Building Your Social Media Base

As co-owner of Jumpsix Marketing, a full service digital marketing agency in Springfield, Ryan Jennings recognizes some businesses are confident in their ability to sell products or services to customers. However, when it comes to making a connection with those same people in the ever-expanding and occasionally overwhelming world of social media, that confidence might be notably absent. Establish or expand your social media connection using these four tips from Jennings.

Get Interactive

The first step of social media is defining who you want your audience to be, Jennings says. A lot of people are trying to simply get their numbers up when they start a social media account. “Your numbers don’t mean anything if you’re not talking to your audience,” he says. “Anything you can do to create interaction, a poll to get people answering, that’s always important. Really, the No. 1 thing is to focus on the quality of your post to create interaction.” Those will lead to Facebook likes and followers on Twitter, he adds.

Know Your Limits

The amount of posting varies by the site, but don’t overwhelm your social media fans or followers. Jennings recommends about 15 to 20 tweets on Twitter and five to seven posts on Facebook per week. Additional content can be added through Pinterest and Instagram but should be utilized to promote products that look good in photos. “That’s what people are there for,” he says.

Build a Budget Slowly

There’s no reason to throw a lot of money toward social media early on, as the accounts can be built for free. “Once you start creating and understanding how to speak to your fan base, then slowly start inching your budget into it,” Jennings says. No one thing works for everybody, but you should determine if budgeting money is worthwhile, he adds. Are you setting up the right targeting on your own, or do you need to seek out help from professionals?

Learn From Others

Visiting the social media companies’ sites can be beneficial to learn more about their platforms, Jennings says, adding that Facebook Blueprint is a tool that helps companies craft ad campaigns to drive business results. In addition, any social media accounts you know have a strong following are worth studying to see how much interaction their posts receive. Doing so can help determine if they are crafting a good message and reaching the right people. “If they are, you can start to learn and understand what they’re doing from their posting habits as well,” he says.