No matter what old school marketers say, social media is here to stay. Social media websites saw over 2.3 billion users last year and that number is only expected to grow. Growing a proper social media audience is crucial to growing a prosperous startup company. The more people you reach online, the larger your business can grow, and the faster you will reach your launch.

Below, are the top eight tips on reaching your audience using three popular social media platforms and strategies on how to do it:

1. Craft a Social Media Plan

No matter how big or small your business is, it needs a social media strategy to get hold of your audience. Having a plan can benefit you and your business by building interest via social media platforms and help your company grow. However, to first come up with a plan you will need to set realistic goals and concrete ways to reach them.

Remember, stay consistent with your company’s brand throughout each platform to continue equal growth throughout all of them. Additionally, remember that your company has to stand out. Instead of copying other businesses, take what makes your company special and market on that. 

2. Pick the Best Social Networking Websites for Your Business

There are too many social media platforms to count, so you are going to need to select your favorite ones and regularly update your profiles on them. Picking the right channel cannot only target your audience but also help you market your products or services. Plus, networking on social media platforms can keep you company thriving, with gaining more and more followers every day.

3. Craft Strong Profiles

The first place you need to start when growing on your social media platform is your profile or page of your account. You need to include clear cover photos, profile photos, and bios. For example, Twitter allows for a 160-character bio, location, and website. In addition to this, you should regularly update your accounts throughout the day to continue your growth. 

4. Only Create and Share High Quality Content

Before your startup becomes a fully profitable company, uploading quality content that your audience will relate to is vital for its survival. Luckily, social media platforms such as Facebook have an array of marketing tools to help create blogs, videos, podcasts, presentations, and more. 

5. Interact with Your Customers

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While regularly updating your social media accounts, you should also be engaging with your customers and target audience. This shows that you are active on your social media profiles and care about how your customers affect your business. Plus, interacting with them is as simple as liking a comment they post on your content or asking them for feedback.

6. Insert Links to Your Accounts on Your Website

On your company’s website, make sure to include shareable links to your social media pages. Most businesses choose to include these at the top of their page, but some also post them in the footer or the sidebar. Add the official social media website’s icon, too. This way visitors to your website will know exactly what they are clicking on. 

7. Cross Promote Your Accounts on Other Social Networks

In order to boost your startup’s performance on all social media websites, you should also cross promote your profiles. This is an especially good idea if you have a lot more followers on one account than others. Write a relevant CTA that encourages your followers to check out your other social media profiles. You should include a link to your profile in the post. For example, if you have a lot of Twitter followers, write a tweet asking your followers to check out your Instagram page. This will help you grow your number of followers on all platforms. Plus, it is a great way to get more involved with your audience.

8. Analyze and Evaluate Your Social Media Strategy

There is more to a successful social media profile than just updating it frequently. You must continue to analyze your strategy for social media and continue to improve and grow. Even social media changes from time to time. Methods that were successful before may not work any longer. Keeping an eye on your plan for growth will ensure that your efforts are not wasted. Go over your plan regularly to determine your strengths and weaknesses.

Some social media websites have built-in analytics that allow you to see which posts are successful and which are not. There are also third party sites and tools like Klout, Quintly, and Cyfe that can provide assistance in analyzing your social media accounts. With the use of these tools, you can create long term success for your startup and continue to evolve and succeed.

Social media network are a fantastic way for you to spread the word about your new startup. These platforms provide an easy way to promote your business and reach new customers. However, these profiles do take a lot of effort and time to perfect. You must create a social media strategy and continually analyze and update your page to remain successful. Stay true to your brand identity and the people will follow. With these eight tips in mind, you will be a social media whiz in no time at all.

About the Author: As a Marketing specialist, Dwayne Weiser has helped several startups over the years to grow and become noticeable. Now he is working on his own business startup and is a Content Editor for GuideToLogin.com.