppy online presence.

 

Determine The Best Time to be Online

This is directly tied into the determination of the target audience. It’s important for startups to research when their customers are typically online. Make sure that time zones are taken into consideration when making posts, and do research on the specific social media platforms that are being used. For example: People may use twitter and facebook at different times and for different reasons. Research and metrics are a startup’s best friend when determining when to post.

 

Listen to Your Audience

Startups can really use social media as a platform to get direct feedback from their users & customers. Don’t just flood your platforms with information. Ask questions and ask for feedback. Focus on gathering replies and even criticism. If used properly, social media platforms can be mini online focus groups for your company.

 

 

For more tips on getting the most out of social media platforms, see these resources:

Inc. | Startup Donut | America’s Small Biz Dev Center