Social Media and You
So you’ve got a company Facebook, you’ve got your LinkedIn profile, heck, you actually know what a LinkedIn profile is!; you even dabble in Twitter. You’re practically a social media guru, right? This posting online lark is pretty easy!
However, before you start changing job titles to social media whizz kid or online wizard, let’s take a breath and slow down a little. First things first: having social media channels can really help to increase the reach of your online audience, help you to grow your business, gain new leads, engage with your current audience, and is a great way to set yourself ahead as a real leader and not a follower; generally, using your social channels properly will help to build your online presence and ultimately, your business. However, that’s not to say you won’t need a little help. Social media is definitely more complicated and way more in-depth than simply posting a few updates, and the pretty scary thing can be that if you don’t do some things the right way, it can be more damaging to your business and brand than simply not participating…
Top Tips Post regularly... ...but don’t swamp your channels. Whilst you might have a real need to show all of your online friends, followers, and family your new found social skills, they might not want to see the video of the pug falling over a toddler, who’s eating an ice-cream, near a paddling pool. In fact, stop sharing those bits of content right now! Make sure your content is relevant, timely, and will provide something of interest and fill a pain area for your audience. Keep those clumsy, ice-cream loving, fiendish pugs to your personal profile.
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Hashtags...
...know when to stop! You know when you have that beer o’clock urge on a Friday evening during the height of summer, and the thrill of a cold pint is just too much to ignore? Yeah? Adding hashtags to your postings doesn’t satisfy any urges like that. Just take a minute and stop. Hashtags are amazing little additions to a post, they really are, but there’s a right way and a wrong way. Used correctly, in the right social channel, they can link great bits of similar content, allowing your post to be more easily found and grouped together with other great bits of content. Use them incorrectly and not only will you look like a numpty, but you’ll also put users off reading anything of yours #trustusweknowwhatweretalkingabout #overkill #savethehashtag
Check out your competitors. It’s not cheating and it’s not a waste of time. If your competitors are doing something online and it’s working, take inspiration from this. That’s not to say copy everything they’re doing, but if it works, see if you can learn from what they’re doing. Trust me, those competitors will be keeping an eye on you too, so give them something to learn from!
Engage. imagine that you’ve navigated the minefield of social media; you’ve got your channels set up, you’re posting regular content, and you’ve got a decent number of followers. Well done, you! Now, imagine for whatever reason, Mrs Jones has posted a less than favourable comment on your Facebook page and got her friends to like this unhappy soliloquy of doom. What do you do? Do you ignore it? Do you respond back with a witty comment? Do you apologise? Do you, dare we say it, delete it?... The key point to remember is your social channels are the gateway to great customer service. Just because someone is unhappy from behind a keyboard, doesn’t mean to say it means anything less than it would if you’d have had a letter or a face-to-face complaint.
Make your social channels work for you. If you’ve tried all of these, and you’re spending hours trying to find the right content for your Facebook page, and still not getting any engagement, you have two options: you either keep going and put some money into a targeted promotion, or you write it off. There’s no point in getting precious with anything online – the environment is changing so fast that keeping up is hard enough, never mind trying to reinvent the wheel. Just because Bob down the road has a company Facebook page, doesn’t mean to say you have to. The most important thing is to remember – every social channel you use is like a shop window into your business. Use it wisely, use it well, and don’t stop learning.
Questions to ask yourself Which brands do you think have a great social media presence? How do they engage? How often do they post?
Examples of great social media presence
Check ‘em out on Facebook
An oldie but a perfect example of bringing an old product to the new generation. Not many of today’s teens will remember the vintage adverts and ‘unique’ lingering scent of days gone by, but with their entertaining social media accounts, Old Spice have managed to draw in the masses. They have created a perfect brand character, allowing an almost disconnect from the brand, creating an engaging relationship with the audience that resembles following a very entertaining friend, rather than a hard sales pitch.
Facebook and Twitter have allowed customers to connect with brands at any time day or night, and with that also comes the demand for a quick response. Whilst some may prefer to respond within their set office hours, some companies go above and beyond in their customer service, and have responses for day or night and put others to shame with their quick timing, informal and helpful responses. One amazing example of this in practice is Pizza Hut. With a perfect combination of humour and help, great engagement with their customers and online conversations as well as offering clarification and information on their services, Pizza Hut just get it right, and the 25 million Facebook fans they have definitely agree.
Innocent are a fruit based drinks company who started off selling organic smoothies and little festivals, and have now progressed to a wide range of healthy food and drinks on a global scale.
Take a look at their Twitter
They have retained their local, community driven roots, and carried it through in their values, their brand, and their online presence. From great content on the side of a smoothie container to their social channels, their postings of quirky and intriguing content promotes shares, engagement, and plenty of interaction. This is without a doubt the key to using social media effectively: generate a response, get people talking and make people remember you and your brand!
If you’re looking for the next social media guru with more know how than a Swiss army knife, why not get in touch with our team? Or perhaps you’re looking to be the next foreign utility gadget.
www.s2selection.co.uk
01782 914 014