Five Ways To Start Your Business On Social Media

Do you have a new business that you are looking to get off the ground? Or perhaps you’ve been in business for a while and are just looking to expand your clientele? Either way, without hesitation, you should turn to social media. By establishing yourself within the digital age by joining social media, you have the opportunity to not only reach out to new potential clients, but to also create a stronger connection with current clients, generate more chatter about your business and maintain a viable online presence. Here are some tips to help get you started:

Figure out which social media outlet is for you. From Facebook to LinkedIn to blog sites, there are a million and one different places to set up your extended online presence. I say extended because I’m hoping you already have an initial website for your company and/or product. If not, you must kick that off in addition to branching into social media. Start off by exploring all different avenues of social media. Get a feel for the type of audience who visits them. A quick way to do this is to try a general Google search for your product or keywords associated with your business. Follow some links and blogs that pop up in the results with the assumption that people already discussing these things are likely to be potential clients. If someone has commented, follow their profile and see which social media sites they’ve established themselves with.

Set up your profile. Once you have determined the best platform for your business, don’t waste any time getting started. Most social media sites are very simple to join. Basically, you need to provide a name and email. Next, you create a password and then you are done with the initial set up process. Of course, to make your profile stand out, you will probably want to include images, updates and some helpful and interesting background information, such as when you were founded and what you do. Make sure you keep your brand consistent throughout.

Interact with others through the platform. Let’s say you picked Facebook as your first social media venture. Facebook offers more than just a personal profile, you have the option of joining groups, creating events and forming connections. Just like you did with Google, do a quick search on Facebook for your product. Most likely there will be a number of groups that revolve around your product or something similar. By joining these groups and posting comments to spark conversations you may create new bonds, find new clients and get some interesting and helpful feedback.

Connect your business site with your social media site. The entire purpose behind social media is to bring in new clients and ideas to your already established business. To create that connection, you need to link all your online sites together. Take this chiropractor in Charlotte, NC, for example. When you scroll through the home page of his professional site, you see an invitation to follow them on both Google+ and Facebook. However, the one thing I would recommend to them is that their Facebook page include a link right back to their homepage in case a client finds them on Facebook first and would like to check out their website.

When starting a new business, it is important to do everything within your power to get your company off the ground. You need clients to survive, and by putting yourself on social media you are opening yourself up to literally a billion potential followers from around the world.

Scott Huntington is a writer, reporter, blogger, and social media marketer for CJ Pony Parts. Follow Scott at @SMHuntington