Social media, a life saver, a time waster, a marketing goldmine, and a productivity thief! Think of the hours you spend reading, creating, sharing, and setting it up. Then after all that, can you get a return on your time spent?! Well, here are a few tips on how to wisely use social media in your business…
You have experts all around you, use them!
You probably had breakfast with a social media pro at the last Chamber meeting and didn’t even know it. What’s worse, it was probably one of your own employees! Find someone who not only knows the name of all the social media platforms but also knows how to generate interesting content. Put their talents to work. They will will probably be more than willing to manage a social media campaign for your business. One person show? No problem, family members or maybe a local college intern might be a great alternative.
Stalk a few of the platforms but, not in a creepy kind of way.
You have to stay on top of your digital reputation in today’s world. Negative comments on a popular social media or opinion site could lead to lost sales or a customer service nightmare! Use online tools like Google Alerts (google.com/alerts) or enlist friends, colleagues and family who are permanently attached to a mobile device to watch out for you.
Be relevant or, be irrelevant.
Write about your business, your industry, product releases and trends. Give the customer what they want, not what you want to sell them. Use terms and phrases that describe specific topics your target market might be searching for on Google, Yahoo or Bing. (Yes, there are a few people out there that still use Yahoo and Bing. Two of them, I think.) Be concise, and write in the style of the platform where your clients hang-out. Don’t try to be everywhere. Normally a few platforms is all that is needed to reach a wide swath of your target market.
If you order right NOW…
Be timely, interesting and useful… Don’t sell! People are looking for information and entertainment, not a sales pitch. Think about the frame of mind or time of day people are looking at your post. It’s probably not at a time they want to buy your product. They are more likely doing research or just catching up with their surroundings. Help them, don’t sell them.
Come up with an online strategy that incorporates these tips and you will be well on your way to a good start. Be relevant in your market. Create useful content that doesn’t sell. And, monitor your surroundings. It’s probably one of the most important things you can do. Social media is a great tool for business but, you have to use it wisely otherwise, you are just wasting your time.
All Things eBusiness for Small Business 
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