Seven Social Media Tips to Monetize Your Business

Picking up all the different aspects of social media can feel a lot like rolling a cube up a hill, but the good news is, with a few tricks you can start turning your social media efforts into quantifiable business benefits. At YPN’s July breakfast, Sam Powell, Dream Town Realty, and Andrey Rikels, Neighborhood Loans, addressed monetizing your business through social media. Here are six key takeaways from their talks.

1. Set up a social media plan for yourself.

Schedule time to sit down and work on your posting every day, even if that time is super brief! For example, thirty minutes to one hour a day can be focused on drafting posts and organizing images and other media.

2. Stay engaged in your clients lives with social media.

Show you are paying attention and thinking about them. Sam recommends apps like TouchNote or SendOutCards—a few among many—which can take an image from social media and turn it into a post card! It’s a savvy way to be offer personalized business on and off the screen.

3. Communicate directly with your audience.

This is different from #2 in that when people comment or ask questions, you should reply directly. Talking to your audience through these channels attracts them to your business and “locks them in” as potential clients.

4. Translate your social media into other products.

An app like #YoShirt can take an image from a social media account and put it on a t-shirt. Extend the life of those moments on social media and provide some uniform imagery beyond your logo.

5. Boost on Facebook.

A “boost” takes a standard post and turns it into an advertisement everyone can see. It isn’t limited to the people who liked your page! Find the boost button at the bottom right corner of your posts.

6. Know your audience when boosting and posting.

If you boost your post so everybody can see it, it’s not going to do much good. Instead tighten your focus and take advantage of Facebook’s ability to help you choose a specific audience for your advertisement.

7. Be authentic.

Stay true to your mission and company personality. Don’t be afraid to let your business’s “voice” take root. Your clients will recognize this and appreciate it.