We are more connected to each other than ever before. Most people are on at least one social media platform and use it to communicate with friends and family, and even people halfway around the world but also keep track of their favourite brands.
If you want to get more of your customers involved with your business on social media, it doesn’t all have to be high tech, however. Including details of your social media accounts on your signage can help boost your fans and followers online.
Here are our top tips for getting it right:
Choose Your Social Media Wisely
Which platforms you choose will depend on where your customers generally hang out. That means doing at least a little research to see which platforms are the most popular.
What you don’t want to do with your signage is have too many options up there. Pick your top two or three social media accounts and focus on these. The most common tend to be Twitter and Facebook, but if you regularly post content on video sharing sites like YouTube then you need to include that too.
The Power of Hashtags
It’s not just social media accounts that work to help advertise your business. Hashtags have become increasingly popular in this arena. If you can create a catchy one for your business or are connected to one that is pertinent to your sector, including that on your signage is a good idea too.
Branded hashtags can take a while to force their way into your customer’s psyche but once there they can become second nature to use. The key is to create one that is short and easy to remember. The other thing you need to remember is to include it on your own posts so that customers can find you more easily.
Give Them a Reason
It’s also known as a call to action. If you really want your customers to join you on social media, tell them what they are getting in return. For example, a restaurant might use a CTA such as ‘get the special of the day on your smartphone’.
What you want is for people to see your social media signage and tag onto your account while they are in your business. Including a CTA makes things more urgent and should encourage them to do just that.
Make It Visible
One mistake businesses make is to have their social media signage partially obscured or placed in the wrong location. Put it where everyone can see it and don’t place things in the way. If your Twitter feed or latest hashtag is concealed by another display, then it’s not doing the job you want it to.
Training Staff
Another thing to consider is training your staff to promote your social media. If you are using a hashtag that encourages customers to take their own images of your business and post them online, you need your staff to be aware of this and how it operates.
Make It Worth Their While
Finally, there’s no point in advertising your social media accounts and enticing people to join your fan base if you don’t actually post anything. Combine your signage with a clear posting policy, whether that’s once a day or more often. Also make sure that what you post on your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts actually delivers value to your customers.
