What
the heck is Social Media and how does it help my business?
To
most business owners, Social Media means Facebook and Twitter. Those two little
blue squares businesses put on their advertisements letting people know that
they have a Facebook page and a Twitter account.
Most small business owners have figured out by now that they want a
Facebook page, and some have heard of Twitter and realize that “hey,
if the big companies have Twitter, I must need Twitter too. Heck,
these are FREE services after all, are they not?
Yet
still, the question remains, WHY? What do I do with my Facebook
page, My Twitter account?
Let's
look at the term “SOCIAL MEDIA” and how it relates to
Advertising.
According
to Wikipedia, Social Refers to the interaction of organisms (people) with other organisms (people) and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary.
Interaction
being the key word, we have to look at advertising as more than just
getting your product or service and your business name and contact
information out there.
Let's
go back a little... In 1997 I started my first Website Development
and Internet Marketing Company. In what was, at the time, the fastest
growing County in the United States (Flagler County, FL). I was at
the cutting edge with the fastest growing business sector in the
world and was poised to take the world by storm with this new
technology.
It
was my job to tell the masses that they NEEDED a website. They needed
that WWW before their company name. A website to call their own. I
met with a lot of resistance at first. The comment I most often heard
at the time was, “I don't know anything about computers”. My
response was “You don't know anything about printing presses, yet
you advertise in the local trade papers”. And, at the time, I was
right. Today, everyone has a website, and many businesses don't even
understand why.
Today,
“Social Media” is The Buzz. But WHY?
Consider
the fact that over 90% of adults in America have a Facebook account.
That's a lot of eyes. The question is how do I get those eyes to pay
attention to my business? Again, Interaction is the key word. You have to engage your audience.
Bring them IN to your world.
How
do you bring them in?
Here
it is... by BEING SOCIAL!
Being
Social is a part time job (at the least) in and of itself. To take advantage of Social Media Marketing, you must spend TIME
on it. Done right, it will pay off, and pay off quickly.
Remember,
Social is Interaction... Social is a two way street. Your customers
are on Facebook and Twitter for a reason. Contrary to the old belief
that people just don't want to be bothered, they do however want to
be recognized, a trait very much lost in today’s corporate America.
A trait lost on large Companies, can be capitalized on by small
business owners.
So,
you have a Facebook Business page. You have managed to get people to
actually LIKE your Facebook page. Now what?
Interacting With Your Loyal Customers
Encourage
your customers to interact with your business via your Facebook page.
This is where your creativity comes in. You have an audience, now you
have to interact with them.
Your
business page is not the place to “post” that you're enjoying a
latte at Starbucks, your political commentary or other such nonsense,
you can save that for your personal page.
Instead,
share your knowledge, your “Intellectual Property” so to
speak, with the purpose of educating your audience about your product
or service. Share those little tidbits of information that your
customers may not be aware of or be thinking about when it comes to your
business. After all, who knows more about your business than you?
Hold
contests, share videos, play games and encourage your Facebook “friends” to
“share” your Facebook posts and page with their “friends”. Acknowledge
posts by others on, around and about your company, product or
service. At the least, click “LIKE” on comments left on your
“wall” or on comments where your business is “Tagged” or mentioned.
Educate
yourself and your staff on the importance of “LIKEing”, “sharing”
and “tagging” on Facebook. The more YOUR posts are LIKEd, Shared
and Tagged, the more exposure your business will get.
But
being Social can't end there. From your Business page on Facebook,
you must LIKE the Facebook pages of your contemporaries, your
business neighbors and your community. Paying attention to their
posts, and ”like” and “share” their posts (use discretion here)
with your “friends”. Cultivate a Facebook “partnership” with
other businesses in your community and “tag” each other in your
posts. A network, so to speak, of merchants to “share” your
information with each others “friends” and followers.
Interaction... This is
being Social.
Need Help with your Social Media Campaign?
Contact me: rick@BounceTheCat.net
http://Facebook.com/BounceTheCat
http://Twitter.com/Bounce_The_Cat
http://BounceTheCat.net
