Social Media Has Become The #1 Communication Tool In The World .. As A Business Owner Are You Listening?
Note from Diane :When Social Media first burst on the scene a few years ago it was touted on webinar after webinar as the new free way to get leads for your business and I watched them all, put some of the ideas into action and thought … is it me or am I being an annoying prat?
OK … for those people who are still lead bashing on Twitter and link spamming on Facebook wake up and realise you are gate crashers at the coolest party in town.
If you are in business of any kind .. here are some Do’s and Don’t of Social Media …
Feature Article :Some Do’s And Don’t Of Social Media
If Social Media gives you a headache, you simply need time to UNDERSTAND it better!
Word of mouth is probably the most powerful way in which to grow any business.
Whatever your best friends recommend is usually something you will check out for yourself.
When someone says “You should speak to so & so” or
“you should use this or that, it’s brilliant!” you are going to see your first penny drop on why Social Media is so powerful.
Word of Mouth just became WORLD of MOUTH.
If your best friend has already done the research on something, and you value their opinion you are far more likely to TRUST something, or someone.
Today Social Media provides the opportunity for everyone to reach even more people, without having to drive, fly or meet each person face to face.
You can using the internet “be known” by 5,ooo people at once with a video or webinar without leaving the comfort of your own home.
Many of you reading this want to help your company understand how they can use social media to take their business forward not to mention Up To Date!!
The Do’s Of Social Media
- Be politcally correct with your interactions, Tweets and Facebook Wall Posts
- Respond timely to your inbox/email and mentions
- Use appropriate photos for your brand and for your wall posts
- Be positive, likeable and helpful
- Follow or “friend” everyone
- Shrink Tweets on Twitter to create longer posts and receive more Retweets
- Mind your P’s & Q’s grammar and spelling
- Hide people when needed – protect your brand
- Delete activity as needed – protect your brand
- Use subtle industry whisper words
The Do Not’s Of Social Media
- Do not create controversial conversations
- Do not use your pet as your profile picture
- Do not talk to just one person
- Do not just talk to your friends
- Do not lose the interest of your friends/ followers
- Do not post pictures that need explaining
- Do not make selling your number one priority
Do you prefer to text or email rather than talk these days?
If you think back to when text messages were “weird” to you, you started to think “why are they texting when they could just pick up the phone?”
Now some of you will be thinking “Why is this person RINGING me? I’m on Facebook every day what can they possibly need to TALK to me about?”
Communication is totally different today, so is the way people BUY.
You know when you get a knock at the door and you hear “Good afternoon, we were just in the neighbourhood” and your heart sinks … you hate being sold to right?
Well the most annoying thing online is Sales Pitch after Sales Pitch on Twitter without any substance.
The ones who are winning with Social Media are the ones who are being helpful an being a resource for consumers.
We don’t do business anymore with company A … we do business with individuals.
Where Do You Start? What Do You Need?
Depending on your time and resources, you should limit Social Media to an hour a day! It’s like homework, and if you have very limited time, just pick one and do it well.
The Big Three …
1. Facebook
Quick Checklist for Facebook:
- Sign up at Facebook.Com
- Create vanity url like http://facebook.com/dianecossie
- Create a profile page ( under 5,000 friends)
- Create a Facebook Home Page (newsfeed)
- Create a Custom Landing Page
- Add “Likes” (5,000 + potential)
- Add Blog / Notes
- Create posts and content and interact
- Add videos
- Use 3rd Party Tools to control
*NB Add friends Strategically over time.
Facebook has “bots” that will flag your account if you “grow too fast.” The growth limitations are not clear, it is probably no more than 25-30 a day. The secret is to proceed with caution and reach out to request friends on a regular basis so your network grows consistently rather than in spurts.
Let your email list know you are on Facebook and don’t forget to add it to your business card over time.
2. You Tube
The world’s second largest search engine! You will create even more impact for your business when you introduce video marketing into everything you do.
There is no better way to let people get to know you, like you and TRUST you.
Quick Checklist for You Tube :
- You will need a Flip Video Camera, Lap Top or iPhone
- Set up your channel www.youtube.com/dianecossie
- Create an introductory video
- Subscribe to other channels and encourage people to subscribe to yours
- Add tutorial style “How To” videos for maximum views
3. Twitter
I personally love TWITTER, it’s my favourite for driving traffic to any website and interacting with people. You will never make any sense of Twitter without 3rd Party applications and the right strategy!
Even though Twitter seems the simplest of them all to use, it’s actually the most complex to set up and harness it’s true business building power.
You will not master any of these 3 giants in a day, it takes consistency and time.
Here are TEN TOP TWITTER TIPS to TWEET YOU HAPPY
Feel free to share this with someone if it helped!
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Diane Cossie, Creative Online Marketing