Can These Under-Utilized Social Media Platforms Boost Your Business?

Almost every small business owner is probably aware that Facebook and Twitter can have a positive impact on their business. Maybe you have invested some time in creating profiles on those social media sites. What you may not know is that there are a number of other, lesser-known (or simply under-utilized) social media sites that are proving to be enormously effective and could be sending new eyes to your website and bringing new business to your company. The following five "underdog" sites are on the rise in popularity, and small business owners are finding that they can be just as effective as Facebook and Twitter campaigns - maybe even more so!

Pinterest
As a small business owner, you may not initially consider Pinterest  as a beneficial platform due to its heavy focus on images rather than text. However, in many cases, those images can capture the imagination and interest of potential clients far better than words.

Pinterest can be utilized in several ways, but the regular creation of new boards, with images related to your business, tends to be what captures interest.

Even better, add a board with coupons or discounts for your business. Depending on your niche, this could generate a lot of traffic – after all, everyone loves a deal. Be sure to include your website link in your Pinterest profile, and pin images directly from your site as often as possible. These things make it easy for people to click on your links.

Instagram
Instagram is extremely popular, and its easy-to-use interface makes it a snap for the small business owner. Your smart phone is all you need to upload images to this platform. You can caption your images with a variety of hashtags related to your business. People searching for those hashtags can easily scroll through various pictures and land on your images.

You can post all kinds of images on Instagram, including product photos, ads, and coupons. Be sure to "follow" back people who "follow" you, and you'll find that your Instagram network will build itself organically and steadily. To be even more proactive, find people in your community or niche and follow them to get your business’s name out there.

YouTube
If you don’t explore the possibilities of YouTube for your business, you could be leaving out a major stream of revenue and clients. Your YouTube videos need not be long or even professionally produced commercials. Think about showcasing a few of your products or services in a video. Having a special? Make a quick video in which you detail the special and how viewers can get in on the deal.

YouTube is also a place where people search extensively for “how-to” -   if you have some shareable expertise, by all means, share it!

YouTube allows you to add links to your site, providing plenty of opportunities for new visitors and conversions. Once you’ve built up a nice following, you may want to begin placing some short ads on YouTube for a chance at an even broader revenue stream.

Foursquare
Foursquare is a tool that many small business owners are still neglecting - and it could be costing you a lot of new business. Foursquare was essentially created to tell people about local businesses, much like Yelp! and the old-school Yellow Pages. Your business is probably already on it, however, you can really flesh out the listing with lots of details – and pictures – and make it more enticing to people browsing for your product or service.

Foursquare makes it easy to place ads that draw in customers. Be sure to update the site with current info on deals and specials that potential customers will become aware of. You can even offer special deals just for Foursquare users, which will increase your reputation on the app.

Klout
Klout isn’t so much under-exposed as it is under-utilized. Klout creates a profile for you or your business and gives you a Klout score – a sort of grade for the quality and quantity of your social media engagement across multiple platforms; the more good content that you create and share, the higher your Klout score. The higher your score, the more you'll be seen, and the more new visitors you'll have.

Creating unique and engaging content for your business may not always be an easy job (one of many reasons for hiring a professional firm to do your strategic SEO marketing and content management!). However, if you put some time into placing great content on Klout – and really, almost any social media platform – you'll eventually notice some appreciable rewards.