How to Leverage Social Media to Drive New Customers and More Parties

Remember Now and Later candy? Still my wife’s favorite! A little chewy for my taste, but I respect the classics and have a certain amount of nostalgia for them. It also happens to be a favorite metaphor of mine around the office. What are we doing now that can be improved, and what are we doing later that we can be building or planning? 

We are coming up on the new year faster than most of us would like to admit, but it is coming. Maybe you are like me and you have 2019 New Year resolutions you still haven’t started yet? That is easy to do when we don’t adequately lay the groundwork for future success. 

When you look at your business, what are you doing now that needs work, and what are you doing now that we can lay the groundwork for you? Looking to revamp some portion of your marketing plan? Ever feel you’re not doing enough for your social media presence? More often than not when I speak to proprietors across the country, their marketing efforts are not always approached with the intention they require. Maybe you’re very active on your social platforms, and maybe you don’t know where to start—either way, here are a few tips and tricks to help you mix up your current strategy. 

The Golden Rule

I want you to spend a minute thinking about the businesses around your area that share a similar clientele. Next, hop onto Facebook and, from your business page, start following them. 

This is a smart move for a couple reasons. First, it allows you to see what they are doing in their social world. You can get a feel for their strategy, and possibly pick up some ideas. What are they posting? How often? What does their following look like? How often do their customers interact with their posts? These are all great opportunities to learn from your peers who are targeting the same customer. 

Next, start sharing their posts. When they talk about a promotion at their business, share it on your business page. You’ll find when you share and support the posts of other businesses, they will often begin to share and support you, as well, giving you more exposure to their audience. This methodology also creates a connection with businesses around your area who host group events. Once you develop a relationship, reach out online to whoever runs their social and offer them a free pass to say hello. Now you are past the gatekeeper and on your way to more events!

Get personal

Your customers are people and people like to do business with other people. Consumers want to relate not only to your brand, but to your employees, as well. What do you do from a social standpoint to highlight your team? 

In the world of family entertainment, we are selling fun. We are selling experiences and your staff is making that happen. Share images of your employees and do a short interview with them. Keep it light and fun, asking questions about them as people. What is something fun you do or have done with your team that you can highlight? 

One of our customers is an auto shop owner and he’s always had a killer Facebook presence. A custom car came into his shop that had been parked for some time. When they popped open the hood, they found more than they were bargaining for. Inside they found a small family of baby squirrels. Many owners would have seen this as a fun story or even a nuisance. This owner decided to capitalize on the cute factor and, over the next few months, their followers got pictures and updates about the little family. The car shop connected on a personal and emotional level with their customers, and most importantly, they humanized themselves. What does a little family of squirrels have to do with auto repair? Nothing! And that’s the point.

Don’t go nuts

You are a passionate business owner. It doesn’t matter what you are selling, you probably spend most of your day thinking about it. Your customer, on the other hand, does not. Frankly, they don’t want to. Therefore, keep your posts to a few times a week and don’t overwhelm your customer’s feed as that is the fastest way to drive your customers away. Customers never seek out and unfollow a page for posting too little, but they will drop a page that shows up too much. Always remember, in social media, discretion is the better part of valor. 

MIKE CARRILLO

Mike has built his career starting and scaling businesses. He has a passion to see his clients grow by building deeper relationships with their current customer base. As the SVP and Chief Evangelist at FetchRev (soon to be Hownd), Mike works with customers every day to help them grow, nurture, and monetize their customer database in a way that is both effective, and respectful. With a deep understanding of marketing, customer experience, and business operations, Mike knows what it takes to win in a competitive marketplace.