7 Additional Social Media Platforms to Market On

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If you’re managing the social media for your small business, you likely already have a presence on Twitter and Facebook. In fact, 93% of marketers indicate that they utilize social media for their business.

Once you understand your target demographic, marketing on social media becomes easier. Facebook and Twitter are obvious choices because they have the highest number of and most active users. However, there are many other social media platforms you may be neglecting. Adding just one or two of these platforms can increase the number of online leads for your business.

Pinterest

Pinterest is “dominated by women under 50.” If you’re looking to get the word out about your business to more female customers, Pinterest is an obvious choice. However, it is important to understand how Pinterest actual works if you want to market to this social media network. People on Pinterest are typically searching for crafts, decorations, or home improvement type topics. You’ll need a blog where you can offer home ideas that tie into your business. For example, you might want to write a tutorial on how to change a furnace filter and then pin it to Pinterest.

Instagram

When looking at how engaged users are, Instagram outranks Facebook in a 2015 Pew Research Center poll. About 59 percent of Instagram users utilize the site on a daily basis. You will need to utilize a mobile device to post to Instagram and it is an image-based site. Think about posting an image of a cooling unit that needs replaced with a short, one-sentence caption. Instagram is used by millennials mainly. These are your first-time home owners in most cases, so keep that in mind when marketing here. The basics would work well for your posts.

Yelp!

When it comes to local marketing, Yelp is an obvious choice. One of the reasons why more marketers are taking a look at Yelp is that it now appears in the first page of results on both Google and Yahoo. That means that anytime someone in your area searches for HVAC contractors, you could be pulling up on the first page of results. According to LocalVox, “79% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations and 44% of customers base their decision after reading a review.”

Meetup

Meetup might not be the first thing you think of when you think about promoting your business on social media. However, this particular social networking site is one that local businesses can use quite effectively. Meetup has more than 20 million users and allows people to search for events and gatherings within so many miles of where they live. To effectively use Meetup, you’ll want to have an event in place that people can attend. For example, you might offer a workshop on completing an energy audit of your home and thus save money on utility costs.
Quora

Want to assert yourself as an expert in your field? Quora allows members to ask questions and answer them. By answering questions pertaining to your business, you can establish yourself as an authority. When someone searches for an answer to that or a similar question, they will see your answer and may wind up calling you to service their home.
Google+

Although Google+ can’t yet reach the levels of Facebook and Twitter, this site is growing and seems to attract a lot of professionals. If you want to network with other businesses in the area and connect with your customers, this is an excellent platform for that. The fastest growing group on Google+ is the 45-54 year old.

LocalsNetworking

Looking to team up with other local businesses? Whether you want to exchange ideas or plan a home expo together, this social media site will allow you to interact with other business owners. You can figure out ways to spread the word about one another’s businesses and do some referral marketing. This can mean new leads you otherwise might not have found.

One thing is certain when it comes to social media marketing, and that is that what works today will work differently tomorrow. The Internet changes rapidly, so it’s important to find the niche marketing areas that work for your business, but to be open to new platforms and ideas as well. As long as you put in the effort consistently, you will begin to see results from your marketing efforts.

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Posted In: Technology