An incredible pain point for every business, no matter the product or service, is how to get new customers. Sometimes slow and steady doesn’t cut it in business and we find ourselves in a pinch but any number of reasons. Generating new business is always a challenge, but particularly so if the need is urgent. Thankfully, there are several techniques you can use to make this less painful and more quickly gain the customers you need.
Know your audience. Where do your customers spend their online time? Reading email, searching the Internet? Studies show that a significant amount of time is spent perusing social media. As such, a handful of successful companies have arisen in recent years that just do social media marketing, like Padron Marketing out of Colorado. Even more businesses are hiring in-house social media teams to enhance their presence.
Expand your social media horizons. If you’re currently only using Facebook, depending on your targeted demographic, consider expanding your company’s presence to Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, SnapChat, and Tumblr. There is a science behind where you should focus your efforts – so consult an expert so you don’t waste your time yelling into a social void where your audience doesn’t exist.
Make it pretty. There is an old saying we all know, “A picture says a 1000 words.” This is certainly true when marketing your product or service. Most people are visually oriented; our eyes are drawn more to a great photo showcasing your business than a paragraph of text. Add photos or even a video into your company social media outlets whenever possible to draw attention to your great work. Don’t have a videographer or photographers in house? You’re not the only one. There are subscription services out there you can pull from without having to credit.
Consider a competition or give-away via social media. Don’t you ever tire of being spoken at rather than to? It’s no different on social media! By asking your customers to participate by sharing content, commenting, tagging, you’ll quickly gain valuable and exponential exposure. Want to go even bigger? Incentivize their engagement and participation by offering a price reduction promotion, winning free product/service, birthday goodies, and more through social media and ask your followers to spread the word, which leads into our next tip…
Develop a referral program. Ask customers to introduce their friends and associates to your brand; make it worth their time by rewarding them with discounts, reward points, and perks. Spread the word of how this program works via social media and targeted email campaigns. Be sure to include links in your email signature to all social media your business is using. Make it easy for your customers and potential customers to find you, and you’ll soon be rewarded with new business. If it works for companies like AirBnB and UBER – why shouldn’t it work for you?