We all have our favorites. Favorite bands, businesses, hotels, restaurants, whatever. And now, thanks to social media, you can help promote your favorites easier than you think – without spending a penny. Below are some powerful ways you can help your favorite (fill in the blank) gain exposure online and grow their business.
1. Become a fan – everywhere. Find out what social media outlets your business uses, and become a fan, friend or follower on all of them. The most popular are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace but there are many others as well. Your favorite will be more than happy to share with you where you can connect online.
2. Comment on and “like” their posts. The more comments and “likes” a post receives, the longer it may stay on the top of the news feeds, gaining additional exposure. And it only takes a moment, so comment and click away!
3. Share posts with your own network. On Twitter, this is as easy as re-tweeting a post. In Facebook, use the “share” link below the post. This will re-post the original content out to your network, and your friends or followers will be able to see where the post originated. If interested, they can easily connect with your favorite directly.
4. Leave glowing reviews at all major sites. Once again, find out where your favorite is listed online, and leave a positive review. Typically the entries with the highest amount of positive reviews appear at the top of searches, so the more positive reviews your favorite has, the more exposure they will receive.
5. Invite your friends to become fans. Most of the social networking sites have links specifically for this purpose, and they make it easy to select which friends you’d like and send them an invitation. Just be careful not to spam your friends or you won’t be doing your favorite or yourself any favors. You may even want to include an explanation for the invitation, such as, “I’m sending this to all my sushi-loving friends because this place has a killer happy hour!”
Now it’s your turn. What other ways have you used to help promote a band or business online? Your comments and ideas are welcome!
