Social media is a powerful tool for
building your business. In recent years, social media marketing has gradually
increased in importance. This is because more people are spending their time on
social media sites; even half of all Internet users have social media accounts. That
means by using Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other sites, you'll have access
to millions of potential customers.
All too often, however, people are
unsure about how to use social media to promote their businesses. They may not
know how to set up a business profile on the different platforms of social
media. Sometimes, businesses could have accounts on several sites, but feel
like they're not contributing to the business. This could be for several
reasons, but sometimes, it's because the account manager has not set up the
site efficiently.
While there are many different
social media platforms out there, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are some of the
most useful sites for businesses. Here are some tips on how to get started with
each of these sites.
Facebook
If you already have a personal
account on Facebook, you probably have a basic idea about how the site works.
However, there are a few key differences between a personal account and a
business page. First and foremost, a personal account is centered on a user and
cannot be transferred to another person. A business page can be transferred;
you just need to attach the account to a specific email address. A business
page's main function is account management and advertising.
Facebook gives you the opportunity
to manage multiple account pages, which is useful if you have one person marketing
for several branches of your business. You can also advertise and manage pages
from the same account. In any case, you should consider using the Power Editor
extension for Google Chrome – it will make the process a lot faster. Facebook may not be the best choice for your business model though. Let's discuss it.
Twitter
Chances are, you're also at least a
little familiar with Twitter. The site has become incredibly pervasive in
society – hash tags are even listed in movie trailers.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter business
accounts and personal accounts are the same. However, you should have a clear
idea of how you want to use Twitter for your business. For example, if someone
tweets you and your handle is 10 characters, they only have 130 characters left
to type what they want to tell you. That's why it's important to keep the
handle short and sweet, but make sure it still clearly represents your
business.
LinkedIn LI is a great B2B tool to connect you with quality people and groups that are in line with your business model. It's become widely popular around the world. Managed well, LI can be very effective with finding quality people, marketing your products and services, gaining valuable market information, and promoting yourself personally. It is not to be used to promote personal, social interests or venting. Google+
You may not be as familiar with
Google+ as you are with the other two platforms, though it's still easy to use.
You just need some basic information and images to get started. Like Facebook,
Google+ business accounts are different from personal accounts. Personal
accounts and business accounts operate the same way they do on Facebook. What
you post from your business account will be associated with the business and
what you post from your personal account will be associated with you.
Maintaining a successful and effective social media presence requires completing several important daily and weekly tasks to ensure a consistent presence and engagement with the people who are connecting with you. From a weekly assessment of your Facebook/LinkedIn posts performances to the task of responding to Twitter mentions and messages, it can become overwhelming to remember to carry out all the tasks needed. Having a social media management person is necessary to maintain a consistent, seamless and effective social media presence.