HOW CAN YOUR BUSINESS
GET MORE LOVE
ONLINE?
Having social media accounts for your business is a given in 2016 – but if you don’t proactively build a
quality following then you could be shouting into the abyss.
WORDS: MICHELLE LE GRAND
o, you’ve set up your Facebook
page for your fitness business,
you have an Instagram account,
and you are Tweeting happily away. Naturally,
your thoughts turn to how to get more
people to follow you. Your business may not
be on Tinder, but you still want people who
find it online to show their approval by
metaphorically swiping right. More followers,
more likes, more shares, more exposure,
more leads, more business – right?
Well, you can always pay for more fans,
but let’s not go down that road – you always
want quality over quantity. Let’s look at
some other ways to get more people to pay
attention to you.
S
The basics
Make sure your website has all your social
media details and direct links to the pages.
In fact, make sure every marketing activity
you do always contains your social media
channels, such as your brochures, business
cards and email signatures.
Add a ‘Like’ button to your website. People
who visit your website probably read your
pages and blog posts, listen to your podcasts
or enjoy other information you post. They are
consumers of your content already, and the
Like button makes it very easy for them to
click one button to instantly follow you.
Ensure your ‘Contact me’ page contains
all your social media channels. Include
plugins to embed your social
media pages on your website.
People can then like and share
your details without leaving your
site. Remember: the easier you
make it, the more likely they are
to actually follow or like you.
Tell all your friends, members,
clients, leads, in fact everyone
in your network, that you are on
28 | NETWORK AUTUMN 2016
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
Don’t be shy – use your email lists and
databases to make sure everyone knows
you are on social media, and give them a
compelling reason to follow you.
You should also use your personal social
media accounts and pages to promote your
business ones. Stop accepting friend requests
from people who should be liking your business
page, and drive them there instead.
Cross promote your social media
channels with each other – for example:
• Link to your company’s Facebook Fan
Page on the home page of your
company website
• Link to your company’s Facebook Fan
Page in all emails
• Become a Fan of your own Fan Page
and suggest it to your Friends list
• Use Twitter to announce your new Fan
Page and offer deals to new Fans
• Link to your Facebook Fan page on your
Blog and other social profile sites
• Use Facebook content in email
newsletters
• Post links from newsletter articles on
Facebook.
And always remember to tell people why
they should follow you – so many businesses
neglect to do this. For example, ‘Follow us
to get access to exclusive Instagram deals’
or ‘Like us on Facebook to get the inside
scoop on the latest fitness trends’ – you get
the picture.