Social Media for Business: Marketing, Customer Service and More

According to Abdul Muhammad, social media is the most efficient way to reach and advertise to people. This is because people are constantly on social media, and it is a cheaper method than other marketing channels.

How to use social media for business

These are some of the aspects of business that can benefit from a social media presence:

Marketing
Customer service
Sales
Recruiting and hiring
Crisis management

Use social media for marketing.

When you incorporate an effective social media presence into your small business marketing plan, you can reach customers and prospects where they are. Here are some tips and best practices for creating a successful presence on social media to market your brand:

Craft a social media marketing strategy. The best way to ensure success on social media is to go in with a plan. This means devising a social media marketing strategy that includes each platform you plan to use.
Post consistently. Your followers value a steady presence, so follow a consistent posting schedule. While being consistent, avoid posting too much, which can be off-putting for your followers.
Develop a clear voice. Create a consistent voice and tone in your social media presence – one that resonates with your audience and influences how they see your brand. Listen to your audience and find ways to relate to them without looking like you’re trying too hard. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to show a little personality. This helps present your business as adaptive, friendly, and relevant.
Know your audience. Use your analytics tools to see demographic information, customer behavior, and social media trends to inform your content. Knowing what your audience wants to see from you and responding accordingly can go a long way toward boosting your engagement rates.

Use social media for customer service.

Since most customers already use social media, it makes sense to use it for customer service. By communicating through social media, you can resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently, which will help you build a loyal customer base.

Respond to customer issues quickly. Many businesses approach social media as another channel for self-promotion and don’t always respond when customers comment on their posts or tweet at them. According to research from Convince & Convert, 42% of consumers expect a response to a complaint on social media within 60 minutes, and nearly one-third expect a response within half an hour. Monitoring social media channels and responding to concerns promptly can help you build strong relationships with customers.
Use hashtags strategically. How hashtags operate within a social media platform’s algorithm is likely to change frequently, so stay updated on your social platforms’ hashtag recommendations and best practices. Hashtags help keep topics organized and easy to navigate, especially on platforms like Twitter. You can also add more information and curate content to your hashtags.
Take public conversations private. Many angry or frustrated customers leave public comments on a brand’s Instagram and Facebook accounts or tweet at a business. While you shouldn’t ignore these messages, it’s not always wise to handle the entire encounter publicly. Show other customers that you value their input and time by sending an initial response requesting to continue the conversation privately.

Use social media for sales.

One of the most direct and lucrative ways to experience the power of social media is through increased sales. You can boost sales on social media in various ways:

Advertise on social media. The major social platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, have advertising platforms that help you reach your target audience and monitor your ad campaigns.
Sell on social media. Facebook and Instagram offer sales platforms and shoppable posts that make it easy for businesses to start selling online.
Work with brand ambassadors. Finding social media influencers or enthusiastic customers to act as brand ambassadors is an effective way to boost word-of-mouth buzz about your business and boost sales.
Improve your business with social listening. Social listening is a process in which organizations take a macro view of what customers are saying online about the brand and use the information to improve the business. Social listening provides a broader view of industry trends and customer sentiment that may directly or indirectly impact a brand and its sales.

Use social media for recruiting and hiring.

Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are excellent ways to recruit potential talent in the modern hiring process. Social media recruiting allows employers to access a broad candidate pool and efficiently sort through viable recruits.

Your business’s social media channels are a great way to recruitment potential employees. If your social media platforms show your company’s brand and values, potential employees will be more likely to want to join your team.

Use social media for crisis management.

After the Boston Marathon bombings, some businesses chose to tweet messages of support while others remained silent. Some companies posted messages on Facebook in the wake of the tragedy. Many businesses were unsure of how to proceed.

There is no generally accepted way of using social media to react to tragic events, although there are several different approaches that companies take.

Here are some tips for using social media during a crisis:

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
Silence is rarely the correct response in a tragic situation.
Have a social media strategy ready so you’re less likely to be caught off guard by a tragedy or other crisis.
Choose your words carefully, and always speak from the heart.
As soon as you hear of a tragic event, check your calendar and pause any nonessential posts.
Look for ways your business can meaningfully help.

Why should you ask social media questions?

Engagement. Engagement. Engagement!

When Sebastian Schaeffer of Dofollow posts content or media, he always asks users for their opinions to increase engagement. This discussion helps increase cross-posting opportunities and provides inspiration for future posts.

Are there other benefits to asking engaging social media questions?

More comments = more reach

If you want your brand to do well on social media, you should start conversations and engage followers. The more comments you get on your posts, the wider your reach will be.

This means that posts which receive a lot of engagement from users will be given priority in News Feeds, as well as posts which encourage interactions between people.

Engaged customers are happy customers

Almost 59% of American consumers engage with brands on social media. This number is even higher for consumers who are satisfied with brand interactions over social media. This demonstrates the importance of brands having a social media presence.

The more engaged your customers are, the more they will remember your brand when they are making a purchase. They will also be more likely to recommend your brand to their friends and family.

Collect market research

Asking the right questions can help you to gain valuable insights from your target audience and improve engagement.

