With many looking to branch out from the old 9 to 5 and start their own venture, one might say that Entrepreneurship is a goal on a lot of people’s list. In fact, approximately 540,000 people become new business owners each month. New businesses are generally started with a business plan in place that starts the day the doors open, but what about the months leading up to the grand opening? Enter a social media channel that should be on every new business owner’s radar.
A Social Media Launch Plan
Start your business off on the right foot by gaining traction and interest ahead of the grand opening date. Create social media pages that integrate to your website and invite friends and family to like these pages to start generating buzz for your new business venture. Many businesses create social pages, but then aren’t sure where to go from there, or even where their customers are. If you aren’t ready to tackle this quite yet, a safe bet is to start with a Facebook page for your business.
Start with Facebook
Facebook acts as a second website, and will help tremendously with organic search engine optimization and you can also run paid ads on the channel to reach potential customers. Create a Facebook page for your business with your business name as the handle then walk through the steps to setup and brand your page so that it has a professional look and feel.
Tease your launch
Make sure to always use your new logo as your profile image to best represent your brand and use a custom graphic for your cover photo that says “Coming Soon” or “Opening XX/XX/XXXX”.
Tease your products/services
Once your page is established, start generating buzz for your new business by showcasing your services or products in advance and then running paid ad campaigns for these, along with your open date. The more eyes on your business and buzz before the doors open, the more chance you’re grand opening will be a success. Remember to start early with customer service on the page by responding to inquiries and questions from your potential customers.
Branch out to other platforms
Once your Facebook page is established, it’s a good idea to go ahead and claim the same handle (if available) on other social media channels, such as Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Even if you aren’t ready to tackle more than one, it’s a good idea to claim your name, setup the page with your logo as your profile photo, along with a bio to explain your new business, and finally post a graphic with your opening date and tell your customers where they can follow you online by sending them to your website and Facebook page for more information.
Social Media Management
Once your business is open and you have a better idea who your target customer is going to be, then you can start planning a social media strategy that will best suit your business moving forward. A social media strategy will include what channels you should be focused on as a business, content planning, blog planning, e-blast planning, and finally paid social ads. This type of strategy will help your business stay relevant online, as well as reach your desired target audience.
If this task seems daunting, have no fear; that’s why TargetMarket exists. We offer a free consultation to help your business to get started off on the right foot. Contact us today by filling out our easy online form.
