Business social media: 10 things to think about
Gone are the days when social media was just for personal use. If businesses do not have some kind of social media presence, whether it’s on one channel or many, there’s a problem. Being on social media has become as important as having a website. This makes sense because when people are trying to find a product or service, they search online. Will your target market find your business on social media? If the answer is yes then that’s great, but that’s not the end of it. There needs to be some kind of strategy behind your business social media. It’s only once you build up a following that social media becomes really effective. But how do you do that?
Things to think about when it comes to your business social media
1. Think about your brand
Your personality might be very different to that of your brand. Perhaps you would post about cats doing random things, but if your brand is a formal business consultancy then it wouldn’t quite work on the business social media accounts. Think about the three Ps of your brand – personality, purpose and passions. Everything you post on your business social media accounts should align with these. You don’t want to confuse your market and lead them to believe the brand has a personality disorder, do you?
2. Think about what social media channels you want to be on
There is a growing list of social media channels out there, so does your brand have to be on all of them? No. Deciding which social media channels your business should be on is a very important part of your strategy. It is not necessary to be on all of them. You don’t need to be on SnapChat if your market doesn’t even know what it is. Instead, establish a solid presence on a few of the channels, rather than a weak presence on all of them. Think again about the three Ps of your brand – personality, purpose and passion – and which channels best match those brands. Here are 5 social media channels to consider using.
3. Think about what you want to post
Don’t just post for the sake of posting. All of your posts must be thought out, brand consistent and relevant. It’s important to have a plan. Think at least a few weeks ahead, rather than stressing about what to post each day.
4. Think about what you’re trying to achieve
Planning ahead will enable you to work all the posts together towards a common goal. Once you’ve established what it is you’re trying to achieve, it’ll make coming up with post ideas that much easier. Of course, the ultimate goal is usually to get more business, but be careful not to be salesy all the time. Try focussing on educating, inspiring and connecting with your market.
5. Think about who you are talking to
A pivotal part of your business strategy is your target market – who are you trying to sell your product or service to? This will not only determine which social media channels you should be on, but also how you should communicate with them. The language, tone and content you use to reach one market will be completely different to another. Think about what they would most likely engage with – put yourself in their shoes.
6. Think about what you want your market to do
This is linked to what you’re trying to achieve, but it’s important to think about how you want your market to respond to each post. Do you want them to share it with friends, provide their opinion in comments, download something, click on a link, like it or simply read and take it in. Each post should encourage engagement in different ways.
7. Think about a plan for each social media channel
The different social media channels have different focusses, different markets and different “rules”. This means that it is often important to adjust what you’re saying, how many words you’re using to say it and the content you’re posting on each social media channel.
8. Think about who is going to keep the content updated
To avoid becoming one of those businesses that eagerly start a social media page, but then doesn’t keep the social media channels updated, you need to make sure you allocate the important task of updating content to someone. If that someone wants to delegate the task to a digital agency, like Flicker Leap, then that’s even better.
9. Think about what has worked well on each channel in the past
If you discover that some things you post on social media work better than others, then take note and use it to your advantage for future posts. Alternatively, if things aren’t working on a social media channel, don’t blindly continue. Learning social media for your business is a journey, so keep learning and adapting.
10. Think about how you’re going to grow your social media following
Sometimes you might get lucky and your organic posts will do well, but more often than not you first need to build up that following. The more followers you have, the more influence you have. There are a few ways to grow this following, including inviting friends and family to follow your business (without spamming them), sharing a business post every now and then (not every single one), researching and establishing the type of content your target market will find valuable, promoting your posts and hiring social media influencers to inspire others to follow your brand.
So, give business social media a shot. It’s important to manage your social media effectively, otherwise it will manage you. If you’re already active on social media, but not finding success, here are some reasons why it might not be working. Don’t throw in the towel just yet, give us a call if you want to improve your social media presence.
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