Social media is a fast and low-cost method of marketing your new business. If you have no marketing budget you can use social media for free to post updates, general information and current events about your business. If you have a small budget, most social media platforms offer advertising where you can customize your budget, spending as much or as little as you prefer.

So, what social media platforms should startup companies use? The first social network businesses should become a part of is Facebook. Facebook, the largest platform on the internet, has over 1.2 billion users so this is definitely a community where you want your business to be involved.

Twitter is another great social network where you can post short updates to your followers.

Instagram is a popular social network for photo sharing, if you offer a physical product to your customers, Instagram is a great network.

YouTube is a video platform that businesses use to post how to videos about their products or services.

LinkedIn is a professional network similar to Facebook, where business owners and employees look to connect with others in their same industries and positions. There are tons of different social media platforms and as long as they have a high number of users, they’d be a great part of your marketing strategy.

Some tips for using social media to its fullest potential include:

Create brand awareness.

Social media can bring brand awareness to your startup. Brand awareness happens organically as you post quality content for your followers to view. To keep your profile interactive, post different types of content a few times per day. Your followers will love blogs, videos, infographics, photos, case studies, how to guides and anything else you can think of.

Build a community of followers.

Your audience will not only become aware of your startup but they will likely spread the word to others by liking and sharing your posts with their supporters. Building up a large number of followers can take time, but they will be with you for years to come.

Advertise on social media.

Small businesses can use social media advertising to increase brand awareness. Business owners can choose whether they want to promote their overall account, promote a specific post or promote a product or service. The ads are completely customizable. You’re able to choose your budget, audience, content and schedule times and dates for the ads to run.

Develop a social media strategy.

Plan out your content topics, when you’ll post, how often you’ll post and which networks you will be active on. It’s also important to plan out who will create content and actually post it on social media. Startups may not have the money to hire a social media marketing expert but not to worry, this job can be done by anyone at your company. All you really need to create great content is to know what your customers are interested in and what they want from your business.

Join groups within Facebook.

Facebook groups exist for networking opportunities and small business owners should take advantage of them. Posting content in relevant groups will broaden your reach to more Facebook users. Even if these people don’t follow your page, they’ll still have an opportunity to view your content which should be designed to be interactive and will draw them in.

—-

Social media is an excellent way to market your small business without breaking the bank. There are endless platforms that exist in this digital age, you just have to find out where your audience is. Knowing about your target audience is crucial in creating quality content and creating great content is key in maintaining successful social media profiles.