Social media has become a major part of marketing for businesses. Having a presence on the main social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, can help reach your target audience and grow your business. Advertising wisely on various social media platforms will help increase your business's visibility, along with offering you another way to keep in touch with your customers.

• Be STRATEGIC. Before jumping into social media marketing, create a plan with measurable goals and objectives. Know exactly what you are trying to accomplish on social media and have a plan for tracking your analytics to ensure you are meeting your goals.

• Know your target audience. Once you know who you are trying to reach, you can target the right social media platform to reach them. For example, if you are trying to reach millennials, Instagram might be the best option, as according to a recent Pew social media study, Instagram is most popular with the 18-29 crowd, with 59% of this population using the platform. Facebook, once thought to be a website for teenagers, is used by 79 percent of 30 to 49-year-olds online.

• Stay true to your brand identity and make sure your brand is cohesive among all of the platforms you are on. You want to attract clients and customers that align with your mission and vision, so be authentic.

• Develop and share your own informative, thought-provoking content. Cute puppies and babies may get a lot of likes on Facebook, but if you are trying to build your business brand, sharing helpful, interesting information with your followers will go further and help build your reputation as a trusted advisor. That being said, don’t be afraid to show your fun side occasionally. Pictures and posts that show your office culture can be great for helping potential customers get to know you, just please, no Snapchat filters-ever!

• Always reply to your customers on all of the social media platforms. Opening your business up to the social media world comes with the perk of having another form of communication with your customers. It gives your customers an opportunity to comment and ask a question or even give you praise/critique, it is then vital to make sure you reply to every single comment and question whether it be positive or negative. Just like when you are talking to a customer or client in person, you want it to be an engaging conversation instead of you just talking at them, if done right, that’s exactly what the comments section can be for you.