Leveraging social media is key to increasing your business growth. Regardless of the type of business you operate, social media comes with lots of benefits only if you do it right. 

In this article, we share insightful tips on how to grow your online business using social media. Each tip shared will guide you to uncover ways to optimize your social media strategy for success. 

1. Build your brand

Your brand is the personality of your business. It defines how people perceive your company and feel about your products or services. 

To grow your business on social media, you need to first build a brand, something that people can connect with. Share behind-the-scenes of your business, what being a business owner looks like, things that inspire you, and lots more. 

Take it a step further by providing top-tier customer service. Listen to your customers, and implement their feedback where you can. You want to be the business that understands its customer’s needs and aligns with them. 

In addition to these, share content consistently. If you’re going to build a brand, you have to show up when you say you will show up. Don’t leave your customers begging for more from you. This way you can gradually build a community around your brand, which is a more loyal set of people than your regular audience. 

Other methods to help you build a brand on social media include;

• Post visually appealing and eye-catching content
• Target people who are interested in items like yours when running sponsored campaigns.
• Run giveaways that ask your audience to promote your content or social profile with their friends. 

SEE: Personal Brand 101: How to Build a Personal Brand Online as a Digital Creator

2. Engage with your audience

Engaging with your audience means not just sharing content with your audience but interacting with them in meaningful and personable ways. It means going beyond promotions to establish genuine relationships with your customers, using social media platforms to facilitate meaningful conversations and to understand and meet their needs better. 

Additionally, It gives your customers an insight into what your brand is about, your values, and your commitment to delivering excellence. 

For example, Salem King is a renowned creator known for not just his posts but for also engaging with his audience through his comments, channels, and even reposting their content. Through this strategy, he has built a loyal community around his brand. 

You too can replicate this strategy by; 

• Initiating conversations with your audience. Being a creator is not a one-way communication. Give room for your audience to communicate with you.

• Respond to your followers’ comments, and show that their opinion is valued.

• Show appreciation to your customers by sharing their content periodically. 

• Engage in real-time interaction.

• Share what happens behind the scenes of your business which could spike interest and foster trust with your audience. 

3. Regularly post quality content

The type of content you share on social media determines if you will build an audience or a community. Even more, it determines if you will attract the right customers. 

Here’s why;

Social media relies on content. And for you to get the results you want, your content has to do either one of three things; Educate your audience, entertain them, or make them see themselves in it. 

Your presentation also matters. Aim for high-quality videos and texts, as these are visually appealing and can lure your customers to your business. The higher the quality of your posts, the higher your brand’s credibility, as customers perceive you as an authority in your field and are more attracted to you.

The type of content you post equally matters. Videos, for instance, generate higher engagement than other forms of content. Videos are twice as likely to be shared than any other type of content and Instagram video posts have 2x the engagement of other types of posts. 

So, shoot those videos!

Incorporating videos into your content strategy is essential for staying ahead of the game. Nonetheless, irrespective of the content format, ensure it provides value to your customers.

SEE: 5 Tips For Creating High-Quality Social Media Content For Your Small Business

4. Use hashtags and SEO

Hashtags serve as digital markers on social media platforms, enabling users to follow discussions and content linked to a specific topic or theme. 

As a result, the use of hashtags helps generate visibility for your posts, providing an effective way to reach potential customers who are interested in your industry or products.

When choosing hashtags, do your research to find hashtags your target audience is more likely to follow. Use a blend of both popular and niche-specific hashtags, maintaining a fine balance between extending your reach and staying relevant to your brand.

However, remember the ‘less is more’ adage. Hashtag stuffing could make your post appear desperate or spammy. So use them sensibly and organically. There’s no rule that says the more hashtags you put in your posts, the better your posts will perform. 

5. Leverage social media advertising

Social media advertising is a powerful strategy for growing your business by leveraging the vast user base and engagement on popular social media platforms. 

Through social media ads, you can target your ads to specific audience segments. This targeted approach ensures that your ads reach the most relevant users who are likely to be interested in your products or services.

In contrast, running ads doesn’t always translate to sales. There are various components of your ads that determine if they will succeed and that’s the beauty of social ads.

Various social media platforms offer various ad formats to cater to different business goals. Each format has its strengths, and choosing the right one depends on your marketing objectives and the preferences of your target audience.

Another powerful benefit of social media ads is retargeting. Retargeting lets you show ads to users who have previously interacted with your brand or visited your website. This keeps your business top of mind and encourages users to complete desired actions, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.

Generally, social media ads are very beneficial and you don’t need a large budget to start. Like every other thing in life, you can start small. 

SEE: How To Sell Online Courses With Social Media Ads

6. Collaborate with Influencers

Today, collaboration is one of the major tools for growing a business online. It gives you the opportunity to tap into another audience and reach people you otherwise wouldn’t have reached on your own. 

And to grow your business, you need to be open to collaborating with these influencers. They can be anything from celebrities to industry experts, micro or macro influencers, and subject topic experts who have amassed followers through sharing content on various social platforms. 

One of the reasons influencer marketing works is that the influencer’s own community trusts their recommendations. Their voice is seen as trusted and reliable, so if they recommend your brand or just simply collaborate, you can be sure to make sales, especially if their audience is aligned with your target audience. 

So, how can you initiate and manage these collaborations?

• Consider not just the size of their following, but the quality. 
• Convey what your brand stands for and what you aim to achieve with the collaboration. 
• Once you’ve established a relationship with the influencer, create a strategic marketing plan together.
• Ensure that the influencers are also transparent about their stats, so you know exactly what’s working and what isn’t.
• Always keep the collaboration open-ended.

Influencers are capable of reaching demographics that may otherwise be hard to tap into. Through partnerships and collaborations, you can give your products or services the exposure needed to grow sales, ultimately leading to increased business profits.

SEE: How to Successfully Collaborate With Other Creators to Grow Your Brand

7. Monitor your metrics

Tracking metrics gives you a clear view of your growth pattern and how effective your campaigns are. 

Are you generating the expected level of engagement? Is there an upward trajectory of followers and subscribers over time? Is the share of traffic from social media to your website increasing? 

If the numbers aren’t as impressive as you’d like, it’s an indication to change or fine-tune your strategy. Because in marketing, the only things that matter are the numbers. 

So to ensure your efforts are not wasted, figure out what metrics matter the most to you and make sure to monitor them regularly, as this will guide your future marketing strategies and make your business decisions data-driven. 

Ready to Grow Your Online Business?

Social media is a fertile ground for business growth. But with platforms like Selar, you can facilitate this growth by seamlessly selling your digital products. 

With Selar, you can automate your sales process, effortlessly track sales, and easily manage digital product distribution. It caters to businesses of all sizes, whether you’re a small-scale digital content creator, a coach, or a large online business owner. 

Using Selar’s platform not only increases your digital products’ visibility but also broadens your market reach, ultimately contributing to your online business growth. So, if you’re ready to grow, choose Selar – a platform designed to scale with your business.

Conclusion 

Harnessing the power of social media is important for expanding your online business. With a plethora of platforms, it offers a robust opportunity to increase brand visibility, connect with consumers, and amplify sales. 

However, to successfully grow your business with social media, you need a sound social media strategy that cuts across high-quality and relevant content, audience engagement, and regular tracking of results.

Sprinkle in a little patience and consistency, as growth may not always be instantaneous. Nonetheless, if done right, social media can be a game-changer in taking your online business to new heights.