Many of us appreciate good social media content when we see it, and spread the messages that resonate with us through sharing. What probably comes to mind when you think of social sharing is when you see a hilarious video or important news that you feel everyone should see, so you share these things to inform your friends. But there are also many benefits of sharing on social media for brands and businesses. As a brand, you value those who share about your services or products because it reflects on their satisfaction as a customer. The more your content is shared, the more exposure your business gets.
With all the advantages of social media sharing, to not engage in this practice will ultimately hurt your business. You will miss opportunities to grow your audience, build brand awareness and authority, and increase your conversion rates. Getting your brand more visibility online can initially seem a little daunting. We will cover everything you need to know about the benefits of social media sharing for your business.
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Benefits of Having Social Media for Business
In this modern age, having a digital presence is essential to growing your business and increasing positive interactions with customers. The importance of having an active social media presence for your business has only increased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because more people are staying socially distanced at home, their main interactions with brands are occurring online. Digital purchases increased across all age groups during the pandemic. A major way for you to stay relevant in the marketplace is by focusing on social media for your business.
And social sharing is one great social media strategy for businesses.
Social sharing is the practice of sharing content from a website on a social media site or application.
It is important to share others’ content on social media, and also encourage sharing of your own content. There are several benefits of sharing content on social media, including helping you reach new customers, building brand awareness, and increasing conversion rates.
Helps You Reach New Customers
Using social media is a great way to reach new customers. That’s because more than 66% of people on the web use social media. As users interact with your posts, the chances increase that new users will see them. For example, if you have 500 followers, the majority of them will see your posts on their feeds. If even a fraction of these followers share one of your posts to their account, that greatly increases the amount of users who see it. You could have 1000 or more users view your content this way. (Despite having a following of only half this number.)
An added bonus is that those who subscribe to your business accounts are likely to have followers that share the same interests and values. If these like-minded users enjoy the content shared to them, they may choose to follow your business as well.
Build Brand Awareness and Conversion Rates
Also, having accounts on social media for your business provides opportunities to build your brand’s reputation and raise your conversion rates. The more users interact with your account through following, liking, and sharing your posts, the more reputable your brand appears. If you have a large social media following, users that are seeing your posts or account for the first time will view your business as a main competitor in the market. They will notice you have a high volume of previously satisfied customers. This shows that your product or service is valuable and trustworthy.
When consumers see your content all over their social media, they will begin to remember your brand and associate the popularity of your business with high quality and customer satisfaction. This brand recognition can turn into better conversion rates. Consumers that are inundated with positive feedback about your brand and products will be more likely to purchase from you than a competitor. They will visit your website having already been sold on what you have to offer.
Tips for Sharing Content on Social Media
There are endless advantages to your content being shared across social media. However, it can be difficult to get things off the ground when you are new to these platforms. Here are some tips for encouraging sharing of your content on social media:
Produce High-Quality Content
One of the best ways to ensure your content will be shared is to produce high-quality content. You can show the value you have to offer through posts that speak to your target audience. A business that sells pet toys, for example, can post about the funds they raised for a local animal shelter to demonstrate their passion for animal welfare. This will resonate deeply with the consumers looking for the types of products they sell.
Make it Easy to Share Your Content on Social Media
While sharing content on the same social media platform as it was posted is useful, it is also important that content from your website be made shareable to all relevant channels. This can be done by adding social media sharing buttons to your blog posts and other popular website content. Your brand’s social media accounts will direct users to your website, where they can enjoy more content from your business. It increases your traffic further if customers can then share your website content back onto social media, encouraging more users to visit your site. Providing sharing buttons for multiple social media platforms on your website promotes your content across different channels, allowing your content to reach a wider audience.
Utilize User-Generated Content
Just as your business benefits from users sharing your content on social media, you can also benefit by sharing posts created by your customers. User-generated content is exactly what it sounds like. It is content about your brand created by your clients. It is basically the digital version of word-of-mouth marketing. By sharing user-generated content to your brand’s accounts, you make your customers feel seen and appreciated. They will become loyal, repeat customers. It also encourages them to make more posts about your business, which promotes your brand at no extra cost to you. Potential customers will see how happy others are with your product and will be curious to try it out for themselves.
Go Viral
The best possible result of sharing content is for a post to go viral. Going viral means that your post was shared so often and by such a large audience that users all over the internet recognize it, and it’s what every business hopes for. Considering all the benefits of sharing on social media, you can imagine how advantageous it would be for your brand to go viral. It is often unpredictable what will resonate with users enough to achieve this.
You may remember hearing about Linda Skeens, the woman who swept up the majority of awards at her local fair’s food competition. She became an overnight internet sensation despite having little to no social media presence prior to the news of her victories. While nothing is guaranteed, there are some ways to increase your chances of attaining the illusive prestige of going viral.
Do you want to know how to go viral on social media? You are more likely to go viral if your post is relatable, short and sweet, and interactive, or if you partner with a popular influencer with a similar audience to your brand.
Best Social Media Channels for Business
Now that you see how vital a social media presence is, you’re probably wondering which social media platform is best for your business. The top social media channels for your business are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Let’s take a look at why these are the best platforms. We’ll also discuss some ways that your brand can benefit from sharing content on these social media channels.
Due to the channel’s popularity, advertising on Facebook is highly effective for businesses. Because it was one of the first social media platforms to launch and is still used widely today, it has a massive user count composed of many demographics. Your customers are likely already using Facebook, making it easy to connect with them. As with most platforms, visuals are what attracts the most interaction. To be successful on Facebook, post high-quality images and videos that are relatable to your audience. These are most likely to be shared.
Another great platform where visual content goes a long way is Instagram. This channel’s users tend to be a younger crowd, so consider marketing on Instagram if this is your target demographic. Relevant Instagram hashtags help your content reach people in your target market that don’t already follow you, so use these to grow your following. Adjust your story settings to allow your content to be shared through messages and on Facebook. This way, your followers can promote your brand to all their friends.
Another leading social media channel for business is Twitter. Advertising on Twitter is a great idea for any business, and most brands already take advantage of this popular platform. Twitter limits the length of posts, so keeping tweets brief is key. A bit of humor also helps, as this humanizes your brand and showcases its charm. Finding the perfect balance between funny and informative can earn your business plenty of retweets and new followers.
Last, but potentially most obvious, is the social media platform LinkedIn. Using this channel to promote your business is a clear choice. That’s because it is mainly for companies and people seeking professional networking opportunities. This means your brand can form relationships both with customers and other businesses through LinkedIn marketing. It’s also a great channel to showcase your brand’s culture and recruit future employees.
Capitalize on Your Content by Sharing on Social Media
A few simple changes in your social media strategy can increase the revenue brought in through your content. Your brand will see the many benefits of sharing on social media, marketing on all relevant platforms, delivering high-quality content, and engaging with your customer base in a way that humanizes your organization.
FAQ:
- What are the best social media platforms for businesses?
- What is social sharing?
- What are the benefits of sharing on social media?
- How to go viral on social media?
- How do I encourage others to share my content on social media?
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