10 Must-try Social Media hacks for start-ups.
A case study for The Sparks Foundation
The heart of a business organization is its product, but its lifeblood is the sales and marketing strategy.
You might have a solidly built company that provides excellent products and services, but unless you reach out to your intended customer, your product will not sell.
Since the 1940s, marketing has evolved from being a mediocre sidekick to being a full-blown protagonist in the business scene.
Instagram is the best place to be if your target audience is in the age group 18–34 yrs. If used correctly, Instagram can boost your sales and brand name by leaps and bounds. Here are some marketing hacks for Instagram:
HACK #1
CREATE AN INSTAGRAM BUSINESS ACCOUNT: If you don’t have an Instagram business account, you need to create one RIGHT now. A business account has many benefits over a normal profile. For eg: It lets you access data about how your posts perform and who your target audience is. A business profile also gives you a ‘contact’ button so your customers can directly call you or send you an e-mail.
Here’s a step by step guide to create a business account on Instagram:
STEP 1: Go to your Instagram profile, click on the ‘three bars’ button on the top right corner of the app → Go to Settings →Account.
STEP 2: In the ‘Account’ section click on the blue button on the bottom of the screen that says ‘Switch To Professional Account’
You now have a business account on Instagram.
HACK #2
HAVE AN ENGAGING INSTAGRAM BIO: People may just eyeball your posts, but they will read your bio very carefully. Make sure to have good call-to-actions on your bio, include emojis and hashtags where appropriate (this gives a personal touch) and provide a short precise summary about your business. You can also mention promotional offers and upcoming events in your bio.
HACK#3
POST CONSISTENTLY: You need to be consistent with your posts on Instagram. Make sure your followers get to watch intriguing content on a regular basis. This will really help with your conversion rate.
You don't need to write new content every time, since Instagram is a visual app, you can simply post pictures with short captions promoting your cause.
Here are a few ideas for Insta posts:
(i) Text posts : Text posts are an easy way to catch reader’s attention. Keep it short. Brownie points if the post makes readers smile. (Note: Text posts on business accounts should be clear and non ambiguous. They should describe the exact product/service without beating about the bush too much)
(ii) High quality Images of your product/ service: Images of your product or service can highlight your business and provide transparency about your product. Creating an emotional connection to the product/ service with your pictures is also essential.
(iii) Tutorials: If you provide a service, the best option is to make short video tutorials. Earlier Instagram would allow only 30 second videos, now you can make longer videos with IGTV. If someone watches a tutorial/ Informational video and loves the content, they will absolutely subscribe to the service to get access to all content.
(iv) Behind the scenes: A behind the scenes picture or video of the daily workings of your office or industry, makes you seem closer and more human to the viewer. It establishes a connection with them. This type of post requires the least amount of effort but works very effectively.
You can choose one type of post eg: text posts, and stick to it as your marketing strategy. Or you can opt for the combination platter and post all kinds of posts. Make sure to keep your page fun and interesting!
How to market your product successfully?
You have a business which offers multiple services, and you want to make sure each product of yours succeeds. There are many things to look out for: external competitors, substitute products and product cannibalism ( when one of your own products hampers the sale of your other product)
So how do you market your products and counter all these issues? Read on to know more:
- Always include CTA’s (Calls-to-action) on your website/ advertisements: A Call to action is an invitation to a customer to take some desired action. For example: “Limited seats available. Register now !” This CTA gives a sense of urgency to the user, and invites him to take immediate action instead of just exiting your website after looking at its contents.
Let us take this company- The Sparks Foundation- An education non profit company that acts as a bridge between students and field experts.
The sparks foundation offers various programs for its students —
Scholarship programs: They offer scholarships to students from low income backgrounds, and make sure that ‘money is not the showstopper’.
Mentorship programs: Their one-on-one mentorship programs give students the rare opportunity to work with experts. Students get more insight and exposure in their chosen field of work, thus enhancing their potential.
SOS Program: TSF offers a beautiful SOS program which aims to immediately help students if they are unable to continue their education due to financial reasons or simply because their family doesn't support their goals.
Furthermore there are workshops and corporate programs where students from lower income groups get to visit corporate offices. Students with brilliant talents are matched with the best of companies which is a win for both the student and the company.
The look of the website is very aesthetic, with various links to their program description. However, there are no Call- to-Actions on this website.
If a student or company decides that they want to be associated with TSF, they will have to scourge the website to connect with them.
A better option would be to provide two visible Calls to Action on the website:
- A registration portal for companies that wish to recruit talented interns through TSF.
- Another registration portal for students who wish to register for the internship.
This way, The Sparks Foundation would have a larger database of students as well as companies and enhance its goal of enriching students’ lives.
2. Have a great landing page: A flawless landing page is easy on the eyes, with an aesthetic design. It should have a clean and concise title that broadcasts what service you are offering.
You can also make use of your client testimonials on your website. It provides a trust factor to your clients. Furthermore you can go one step ahead and use ‘trust badges’ of companies that have used your product/service and loved it.
3. Always keep your forms short: When you need to collect data, the more information you have the better. But initially (on your landing pages) make your forms as short as possible. The longer your form is, the less likely it is to be filled.
4. Have your own blog: Blogging consistently on platforms like WordPress, Medium etc. and posting the blog links on your Facebook pages can help increase your internet presence tremendously, as you constantly provide informative content to your target audience. You can also tag or link your products in your blog so your readers know where to find you.
5. Use SEO : Using Search Engine Optimization on your blogs and website helps improve traffic to your website. It is also cheaper and more convenient as compared to PPCs.
6. Hire a good digital media marketing representative: It is vital to have a social media representative who can consistently keep updating all your social media pages with relevant and interesting content.
7. Social Media Marketing: Last but not the least, the most powerful tool for marketing is social media. You can research social media and expand only on the platform that consists of your target audience, or you can go ahead and be present on all forms of social media.
The Bottom Line
Social media can pave new ways to success if used effectively. To make the best use of social media, it is important to understand your audience and their interests.
People on social media love to try out new things, but they will ignore aggressive advertising and promotions that seem too pushy.
You can use the hacks mentioned above to boost your social media presence.