By Jynell Berkshire Now, more than ever, having a social media presence online is critical to the growth of any business. Regardless of whether you are a large or small business, social media can help you to stay ahead of your competition, attract new customers, increase sales of your products or services, and strengthen your relationships with existing customers.

As an Indianapolis Business Lawyer, I know this first hand. Social media is all about relationships…relationships with a twist.  The twist is finding creative ways to sell your products or services without being a pushy salesperson. Unfortunately, most people make the mistake of going for the kill (the sale) without having first established a rapport with the buyer.

It’s like dating. When you first ask someone out, you don’t immediately attempt to kiss that person without first getting to know the person. The same is true when using social media to grow your business.

As you interact through social media, you can build relationships with your customers or potential customers so that they are happy to hear about the cool things you’re working on or selling.

So let’s look at four strategies on how you can use social media to grow your business.

Strategy 1: Find Out What Others Are Saying 

Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are great places to find out what others are saying about your business or your overall industry. You can learn a lot by just listening to what your customers think about your business or what potential customers are looking for. That will allow you to better engage with them in helpful ways.

For example, if you are a real estate broker, you may want to know what difficulties people are having in locating property within the community that you service. One way to find this information is to post questions on Facebook or Twitter and wait for a response.

Another way is to use Google Alerts. Google Alerts are notifications you receive by email when a specific search query you have created is found by Google.

Again if you are a real estate broker in Indianapolis then you may want to set up a few test alerts like “where can I find Indianapolis homes for sale,” or “what homes are for sale in Indianapolis.”

Then when these keywords are posted on a web page, such as in a forum comment or blog post, Google picks up the keywords when it indexes the page and sends you an email.

The down side though to Google Alerts is that it will only send you results based upon the specific keywords or phrases you have set up in your alert notifications. Take some time and think through what specific questions a customer may be asking about before you set up the alerts. Otherwise, you may be missing out on the opportunity to find new customers. Don’t be afraid to set up numerous alerts for specific search phrases.

Once you have learned what others are saying and think about your business or your industry in general, the next strategy is to connect with your audience.

Strategy 2:  Connect With Your Audience

Social media allows you to connect with others. It is a great way to interact with fellow business colleagues, expects in your industry, friends, and, of course, your customers or potential customers.

Take for example, Facebook. Facebook is a great way to build relationships. You can ask questions, post helpful tips, suggest links to articles that your audience will like and share with others, and respond to other people’s comments. You can also personally thank someone when they Like your Page or post something on your Wall.

For example, when someone Likes my law office page or posts something on my Berkshire Law Facebook Wall, I take the time to learn more about that person before responding.

I often visit their personal Facebook page to see where they are from, what they are talking about, who they are following, etc. Whenever I post a response on my Company Fan Page, I want the response to be personalized so that the person knows it is not an auto-generated response. By doing this, I connect with my audience and build a relationship with my audience.

Another way I connect with the audience is to share something about myself. I do this to engage my audience so that they learn more about me, which in turn helps to increase my presence online.

Strategy 3:  Share Something About Yourself 

Social media also provides you with a way to share something about yourself with others. This is the most natural way to build rapport and to resonate with your audience.

One of the easiest ways to do this is to share personal things with your audience. The key is to engage your audience so that they relate to you as a person first and then as a business owner second. So don’t be afraid to share something personal about yourself that you are comfortable with letting others know about you.

For example, you could share things like what inspires you, what makes you laugh, what is the best way to do something that your audience could benefit from, what is your favorite hobby or sporting event and so on.

So to put this to the test, do you know what my favorite sport is?  If you guessed motorsports you are right. I have talked about this in forums on the key social media sites. See if you can find where.

Strategy 4: Sell Them Something

Now that you have learned what others are saying about your business, you have connected with your audience and have shared something personal about yourself to build relationships, it is time for the rubber to meet the road. It’s time to sell.

It’s time for you to extend an opportunity, beyond the social media channel you have been engaged in, for others to do business with you. For example, if you have a new product or service that you think others would be interested in and would benefit them, then let your audience know about it.

Since you have already built a relationship with your audience, they won’t look at you as some other salesperson, but as a friend. We all know that people buy from their friends or from those whom they have an established relationship with. Take advantage of the opportunity and sell them something. They will buy.

So here’s the bottom line. There are several ways you can use social media to increase your exposure online to grow your business. It is all about building relationships so that you can build the buzz about your business.

If you are looking to build the buzz with an Indianapolis real estate and business law firm, or just simply want to say hello to build a social network, then send me a message on any of my social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google+!

About the Author:

Jynell D. Berkshire is the founding partner of Berkshire Law LLC, a real estate and business law firm in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ms. Berkshire is a seasoned real estate and business lawyer and serial entrepreneur who owns companies in energy and renewable energy consulting, information publishing, international trade, and real estate.