Much like a company website, business pages on social networks are an excellent tool for brand positioning and marketing. In fact, there are studies that show that consumers value a brand’s social media presence more than their website. Social networks give businesses a chance to interact with these users, provide valuable product details, contribute to SEO methods, attract new customers, and build loyalty through direct communication.

Here are a few things businesses can incorporate into their social media strategy to engage consumers, enhance branding, and position themselves for new leads.

• Polls, Questions, and Consumer Feedback
  Social networks provide a valuable opportunity for crowdsourcing and focus group-style research. By posting questions, conducting surveys, and encouraging user contributions, you can easily collect data that can be used to shape your marketing campaigns.

• Exclusive offers for followers
  If you have discount prices, exclusive specials, or free items to giveaway, these can all be perfect for your social media followers.

• Contests and content submissions
  You can drive engagement using things like contests, scavenger hunts, promotions, and caption contests using Facebook apps, Pinterest boards, Twitter hashtags, Instagram photos, and more.

• Newsletter sign-ups and Emails
  If you have an email newsletter, providing an app on your Facebook page is a great way to drive sign-ups and find new readers. Including social media icons in your emails and encouraging readers to follow your pages also helps drive traffic from email and integrate the two channels.

• Video Highlights
  87% of marketers in the United States use video for content marketing. Video features are a fun way for businesses to showcase items or provide a look behind the scenes. YouTube channels, Facebook apps, and mobile apps like Vine are all worth looking into if you have content that would lend itself well to visual display.

It’s important to remember that you don’t necessarily need to be on every social network. Identifying which channel is the best fit for your company will save time and provide better results for outreach methods.

Sure, the popularity of any one social network may shift, and trends may steer users to the next big thing, but the social medium as a whole shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon. The influence and scope of social media ensures that it is likely here to stay. Businesses can take advantage of this channel by incorporating smart, interesting, and valuable contributions to the online discourse.