Roughly 78 percent of Americans have at least one social media profile and your business Facebook, Twitter or Instagram profile equates to free marketing if you handle it skillfully.
But, it takes two to tango on social media. Your ability to reach customers on social media is closely tied to how your might build relationships with them through a face-to-face interaction. Engagement and personal relationships should be your first priority when you create your business account on social media.
You should engage your followers. In real life, this equates to buying someone a cup of coffee or hosting a reception. But, in the world of social media, this can be anything from a survey, to a photo contest, to an intriguing question for your audience.
When timing promotions, ask yourself, “Is this how I would time this if I were in a crowded room with this person/target audience?” If it feels too forward, work on relationships with your audience a bit longer.
If many of your posts are hard sells or promotions, Facebook will decrease your reach or the amount of followers who will see your posts in their feed. (The site’s mission is to promote a social environment rather than a marketplace environment for their users.) But if your posts elicit comments and likes, your reach will expand and when you do endeavor that promotion, it will reach an ever wider pool of people.
Pro-tip: comment on your follower’s comments. Even though they are your own, Facebook still interprets them as follower engagement.
Here is an article that sums up these concepts well.
And another article from Forbes that articulate the social media trends of 2016.
