SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS, WHY?
There’s no question that successful businesses have learned how to master the art of social media. For smaller businesses it’s impossible to manage a presence on all of the platforms, so choices must be made. But how do you know which ones are worth your time? That’s what we’re here for. SCM has been helping businesses manage their online presence and we know a thing or two about where to focus your efforts.
SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS GENERAL RULES
Although each platform has its perks and setbacks, there a couple of things to keep in mind with all of them. In order to find success on social media for business, your accounts need to be active with consistent posts at the very least once per week. Know the people that make up your audience and be sure that you are sending out messages that are relevant and useful to them.
How could we put together a social media list without starting off with Facebook? With being the largest social network to date, brands who aren’t using this as a tool to reach their customers are seriously missing out on a huge opportunity.
Facebook is an easy and effective tool for breaking into social media for business. It is simple to set up a business account and invite people to like the page. Once you get followers it is easy for them to share your posts with their friends, putting your information in front of an extended audience who you may not have in your own network. When posting, just remember that your Facebook profile is supposed to be used to create a community among your followers and as a tool to build relationships with them.
SCM Tip: Don’t fill your Facebook profile with advertisements, your fans don’t like seeing promotional brand posts in their newsfeed. Instead, make your profile personable. Let them see what your business is like from an inside perspective.
An added perk: Facebook also has it’s own advertising system which makes it easier to target specific demographics on the network.
Twitter is another major social media platform. Posts on Twitter are limited to 140 characters making them direct and to the point. Even though the posts are shorter, to make an impact on this social media network you need to put in a little more time. Do your research to find which hashtags are relevant to your industry and what people are talking about. There’s also the retweet, where you are sharing someone else’s tweet to your followers. Be careful with what you’re retweeting – make sure that it is in line with the message your brand is portraying online, especially if the tweet has a link in it.
SCM Tip: Twitter is all about building conversations. Make sure that you are replying to questions and are using the right tone in your tweets. If you do use this platform to promote your products or give out deals, be sure to make it conversational.
LinkedIn is especially popular within the B2B community. It is a helpful tool for hiring, networking, and gaining new clients. When posting to this platform, remember that people are in work-mode when they are on it. Share relevant articles about current events and new research findings in the industry. It is also a great lead generation tool to figure out who needs your product or service, and have them come to your organically through this platform.
SCM Tip: Join LinkedIn groups that are related to your field. This will allow you to provide your own insightful information and let you promote your expertise.
GOOGLE+
If you couldn’t already tell by its name, Google+ is owned by Google the search engine. Therefore, having a Google+ account is a good idea because it improves your rankings on search engine results pages. Every type of business can benefit from having a Google+ profile.
SCM Tip: Sign your business up for a Google My Business account so that your Google+ links to Google local searches.
Since the platform is photo based, Pinterest tends to work better for brands that use strong visuals in their advertising. Retailers, manufacturers, and businesses in the travel industry have seen particular success on Pinterest. Is your target market predominantly female? If you answered yes, Pinterest is an obvious contender for your business’ social media line-up. When creating pin boards and pin descriptions be sure to use targeted keywords so that people can find your pin when they search for something.
SCM Tip: Stay updated on popular search terms. Create boards and pins that are related to stay on top of your SEO.
Here is the other image based app in the social media world. Instagram is a popular photo editing and sharing app that is popular among the younger Millennial demographic. It is a great tool for restaurants, hotels, travel-related businesses, and consumer product companies. To see success with this platform, make sure that you’re taking pictures that make your brand unique.
SCM Tip: Instagram works great when paired with Facebook and Twitter. Maximize your efforts by having the same image posted on all three platforms.