With a number of new social media platforms increasing every day, it is quite common that people feel overwhelmed and they end up not using any of them. Does this sound like you?
Or perhaps you are on the other side of the extreme and you hold multiple social media accounts. How many do you actually effectively use?
Social media is not about quantity but about quality. You can have presence on as many social media platforms as they are out there, but are you truly present if you engage with your fans every here so often? Can you truly communicate your message through odd posting once a week? Is this bringing any results for your business?
Multiple social media accounts need multiple time and resources to manage them efficiently. As a business owner you know that this equals costs. You also know that marketing is all about return on investment. So unless your marketing campaign has generated more revenue than costs, your return on investment will show as loss. And we want profit, don’t we?
Rule #1
To use social media efficiently you must get a grasp that it is a marketing tool that will grow your business, not a playground to catch up with your fans (this doesn’t prevents you to have fun with it). Once you make that switch in your thinking you will notice that you will need to adjust how you use social media to achieve the growth and positive return on investment.
Rule #2
You cannot be everywhere. You must decide which social media platform is right for your business and stick to only few of them to get it right.
So how do you decide which social media is right for you?
There is no golden rule and with time you might find that you prefer one over another.
A good start is to look at the nature of your business – do you offer services/products B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to customer) and based on that determine your social media priorities.
My favourite social media platforms, in a priority order for B2C business, are:
Facebook
An obvious one, because almost everyone you know has a personal Facebook account, which makes it a great tool if you have B2C business. Facebook is the most popular, very user friendly, highly customizable and effective tool for marketing.
You Tube
People prefer watching videos over reading content. A video with compelling, relevant content to your audience is a great way to build trust, engagement and following. You Tube channels can be branded to showcase your business and if created correctly, it becomes a virtual sales person working for you 24/7, greatly increasing lead generation for your business.
Twitter
It’s amazing that 140 characters can be such influential and powerful marketing tool. It can be used for both B2C and B2B businesses for driving traffic to your website or Facebook business page by sharing content and opinions. It enables businesses to appear human, quickly and effectively enhance customer service, public relations and business development. While it’s not so good for self-promotions, it’s very useful for market research, spotting trends and connecting with media.
Pinterest
One thing people love doing is looking at pictures and Pinterest is a perfect answer to engaging consumers visually. (Visual aspect is so important to us that even Facebook made the new Timeline design much more visual than it was before.) Pin (post) pictures of your products/services, share them and engage by commenting on others.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is great for networking and keeping in touch with your network, even when they change jobs. I think every business person (employed or business owner) should have personal business profile on LinkedIn. If you are in B2B selling, then LinkedIn must be your number one priority, as this is where you will find your customers. While a recent redesign of LinkedIn’s company pages is yet to show its full repertoire of benefits it is currently more suitable for larger companies.
All these social media platforms can be used for B2B business, however in this order of priority:
- You Tube
Whatever social media you choose to play with, remember that like anything else in life, it takes time to create a following but the rewards are worth your work. While there are tools and ways to speed up the process, be cautious of social marketing consultants who promise you success over night. Trust your story, share and engage with your fans and you will soon see your business grow.