Did you know that having a Community On Social Media can be a huge asset to your business?
It has been massive for us in terms of growing our customer base, being able to run competitions and for getting free press.
It’s also been such a rewarding thing personally to get to know so many other pet lovers just like us. And what we have found is that even if they are not ready now to use our services they will definitely recommend us to others. And of course share all our amazing content with other pet lovers.
But creating a community takes time and it’s not all about the numbers and just throwing up content every day just to say you have your social media ‘done’.
It’s about bringing together pet lovers who care about what you have to say, what you share and what you do.
With that in mind here are my 3 top tips to create a community for your business.
Hi! My name is Kate and I am the owner of an amazing membership community for Pet Biz Owners – where I help them market their business, stand out from their competition and add new customers to their business every month! Find out more about the Membership Community and if you have questions Get In Touch.
3 Ways To Create A Community On Social Media
#1. Bring Together The Right People
A large audience is great, but only if they are the right people. Other pet biz owners, friends or family are all nice to add to your follower count – but they aren’t your ideal customers. And in fact having them all follow your page might actually be hurting your chances of reaching those people who you want to be part of your community.
It’s a fact we don’t reach everyone on our social media, so if your posts are only being shown to a small % of followers, and that % is other biz owners and friends, then it could mean that none of your ideal customers are actually seeing anything you share!
My advice – tidy up your social media and start attracting:
- Pet lovers
- People in your service area
You will need to get creative attracting new followers to your accounts but it will be well worth it when you start seeing engagement and enquiries.
#2. Create Conversations
People are on social media to be social – so what’s a better way to get people talking than asking them questions about their pets. We all know that pet lovers enjoy nothing more than talking about their pets.
Ask questions that spark conversations and require more than just a yes/no answer.
Things like:
- What is your pets favourite treat?
- Where do your prefer to take your dog for a walk?
Share news articles from your local area (keep them positive stories) and ask people what they think. Get them to share their thoughts.
The more you do this the more you will find out what your audience enjoy chatting about. And once you know that – you can just do more of the same thing!
#3. Show You Care
One way to stand out on social is to actually be social! Lots of business owners (small and big brands) just post and never reply to any comments.
They treat social like a task to get done…not a chance to create a community.
Showing you care makes a big difference to people and makes you memorable. So when someone asks them about a service like yours they are likely to mention you. They feel like they know you – you have been chatting to them and taken an interest in them!
If you treat your social like you would treat chatting to people at a party or event then you are definitely on the right track!
Top Tip: Once you have people who are part of your community following you on social media it can be nice to create a community space (like a Facebook Group) to invite them to. This can be a great way to create a team of loyal fans of your business.
