In this day and age, social media is becoming a driving force in how people communicate with one another and especially with how businesses communicate with their audience. No matter the business, if you utilize a social media platform, your audience level is going to increase. On the other hand, if your business does not take advantage of any social media platforms whatsoever, then you are sorely missing out a huge chunk of audience engagement that could greatly increase conversions.

It’s important to note, however, that not all social media platforms work for every business. Each business needs to do research and look into each platform in order to determine which ones work best for them. For example, if your business is related to fashion, there are quite a number of social media platforms that can be used. Instagram, one of the biggest social media platforms available, offers those in the fashion industry a platform in which they can harness the use of visuals to increase their audience. On top of that, Instagram offers various ways in which businesses can engage with users to create a form of communication that benefits each side.

Pinterest is another platform the fashion industry can use in order to increase their audience. Also a visually based platform, Pinterest (and Instagram for that matter) allows for users to share their favorite images, clothes, shoes, jewelry, whatever it may be, and gives them a platform in which they can create their own Pinterest fashion-related accounts that link to their favorite designers, stores, influencers, etc for future reference or style ideas and tips.

For businesses that focus on news, or content that is more text-based rather than visual-based, other social media platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn could be the ones to go after. It is known that posts with images get more conversion than those without. However, although these aforementioned platforms aren’t known for their visual effects, they both allow images to be placed with their text in order to promote the content. With a good image attached to even better content, you can draw in consumers initially with the image and then keep them entertained, informed, and engaged with the content.

Before you create an account on any social media platform, there are a few steps that should first be taken.

Do Your Research

One of the biggest mistakes people make is trying to jump onto every social platform. This isn’t necessarily a huge mistake, but it is unnecessary. Each business does not need to be on every platform. The first step to successfully using social media is to do some research as to where your target audience is and how they engage with your competitors.

Post With the Intent To Inform and Share NOT Sell

Once you’ve determined your target audience and decided on which platform(s) you’re going to utilize for your business, you’ll want to start posting content. Keep in mind, however, that each post you make should NOT be for the sole purpose of selling. Consumers don’t want products to be shoved down their throats; that’s not the reason they’re on these social platforms to begin with. What they want is to engage with their peers and follow the businesses and influencers they like and admire in order to gain some sort of informative content that helps them with whatever it is they seek. A good tip to remember is to follow the rule of 7 to 1. For every 8 posts you make, seven should be to share and inform, 1 should be sell.

Take Advantage of User-Generated Content and Peer-to-Peer Marketing

According to PulpStrategy, 92% of people base their buying decisions based on what their peers are saying. If you want to gain traction within your industry, a great step to do this is to take advantage of user-generated content. Consumers find that content produced by their peers is more trustworthy than advertisements that are being fed to them. One way to benefit from this is to do some more research into who your customers are and what they are posting. If your customers have a high following and post something that is directly related to your business or your products, it’s worth reaching out and offering them a discount or a free gift if they post your product onto their social media platforms.

Fore more information on eCommerce business solutions and ideas, check out our other articles on Genius eCommerce and feel free to post your social media success stories and tips in the comments below.