Previously we talked about some tips for taking advantage of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. Today, we are going to focus on some others that are also great marketing tools. Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest are also common avenues that can take your marketing plan to the next level.

google+

Google+ is a great avenue to market your business. Google+ is great for connecting with influencers that can help your business grow and become an authority in your niche.

Kamila Gornia gives us 5 keys to a Successful Google Plus Marketing Strategy on her website. I’ve based my tips on hers below.

  1. Use the SEO Benefits: Google being the main search engine, it shouldn’t be a surprise that to take full advantage of SEO, Google+ is a great tool. Plus, if your business has a physical location, use the right type of page that will put your business on the map once the location is verified. Another thing to think about with SEO and Google+ is to use the correct keywords, use #hashtags, and share posts from your website.
  2. Set up for Communication and Details: Optimize your age to adequately communicate your brand. Be sure your profile reflects what your business is all about. Display your mission, why you provide and why people desire that. Use graphics that reflect this. Make sure your profile is verified and connected to your website. The links on your profile should be linked to the correct pages on your site.
  3. Take Control of the Freedom: Google+ is one of the only platforms that allow you to control how your content looks. You can put whatever graphics, blog posts (with no character limit), images, videos however you want. It’s a great way to bring attention to your profile by being unique and stepping outside of the box.
  4. Create a Following: What’s a profile if there is no one to look at it? The more people you connect with, the more your business will grow. You need to have people in your community and that number should be growing. The more people in your community, the more Google+ will prioritize your posts in search results.
  5. Engage: Similar to other social media platforms, you have to engage. However what stands out about Google+ is that there are so many influencers that use it – and they are eager to interact and collaborate with you! It’s always good publicity to be mentioned by a highly-followed and admired person.
linkedin
LinkedIn is one my favorite platforms. It’s like Facebook for the business world and more. In a survey from the Wall Street Journal in 2013, LinkedIn was rated number one for the most potential to grow your small business.
Marketing Think gives some tips that I’ve summarized below:
  1. Make a Company Page: Have both a great up-to-date personal and company page. Highlight your personal attributes on your own page, and on your business page really build up your services, and accomplishments. Your employees can help build creditability and community as well. Plus, it’s free.
  2. Blog on LinkedIn: Blogging on LinkedIn helps you build creditability and connect with your audience. Some of the content may be the same on other platforms, but give other businesses and professionals a chance to read them through LinkedIn.
  3. Employees and Endorsements: Build your small business brand through your employees. They can become brand ambassadors and you can access their network as well. Also find people to endorse you on LinkedIn. It works similar as to how good Yelp and Amazon reviews help sales, endorsements and recommendations on LinkedIn help creditability.
  4. Post Regularly: LinkedIn isn’t the place for coupons or silly videos. Post blogs, what your company is doing, and thoughts on things happening in your industry. 6-8 daily updates is suggested to improve exposure. Your posts can be showcased in videos, graphs, slides, interviews, etc. LinkedIn is a great place to share work examples, thought leadership, and research.
  5. Be Complete: Have a full account. Fill in everything that LinkedIn allows and keep it up to date. This will help you see measurable results.
youtube
YouTube is an addicting site that can get viewers watching video after video. This makes it a great avenue for promoting your business. Entrepreneur gives great tips that I’ve summarized:
  1. Title, Description, and Tags: Have a catchy but accurate title and description along with keywords and tags that will help people find your video.
  2. Ask for Action: Ask your friends, relatives, and others to view and share your videos. Also, at the end of your video ask people to share it if they liked it. Make it easy for people to find the videos by posting them on your other social media platforms, in emails, on your website, and even printed materials.
  3. Establish a Presence: Generate free media coverage for your videos in mainstream media by using press releases to contact bloggers, producers, editors to cater to your target audience. Work with SEO to get your YouTube Channel Page listed with major search engines. Consider paying for advertising on these major sites.
  4. Collaborate: You can try to collaborate with other companies that are targeting the same audience as you but are not in direct competition with you.

PInteret.png

In my opinion, Pinterest can be a difficult platform to create a successful marketing platform for. However, you can generate sales from Pinterest. Tailwind Blog gave some good tips that I’ve shared:
  1. Boards & Images: Know your audience. Pin some boards on what they love, what’s hard for the them to find, and boards about your company. People love to look at companies boards that have behind the scenes pictures of what goes on in the office.  Cover images and images for posts should be relevant and formatted to what your audience loves. Don’t be boring and don’t be afraid to repin others information. Pinning about things your target market enjoys is a good way to connect with them. It doesn’t have to be just about your business, but it can all tie back to your company.
  2. Competitors and Influencers and Followers: Spy on your competitors and see what they are doing right, and wrong. Create your own strategy but it doesn’t hurt to learn from others. Build relationships with your followers who have a lot of followers. Improve your following by posting links on your other platforms.
  3. Offer Incentives: Contests, coupons, and other forms of incentives are a great way to improve exposure and get people excited about your business.  Make sure to do contests in the Pinterest guidelines.
  4. Technicalities and Logistics: Learn how to track your Pinterest metrics. You can learn about this with PinLeague’s Pinterest Analytics Dashboard. Another thing is to take advantage of SEO. Use strong keywords.
  5. Be Patient and Have fun: Pinterest is a really fun and unique way to promote your business. You an learn s It’s also a great way to find new ideas and get those creative juices  flowing. Be patient, you may feel like yo are doing everything right and be disappointed you didn’t go viral overnight. Be patient! It takes time.

I hope you enjoyed these hints and tips to promoting your business through these four social media platforms. What do you like about businesses on these platforms? What do you not like?

Always be learning!

-Sarah