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If your business is not active on social media, then you may be missing out on a huge amount of business. Here are four tips to help you promote your brand on social media.

With more and more people spending a significant amount of time on social networking sites, this type of media has become a vital aspect of online marketing. No matter the type of business of own, whether a small start-up or a multi-million dollar company, it is extremely important to leverage the power of social media, in order to increase your company’s brand visibility and business.

Are you not sure about where to start with your social media efforts? Do not worry, use our list of the top four ways by which social media can be effectively used to build up your brand.

1. Extend your social reach by using every available site

It is very important to create a profile for your company on every leading social media website like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+. You can even venture into sites like Slideshare and Pinterest to increase your social reach. You must remember that the more company profiles that you maintain, the more customers you can reach on a regular basis.

2. Always be active

It is not enough to only create company profiles. The next important thing is to avoid neglecting your social media profiles, as your customers will think that your brand does not have anything new to share. You will have to update all your profiles on a daily basis. Though this is tedious, the consequences of not being active are much worse. You can use a tool like HootSuite to effectively plan out your social media activity weeks or even months in advance. Continue reading →

2013 saw phenomenal changes in the way companies used social media, largely due to factors like the increase in mobile and video usage and the wide adoption of content marketing. So, what’s in store for social media in 2014? What are the upcoming trends that companies need to pay attention to? Read on to know more about the top five social media predictions for 2014.

1. Visual-based content will continue to dominate

Did you know that photos on Facebook receive 53% more likes than posts without images? Tweets with images also receive 18% more clicks that those without images. Statistics like this show that visual-based content will continue to increase in 2014. If your business wants to get more likes, shares, retweets or comments, you must incorporate images and videos into your social media strategy.

2. Businesses will use more of Instagram and Snapchat

In 2013, Instagram was the fastest growing network with over 150 million users and 40 million photos being uploaded on a daily basis. Over 71% of top brands are on Instagram. In 2013, likes and comments on Instagram have jumped by 350% since 2012. Snapchat on the other hand is the 4th most popular app on iTunes. Several businesses have already been taking the advantage of reaching consumers through the deals, coupons and discounts features on Instagram and Snapchat.

3. Setting up a mobile strategy becomes compulsory

With research revealing that mobile phones will soon overtake desktop usage, companies who want to keep up need to come up with an effective mobile strategy. Having a mobile-friendly website alone will not suffice in 2014. Businesses will have to come up with mobile apps and ensure that their overall marketing and content strategy works well with Smartphones and Tablets.

4. More brands will be seriously taking up social media

In 2014, more brands will take their social media marketing strategies to the next level. Social media will be integrated into every aspect of the business. From marketing to product development and operations to customer services and retention, social media will be part of every business aspect. If you want to make your business truly social, make sure to incorporate social media into everything, even your systems, planning and processes.

5. People will use more of Google Plus

After 2 years since Google Plus started, the site’s current active monthly users stand at 300 million. This clearly shows that Google Plus has raced ahead of Twitter’s 230 million users. Though it may take a while for Plus to keep with Facebook, Google is slowly getting there. In 2014, make it a point to communicate with consumers not only on Facebook, but even on Google Plus. Coming up with a social media strategy for Google Plus will definitely give you an advantage.

What are some of the predictions that you think are missing from the above list? What major changes do you want to see happening in the social media world in 2014?

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