Building An Online Presence

How do you target an audience to build an online presence via social media? I have an independent online store I market successfully through my eBay store. I always place advertisements in my customers' packages during shipping preparation to bring awareness to my website but I feel I should start utilizing social media to my benefit. I have read case studies of how Facebook PPC and Fan Pages can help increase exposure to your site. I rather avoid the PPC method as this takes extra funds for me to do. I'm not sure about Twitter as some people seem to have a short attention span on this platform. What advice could you offer me?

 

I agree that it's probably not that necessary to spend on PPC, or at least not yet. With regards to social media presence, in my opinion, nowadays there's really not much you can do anymore to set yourself apart right out of the gate because everyday the people online are getting more and more used to the culture and there are just so many other sellers. However, I believe that if you constantly put out great service then word will travel on its own and having a page on both FB and Twitter will just be a means of people having a place to locate you. Also, you might want to consider using the money you were about to spend on advertising and just funnel it into making your own promotional events online such as giveaways. Just make sure you make the best out of your mechanics so you can retain as many new potential customers as possible. Just my opinion and suggestion, I'm not an expert by any means, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

Giveways and other online promotional events like JennyC said can help you a lot, but in the end you'll need to somehow send traffic to your site and you are back where you started. I would advice to set up a Facebook Fan Page and also a Twitter account and start building your presence there. Then create your giveaway and share the news on both Facebook and Twitter and let the social media do its thing and then buyers will come.

 

Definitely try social media! You don't need to pay money to connect with customers. PPC could benefit if you have the funds, but not necessary to do Google or Facebook ads. First, decide who and where your audience is. It's amazing somehow that people want to target their audience and don't know who that is. From there, start doing some searches for keywords on Twitter and follow followers of other accounts you want to target. Then it's important not to just sell to them, chat, comment on what they're saying, and get personal. Then sell Good luck!

 

My boss is really keen on cost-cutting so he tries to avoid PPC like the plague too. We do try to maximize our use of Facebook by posting on the pages or groups of our target audience. For instance, if your target audience includes yuppies or university students, then you may try sharing information about your products on their Facebook or Twitter groups/pages. Just be subtle about it and avoid repeating the same spiels so as not to appear spammy. I especially spark a lot of interests when I post on FB groups. We also try to do email outreach and place a subscription option on our site so people can receive news about our latest offerings.

 

You find your target audience by figuring out the keywords related to your business and find the people who are interested in or talking about those things. Then you build up your friends list by adding them or by telling other people to add you. Create interesting content that makes people share it. Be informative and engaging and the right people will come to you.

 

To target an audience, you must first identify your audience. Once you have identified your audience, you then have to locate your audience. This process is the same online and offline. With social media, there is potential traffic everywhere. First, choose your preferred site (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.) and make your page. Once you have made your business page, start promoting and advertising your url. Make sure you place your url on any advertising materials, such as business cards, pamphlets, brochures. If you have a personal social media site, I would definitely promote and advertise there, as well.

(By any chance that you happen to choose Facebook, I would highly recommend interacting with others in Facebook groups.)

 

If I understand what you're saying, you mean that you want to create a brand. I'd go out get a Facebook page, YouTube channel, Twitter, and all of the other popular social media accounts for your brand. This will make people take you seriously, and make them think that you are bigger than you actually are.

 

All this is great advice Benson. I have done this for myself and seen significant results over time. Keep at it!