Data from social media can be helpful in understanding market trends and shaping future marketing strategies for you and your clients. This data can also be useful when creating new products or services.

70+ engaging social media question ideas (with examples)

Ever heard of the 8020 rule?

Your content should mostly entertain and educate your audience, with only a 20% focus on promoting your business.

This is where social media questions come in handy.

General social media questions & prompts

Fill in the blanks prompts

Fill-in-the-blanks-style prompts are a great way to engage your audience on social media. They are fun, easy to come up with, and can easily be tied back to your brand or client’s brand. Here are a few fill-in-the-blank style prompts to get you started: 1. I can’t live without ___________. 2. The best thing about ___________ is ___________. 3. I’m really into ___________ right now. 4. ___________ is the best place to ___________. 5. If I could have ___________, I would ___________.

They are great for engagement because your audience does not have to put in a lot of effort or thought.

______ is an awesome person and I want the world to know! (tag a friend)
If _______ was an Olympic event, I’d take home the gold.
If I could go anywhere in the world right now, I’d be in _______!
My favorite brand in the world is _______!
I’m inspired by _________.
My favorite social network is__________.
My all-time favorite book is __________.
My favorite thing about my life right now is _____.
My favorite thing about my family is _____.
_____ makes me smile.
The key to happiness is _____! (wrong answers only)
_____ is my favorite local business in _____!

Gratitude-related social media questions

Asking your audience gratitude-related questions can help inspire positivity and brighten their day. Given the amount of negativity, controversy, and division present on social media feeds nowadays, this can be a welcome change of pace.

What are you grateful for today?
Who do you admire most in your life? (Tag them below)
What made you smile today?
What is one way someone has helped you this month? (Tag that someone)
What relationships are you grateful for?
What’s one thoughtful thing someone did for you recently?
Who is someone that really listens when you talk? (Tag them below)
What’s a difficult lesson that you were grateful to learn?
What about today has been better than yesterday?
What is the best thing that has happened to you this year?
What’s your favorite part of your job?
What’s an aspect of your physical health that you feel grateful for?
What’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you? (Tag that person)

Lifestyle questions

Questions about lifestyle choices on social media are a great way to get to know your audience better. They don’t have to be related to your brand or the brands you manage, but you can easily relate them to your industry.

If you could choose any job in the world, what would it be?
What’s the #1 travel destination on your bucket list and why?
What three items would you bring to an island getaway?
What is the last movie you watched?
What shows are you binging on Netflix right now?
What’s one thing you hope to accomplish this week?
What’s your #1 goal for this year?
What is your favorite season?
What was the last thing you got really excited about?
What is your superpower?
If you could have lunch with any one person in the world (dead or alive) who would it be?
What is the best compliment you have ever received?
What’s your favorite travel destination?
What do you prefer to watch? a) YouTube b) Netflix
What are your plans for the weekend?
What’s your favorite type of book? a) Personal development b) Romance c) Sci-fi d) Horror
Which Social Media platform do you love most?
What time of day do you check your social media accounts for the first time? a) As soon as I get up b) Not until the afternoon c) All the time (someone take away my phone!)
What sci-fi technology do you wish existed?
What is the most used app on your phone?
What team do you belong to? a) team iPhone b) team Android
Where were you born?
Are you a) dog person b) cat person c) lover of all animals
As a kid, what was your dream job?
What would the title of your autobiography be?
What’s your favorite song right now?

Questions that prompt users to post photos

What’s your favorite season? (Post a picture of it)
Post your favorite childhood picture!
What’s your favorite GIF? Share it below!
Post a picture with someone you want to spend your whole life with.
What’s your most used emoji? Share it below!
Describe yourself in three emojis below!
Post a picture of your pet(s) below! (great for hashtag holidays like #LoveYourPetDay)
What does your dream bedroom look like? (Post a picture from Pinterest)
What book are you currently reading? (Post a picture of the cover)

Would you rather question ideas for social media

There’s something about would you rather questions that make them fun and interesting. They’re great for road trips and also work well on social media.

When you want to increase engagement on your Instagram posts, you can either ask questions directly in the posts or use the Instagram Stories features.

So, would you rather:

a) Travel to the past b) Travel to the future
a) Have your flight delayed 24 hours b) lose your luggage
a) Hear the good news 1st b) Hear the bad news 1st
a) Talk like Yoda b) breathe like Darth Vader
a) Sit in a window seat for a flight b) sit in an aisle seat
a) Eat only pizza for a year b) not eat pizza for 5 years
a) Communicate by emoji only b) never be able to text again
a) Read a book b) watch a movie c) listen to a podcast
a) Work for Michael Scott b) work for Dr. Evil
a) Get $1M right now b) get $10,000/month
a) Live on a beach resort b) live in a ski resort
a) Always have an annoying song stuck in your head b) always have an itch you can’t reach
a) Go to a concert b) go to a sporting event
a) Have a photographic memory b) have an IQ of 200
a) Be able to read minds b) be able to move objects with your mind
a) Be able to fly b) be able to breathe underwater
a) Live alone forever b) spend the rest of your life with people who annoy you