Should your SME be using social media channels to promote its goods and services?
Well, the simple answer to that is yes it should. How can we be so sure about that? Well, just consider this; millions of people spend hours on end logged onto the world’s most popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+. They’re not just there to exchange pleasantries with friends and families; they’re looking to buy goods and services – goods and services from businesses like yours. Doesn’t it make sense, therefore, to get a slice of this action? Of course it does.
But how do you go about building a social media audience?
How do you get your message across to new digital audiences? Well, you’ll have to take things slowly and gradually build your audience. Nobody can walk the walk before they’ve learned to talk the talk. You’ll need to learn from your peers and see what works for them, and make sure your business engages and interacts with its followers. It might seem like a daunting prospect, but social media success is achievable so long as your business is prepared to work at it. Here are 5 useful tips for smaller business dipping their toes in the social media sector for the first time.
Find your social media voice.
It’s important to establish your voice on any social media platform, and by that we do actually mean voice, not ‘tone. Your social media voice is what makes you unique: it’s what marks you out as different from your competitors. How do you find this elusive voice? Well, see what your competitors are doing and learn from their experiences. Not everything they do and say will fit your audience, but it will certainly point you in the right direction. Once you’ve established what will work best with your audience you can then turn your attention to tone of voice and getting your message across in the most-appropriate way.
Keep your content varied.
Whether your medium of choice is Twitter, Facebook or Google+, make sure you keep your profile refreshed with unique content, and remember that different platforms require different messages. Use informative articles by all means and add hints and tips you think might be helpful to audiences, but don’t forget to inform your followers about special one-off promotions or contests. Followers like to think that they’re getting something special – something that only a select band of social media followers have access to.
Keep a blog.
It pays to keep an up-to-date blog, and it also pays to link that blog to your social media accounts. A blog will give your business the opportunity to advise and inform and engage and interact with your audience. Not only that, it will also give you the opportunity to keep your customers informed about any special offers you’re promoting.
The priority is your audience, not you.
It’s all-too-tempting to get carried away with self-promotion and to keep banging on about how good you are or how successful you’ve become, but social media audiences really don’t take to this well. Followers don’t really care about inflated opinions; what they’re after is information and advice. If you remain helpful and stay humble your audience will remain loyal, and could eventually become brand ambassadors.
Never stop learning.
If you already think you know it all, then you’re destined for a fall. Even the most-seasoned social media brands never stop learning from both their successes and their failures. Listen to what your audience is saying, respect their opinions and respond positively to any criticism you might receive. Learn from negative experiences – don’t bury your head in the sand.
