How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business

How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Business

Social media has been around a while, so the ways you can use social media to grow your business have evolved with the platforms. Here are ways you can use social media to grow your business in 2022.

#1. Host Online Events On Your Social Media Page

Engagement on your page goes way up when you’re hosting an actual event online on your social media platform. You can do this in several different ways:

  1. Host a live video chat on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube live or Zoom and connect it to your social pages.
  2. Host an asynchronous event such as a scavenger hunt online with homepage being your social pages.
  3. Create a series of blog posts or vlogs that are posted on your social page, and engage with people who follow along on your social media.

Great examples of this to get ideas for your events include Alton Brown and his wife’s new Youtube series Quarantine Quitchen because you can see them follow along and answer Youtube comment section questions live on the show, Hubspot’s top picks for Best Facebook Live’s We’ve Ever Seen, or the tutorial for Instagram Live to help you host a great event.

#2. Partner With Other Professionals for Page Takeovers

Take a page out of the author handbook and host a blog takeover as a social media page takeover event. Or, host someone on your social media page for an event where they answer your community’s questions. The nice thing about social media is that long after the event is over, people can still find your page and see all the interactions and comments from the event. To do this type of takeover event, contact professionals in your space or a similar adjacent industry your community would love, and invite them to be a part of your page in some way. Make sure you announce it ahead of time for maximum views! Here are a few ways you can include other social media influencers in your takeover event:

  1. Host a Q&A with an expert in your industry that your community will want to ask questions of.
  2. Have a popular blogger or social media influencer take over your page to surprise community members with a special event.
  3. Host a fundraiser using social media fundraising tools with a partner page to do mutual takeovers of each other’s page for a night. Set goals and include special readings, speeches, or backstage access to an industry celeb.

#3. Host Giveaways or Create Content Based on Social Media Engagement

The best advertising is when your fans share your page organically through word of mouth, but there are a few ways to encourage this to happen.

  1. Host a giveaway where people have to be engaged with the event by commenting or being part of participation of a live chat in order to be entered to win.
  2. Host an event where the more views you get on one video versus another, the more quickly you will create content for that set of viewers versus the other. This can get people sharing and liking videos to show you what they want to see more of. Just keep in mind that you should convert your videos to the best quality possible in order to increase the likelihood of gaining views and shares.

Please note that because of overuse of this feature, as of about 2011 you are no longer allowed to require people to comment on a blog post or like/share a Facebook page to have an entry in your giveaway. You should aim instead for having people comment or register for an event to show that they are a part of the event, and you pick a winner from the attendees. Just avoid having people like a page to enter to win in general and you won’t have to worry about the rules on each platform. Also having to pay for an entry is no-go, as is always true in sweepstakes. Even if purchasing something gives someone an entry, you are required to offer an unpaid entry option.

We hope this gives you some ideas for how to engage your audience on social media! The best events are those that promote your business but also serve a cause for the greater good. Don’t underestimate the power of fundraising and charity as you put together a calendar of events.

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Laura Cowan

Laura Cowan

Laura K. Cowan is a tech editor and journalist whose work has focused on promoting sustainability initiatives for automotive, green tech and conscious living media outlets. A deep study of narrative journalism, storytelling and sustainable technology allows Ms. Cowan to draw out the meaningful stories of best practices from diverse professionals in an exploration of the culture and trends in emerging industries. She is currently Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Midwest tech news blog, Cronicle Press. Ms. Cowan’s writing and speaking have appeared with Automobile Quarterly, Writer Unboxed, Inhabitat, CNBC, The Ann Arbor Observer and The National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

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