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All about Australian Women
Like most start-ups, my mineral make-up business Bare Blossom didn’t have the budget for a sophisticated advertising campaign when it launched. This left me with the challenge of trying to build brand awareness while keeping my costs low. I quickly learnt that social media offered an enormous marketing opportunity and that I needed to establish a strong digital presence in order to grow my business.
Many referrals are now based purely on social media presence. Therefore, it is important that your business be visible on relevant social media platforms. I was aware that many women didn’t know how to correctly apply mineral makeup so I created a YouTube video as a guide. In addition to being informative, a professional and engaging social media presence added to my brand’s credibility and won me more followers, fans and connections. Also remember that good social media content can help your brand reach well beyond its fan base through retweets and shares.
Most social media sites allow you to include a bio and a well written one can mean the difference between someone wanting to find out more about your business and someone bypassing it all together. Keep your bio brief but interesting enough to attract your target audience. Be sure to include a link to your website. This is vital to generate traffic and increase sales.
Social media is not a set-and-forget strategy. Your followers will expect you to actively engage with them on a regular basis. Also, don’t make the mistake of limiting content and updates solely to information about your company and products. Add value to your social media sites by sharing industry news and personally responding to comments. You can also engage with your audience by asking them to participate in an online brand campaign. For instance, invite people to submit photos of them using your product. People are more likely to engage and respond if they are invited to do so.
I promoted Bare Blossom by running a “Like us on Facebook to win a Bare Blossom Starter Kit” campaign. I know that most women want to be the first to try new make-up products so I focused my promotion around that. I received 500 new “Likes” within two weeks as a result. Remember to keep your incentives creative and find ways of letting your target audience know the benefits of being part of your follower base, such as offering priority purchase of new products. Most businesses run regular competitions and promotions to attract new customers and to increase their brand awareness. You should too.
