Your a new business, you have a brand name and great new logo, you're thinking of having a new website, you've got the team uniform ready and you're now on social media.. it's one of the key elements of having a business these days. We speak to new businesses and business people every week in Aberystwyth and Cardiff and help them take their first steps in to social media and marketing their business.
Now we all start at the bottom, no fans, no followers and no likes...GULP!! Are more fans important, to start with I think they are, you should invite your friends and family, ask them to invite their close friends too and any initial customers you have there should be an incentive to follow you on social media (I spoke about this in my blog about loyalty cards)
By now you should have a hundred or maybe a few hundred fans spread across the social media platforms, but what about growing it from there, is it important?? The answer is no, more fans, more followers and more likes don't always mean more business and more pounds in your pocket.
This is where you need to look at paid advertising to reach more customers, we're not talking £1,000 a month, start with £50 and then build it up, the best ads reach more people for the least amount of money.
A good Facebook, Instagram and Twitter campaign along with the correct message in your store or your website will attract more fans, no not the like and share competitions you see everywhere.. I have already told you how negative these are for your page! Correctly targeted Facebook ads within a ten mile radius of your clothing store, targeted at the demographic your clothes are made for and your target audience; this will automatically gain you more fans but more importantly drive more traffic to your store or website.
Be patient with growing your fans online, and stick at it, having less than 1000 fans is fine just keep posting valuable and interesting content and delivering a great service and product and the fans will come.