How to Leverage Your Promotional Campaign Using Social Media

Considering the immense amount of interest that is being generated with regard to the use of social media as promotional tools, businesses both big and small seem to be making a beeline for them. However, not everyone succeeds at social media based promotional campaigns. The reason I believe is that people fail to give thought to certain pertinent matters and in that lies their undoing.

Here are some simple pointers to help you leverage your promotional campaign using social media:

Figure Out Why You’re Here

You need to determine your goals first, it doesn’t work the other way round. You can get a free business page on Facebook up and running in just a few minutes but consider why “you” have set it up.

Let me explain with an example, The Cotton Lawn Shop deals in exclusive Pakistani suits and it is uses its Facebook page to announce the launch of a new collection, a sale or discount as well as to display pictures and designs with prices so as to facilitate selling its products through its website www.thecottonlawnshop.com.

Similarly, you need to figure out why you are using social media. Are you here for visibility, exposure, promoting products, selling or informing and educating.

Engage People

Use social media to engage with people. Cyberspace tends to be a tad impersonal but then again that depends on you and how you choose to steer things. Tribal Route, a Mumbai based kitsch store uses its Facebook page to pose a question of the day, float contests and strike up discussions on happenings like the need to use eco-friendly and made in India Ganesha idols as opposed to those imported from other countries.

Social media empowers you with words, images, story boards, discussions, groups and the like to make waves with your business. How you use it is really up to you.

Don’t Compromise on Content

If other people are using social media to pass time a business owner who does the same will not gain anything from it on the commercial front. Creating high quality, original content will always draw the attention of people and they will appreciate you and your venture for the same.

The common mistake business owners make is to promote themselves and not their products or services. People are really interested in how your product or service can help them to solve a problem, they are not interested in you per se.

For instance, I write and manage a blog on customized businesses and I make it a point to write a lot of solid content that customized business owners will find useful. I also review businesses regularly and the idea is to help people find solutions in the customized products and services arena. Building my personal brand is not on my priority list.

Build Contacts

Networking with people to create a group that will help, support, comment, criticize and offer suggestions is really important. The social support that one can garner using social media is a huge possibility that one must consider.

People will “like” your status on Facebook or “retweet” your tweets on Twitter only when you build a relationship with them. Do not underestimate the people power that social media can get for you instead capitalize and work your way to the top!