According to Statistica, by 2023 the global social media user base is projected to reach 3.02 billion people, which is almost a third of the Earth’s population! It’s no surprise then that social media is taking up a lot of people’s attention. That being said, if you own a business and aren’t paying attention to constructing a solid social media presence, chances are your customers already are or soon will be turning to your competitors. As a modern-day entrepreneur, this caught my eye. I’ve never had any doubts about the importance of being active on social media, but I wanted to explore the opinions of other business owners about the growth of social media. What I ended up discovering is that the challenge for brands isn’t whether to take advantage of social media, but how to take advantage of it. We’ve also found myself getting overwhelmed by the amount of information out there.

With the abundance of digital marketing channels accessible today such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, videos, and blogs, it is clear that companies are having difficulty picking the most effective social media approach for their company. As a result, I went to a few prosperous entrepreneurs to get their advice on successful online marketing.

Here are the five strategies that they suggested for using social media to increase business success this year:

Leverage social media platforms to attract visitors to your online shops.

During a phone call, the CEO of a few multi-million dollar ecommerce businesses discussed the potential of social media for ecommerce entrepreneurs, including himself. “We employ social media to direct visitors to our 300+ ecommerce stores,” he explained. Most of his triumphs have been from utilizing paid Facebook ads to guide his company’s social media fans to the stores. He added, “We anticipate our businesses to hit $60 million in sales by the end of 2022, with much of that coming from social media.”

If you are an entrepreneur with an ecommerce business, you can boost your enterprise swiftly by utilizing targeted Facebook ads to bring in more website visitors. There are more than 1.4 billion people actively using Facebook every day, meaning that it’s not an issue of whether or not your customers are on the platform. They are, but that doesn’t guarantee that they will discover your page or become buyers. To get the desired results, you must advertise to them in a way that will make them want to purchase your product, and this is achievable by targeting the right people with the correct offer.

Incorporate video content into your social media campaigns to captivate and attract more followers.

Check out your favorite social media page, and you’ll see that most of the content consists of videos instead of just photos and text. Algorithms have adapted to prioritize videos over any other type of format. Companies have taken note of this and are using video more and more – 86% of businesses have it on their website, and 77% post it on social media. The formula for success is quite simple; create an interesting, genuine, and adventurous life and document it through vlogging. Many influencers, such as Tai Lopez, have found success with this approach – they have earned more money recording with their phone than others have with expensive equipment.

If you want your customers to stay interested, videos are the way to go! Get creative and give them an inside glimpse into your life, document a product launch, or show them what it’s like to work for your company. At the end of the day, if you don’t incorporate video into your social media strategy, your followers are sure to become disinterested.

Increase your visibility and recognition by enlisting the help of influential social media personalities to spread the word about your offerings.

Utilizing social media to expand your online presence can be a huge benefit for your brand. If you can get a trusted authority in your niche to back your product or service, your sales are likely to leap drastically. Nowadays, influencer marketing is on the rise, and one survey showed that 22 percent of marketers thought it was the most budget-friendly way to gain new customers.

Takeaway: Collaborating with influencers on social media can be a highly lucrative decision you can make for your business this year. Consumers are more likely to be drawn to influencers than celebrities, which is why they seek advice from their favorite models and experts on what to purchase.

Make sure you offer plenty of value before requesting something in exchange.

It is essential to remember that customers don’t take kindly to being “sold to,” but they do enjoy shopping. An effective way to gain your customers’ interest is by offering an abundance of free resources before asking them to purchase something. You should share helpful content on your socials to foster trust and entice people to buy.

Given the sheer amount of ads that customers are exposed to on social media, this concept is even more relevant. If you want to create an engaged audience on social media who appreciate your brand and love buying from you, offer content that solves their problems and make them feel valued before requesting a sale. This will enable you to assemble a large group of devoted customers who will come back to you time and time again.

Leverage social media to share your unique story and stand out from other brands.

To set yourself apart from the competition, take advantage of social media to showcase your brand. People make decisions based on their emotions, and then rationalize them afterwards. Therefore, if you want your brand to last, use social media to tell your story and create a deeper bond with customers. This will make them more loyal to your brand. Whether you are a company or an individual, you can use any platform to tell your story and distinguish yourself from others. In the years to come, people will still be attracted to the same fundamental things – stories that they can identify with and brands that resonate with them.

Ultimately, brand storytelling is a great way to stand out from the crowd, build relationships with clients, increase customer loyalty, and make your vision come to life. Incorporating one or all of these five social media approaches makes it simpler than ever to develop your business through social media.

If you need help to develop your social media plan, reach out to The Agency and let’s get going!