How social is your business?

It’s no longer enough to have a great website and some fantastic branding. If you don’t have a solid social media strategy, your business is missing out.

A report this year from the Social Media Examiner found that 92% of business marketers found they had increased their exposure with social media.

Eight out of 10 had noticed a positive difference in traffic because of their social media strategy and more than half had seen that translate into an increase in sales.

It’s getting easier to reach more people: 2.5 million New Zealanders have a Facebook account and Google has enabled a new search function that delivers social media profiles alongside other results.

Sound good? 2015 could be the year that your business really makes the most of the opportunities available from social media. But it isn’t as simple as starting up a Facebook page and asking your friends to like it. Just because you, or one of your staff, is an Instagram addict, it doesn’t mean that they will be your business’ social media whiz. Your social media strategy should be as carefully honed as any other part of your business plan.

First, decide which channels you want to work with. You need to engage across those that suit your business.

A good rule is to limit your business to five platforms, and use them well. Have a look at what other similar businesses are doing and what is working for them.

Facebook, Twitter and Linked In are usually the basic platforms to work on. Instagram is fabulous for businesses such as clothing retailers or designers who want to showcase their latest wares. YouTube is a great option for businesses that make or do impressive things and can document their teams at work.

Work out when your target market is most likely to be engaged and post accordingly. If you’re a bar wanting to appeal to young people organising their weekends, you could start posting on Facebook at 2pm on Friday, when their minds start to wander from work and to their smartphones.

Don’t just post at your audience but encourage them to interact with you. Respond to comments and questions. Even a negative post from a member of the public is a chance to offer a good impression of your business.

Remember, your fans or followers can “unlike” you as quickly as they liked you, so make sure they’re getting something out of the experience, too. Don’t make every post a sales pitch but offer useful information, or at least a daily dose of entertainment. Don’t just rely on text – everyone’s social media feeds are so full of words, a great picture really stands out.

Many social media platforms offer free analytics to help you work out how well your campaigns are working. These are invaluable.

A lot of businesses approach social media as an afterthought but it is an increasingly powerful business tool that can yield real results. If you don’t have anyone on staff who is confident, contact an external provider. Many companies will run campaigns for you and the investment will pay off.