Social networking is serious business! This is social networking for the 21st century, one in which every business owner should get on board with. As entrepreneurs, it is essential that you continually generate new ideas in order to maximize the profit-making potential of your venture.
Social media is a great way to leverage your products or services. It is an easy and inexpensive way to connect to people around the world and an opportunity to make friends with people who have similar interests, find solutions to problems they might have by collaborating with others, as well as attract clients that might need your products or services. Be more strategic.
According to a recent survey on online social networking by the Institute for Corporate Productivity:
- 65% of business professionals use some form of personal or professional social network
- 47% use social networks to connect with potential clients and market their skills
- 55% use social networks to share best practices with colleagues
So, ready to jump on the Social Media Bandwagon? Here are 4 Super Duper Tips for Social Media Success:
Super Duper Tip 1: Create a Strategy
Social media is comprised of many different platforms. Creating and implementing a marketing strategy for using social media is extremely important. This will alleviate a lot of time wasted and help you to focus on the most effective way to use it and decide which social networks best suit your business needs. Three things to consider in your plan:
- Primary goal: decide on the purpose and goals for establishing social media
- Content: decide on the message you want to convey to your target audience. It is important that your content is in line with your company’s mission and values.
- Measure Your Progress: Set a timeline for the appropriate time to measure your success. This will allow you to make adjustments to your strategy.
Super Duper Tip 2: Know your audience
Often, I consult with clients who after talking to them, I find that they have not considered who their customers are. Most of them want to sell their products or services to any and everybody who will buy from them. I explain to them that they cannot be everything to everybody, it just won’t work! Imagine having to create a marketing campaign to attract a dozen or so industries. You would have to because one shoe does not fit all!
While using social media can allow you to reach millions of people, you want to make sure you are reaching the appropriate audience. Though Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are the most popular at this time, make sure you research other social sites that can give you the greatest access to your audience.
By knowing your audience, will dramatically increase your effectiveness! This is important both online and offline. Again, know your audience!
Super Duper Tip 3: Protect Your Image or Die!
The image your business portrays sends an important message to your clients. It is easy to get too comfortable and let down your guard when using various social networks. It is important to treat people with the same respect online as you do offline. Truth is information travels like wild fire! If you have a dissatisfied customer; in the matter of seconds, they can post negative information about your business.
For example, if I was dissatisfied with the way I was treated as a consumer from a business, I could post my complaint to my 1900 twitter followers or to my 1200 fans Facebook. Imagine the impact if a percentage of my followers also shared that post with people in their network? A web savvy customer can literally shred your company to pieces as well as destroy your credibility and reputation with a single post. Protect your reputation. Remember, image is everything!
Super Duper Tip 4: Build Lasting Relationships
If you put up your profile to never update or visit the social media site again, what are potential clients and business partners to think? In order to blossom and make an impact in the communities that you join, you must network. Networking is a reciprocal process based on the exchange of ideas, contacts, advice and referrals. By networking, you are building professional relationships and generating new business.
In closing, more and more local small businesses and non-profit organizations are climbing aboard the social media bandwagon to market themselves for free. It just makes good business sense to learn how to leverage social media to build communities around brands and then leverage them into revenue.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Sylvia Browder is CEO of Browder Consulting Group, a virtual small business consulting firm. In her role, she helps Women in Business grow and succeed. She is employed as Project Director and business consultant for the Women's Business Center Inc, a non-profit economic development organization with a mission of empowering women to start and grow successful businesses. She has served as an online volunteer SCORE counselor since 2004. She also serves as a Technical Assistant Provider for SBA’s Community Express Loan Program. For FREE weekly articles go to Sylvia Browder’s Blog for Women Entrepreneurs, www.sylviabrowder.com. She can be contacted at info@browderconsultinggroup.com.
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