Main Menu
Jun 30 2011
Many small business owners are getting more and more into social media. Social media has a tremendous impact on today’s marketing evolution. With the fundamental shift in the way we communicate these days it’s no wonder that companies want to be a part of this new conversation. Social media gives you a perfect opportunity to successfully market your business without spending millions of dollars! It’s a great way to build a community and gain recognition from your customers. While big corporations are trying to humanize their companies and show people behind their brand, most small business owners are already demonstrating their personality in day to day communication with their clients. Why not expand this humanized personal interaction with your clients through the vast and reaching world of social media?
Struggling with where to begin? Here is a quick start guide for small business owners on how to begin using social media.
The first step is determining who the right people are in your company to manage your social media and represent your brand. Depending on how small your company is, you may be your team. Do not let this deter you. Social media can be a fun and efficient way to stay connected to your business and your customers.
Starting with an observation is the best way to create a strong social media strategy for your company based on a complete understanding of your current position on the Internet. Remember, social media not only helps you increase interaction with your clients online but also boosts more traffic to your website.
I know it’s so obvious but a lot of companies still tend to begin their online activity without setting any goals up front. Make sure you define your company’s goals and expectations as specific as possible, attainable and measurable.
These are the questions you need to be asking yourself when defining your audience. If you are unsure of how or if your audience is currently interacting online, spend some time doing research. Researching your competition or similar business models to yours online and seeing how they already participate in social media can give you an idea of what is working to draw your audience type online. Understanding what your competition is doing also gives you the opportunity to improve upon their ideas and stay a step ahead of them.
Instead of jumping on all social media platforms at the same time, take your time and find the online presence that would work the best for your company. Once you decide on the social media tool that you want to begin with, consolidate your attention there and nurture it before moving on.
Now that you have gathered the troops, done your homework, set your goals, aimed your sites and chose your tools, it is time to move full steam ahead. By this stage you have done your due diligence, don’t be afraid to dive in and begin to interact online. The personal, relaxed and communicative atmosphere of social media is likely to become one of your more enjoyable marketing tasks.
It’s always a good idea to know where you are at in the beginning of you social media campaign so you have a starting point for your future measurements. Keep track of website visitors, followers on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn and try to find out who actually turned into customers and brought value to your business. As with any dynamic environment, social media is constantly changing. In order to keep your business up to date, it is important to adjust your tactics based on the results of your measurements. Social media gives you a playground to experiment, adapt and constantly enhance the interaction between your brand and your clients.
Mariya Newman
Follow me on Twitter (@MariyaNewman) and add me on LinkedIn!
No problem! We have just launched our Pin Point Programs, which are 90-minute social media online training classes about the hottest topics in social media. Our online mobile marketing course is now available on-demand. Check it out here!
Try FREE for 5 Days!
Notifications