Doing that Social Media marketing thing for your small business the proper way requires just a few skills which you already most likely have or use. Basic technical skills to be able to process information and the marketing skills to be able to promote and execute.
When using Facebook for example, you may need to develop some type of custom app as well as tabs to be able to “brand’ your Facebook page along with supporting your marketing message.
Managing social media for your small business can at times be similar to taming the technology beast. The type of beast which at times may appear to be a bit smarter than you. But, with a bit of basic research and education, combined with your communication skills, you should be able to master social media marketing in no time.
Whether your enterprise is currently utilizing up-dated social media strategies in your various departments, or if you’re currently in the process of establishing your company brand through social media, there’s no denying that social networking is a constant moving target and evolving rapidly.
So some of the experts in the field of social media marketing recently explained their current views and strategies regarding how you can effectively manage your social networking efforts.
They gave you the ultimate road map on properly marketing your product, brand or service, as well as how to properly cultivate business to customer relationships.
You’ll then be able to maximize your interactions with all your Fans, Connections, Members or Followers on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Awareness Of Products And Services
A traditional small business will typically retain its loyal customers by offering them the best possible value or service for their money. But when it comes to your company’s networking presence or your Web sites presence online, you’ll want to use proven social media marketing techniques which will continually offer incentives for your customers by constantly interacting with them, by they paying attention to your new posts. Doing so should be enough to continuously bring them back to your virtual or physical marketplace.
Facing The Facebook
Facebook is the social media portal where you will be able to use the various platforms allowing you to discuss, target market, announce, link or share your message.
Th FB platform offers a variety of ways on how you can effectively offer your product or service. Using Facebook, you have the ability to be able to create HTML or CSS landing pages for your Fan page, which is an excellent way to present your brand or your latest service offering.
You can also take advantage of the Ads platform on Facebook. If used properly, it can be a highly targeted marketing “goldmine” for small businesses. FB Ads allows you the instant ability to be able to target your customer by their: location, age, interests, marital status, likes, education or work info, and much more.
Using all the Facebook features along with the available apps, you’re able to make a seamless jump between your website and your Facebook page. You can begin by quickly incorporating a Facebook ‘Like’ button on your site where its visible on all your web pages.
Since there’s an enormous community of friends as well as fans who are constantly logged into their Facebook accounts at all times, even when they’re surfing the web, your Facebook Like button gives them the easy opportunity to become a fan of your Fanpage with just one click.
You can also entice these visitors to become a fan of your Page by offering specialized Facebook specific discounts which will only be visible on the Facebook fan page. This should trigger a stronger interest for those new visitors to become instant fans.
You can import any or all of your blog post links and post them on your Facebook wall which can create immediate interactive discussions while reinforcing communication with your visitors and your business.
Another idea is to provide discounts, coupons or giveaways directly on your companies Facebook Fanpage wall, or post relevant links from other resources which you know your online community will be able to benefit from.
Twittering Tweets On Twitter
Using Twitter isn’t Facebook, nope, it’s nothing like that. So there’s really no reason why you should be treating or using Twitter as such. This enormous micro-blogging site known as Twitter is more about finding or targeting the right precise people, and then following them or engaging in conversation with them.
To promote your own brand, product or service on Twitter, you can search for “hashtag” topics, which are simply topical keywords which are preceded by the number sign, such as “#technology.” These hashtag keywords should be closely related to your industry or niche.
You can participate by adding content in the 140 character Twitter discussion, by adding post links of your blog posts, or by striking up a few “@mention” conversations, as this is how you directly contact or reply to another Twitter user. You can also retweet other helpful topics making you appear like a friendly helpful business which responds to its audience while fostering that “warm fuzzy social friendly feeling.”
Business To Business Connections
Relationship metaphor can easily apply to company and customer rapport. Although the concept may be quite simple, carrying through requires effort and consistency. Whatever you do, it’s recommended that don’t singularly rely solely on self-empowerment.
Content has and always will be king. You hear this often because it’s true. But content only works however if it’s both persistent as well as relevant. Even if you happen to be posting to thousands of your friends, fans or followers, it’s pointless unless you engage with them by providing interesting useful content on a regular basis.
You also need to be careful as you don’t want to come across to your readers as being too spammy or too “commercial” with your content. Make sure that you stay as personable as possible, as it comes down to being friendly, active and sincere.
Keep in mind that social media isn’t strictly about self-promotion. You need to be willing to share with your friends and readers personal information and material as well as sharing interesting facts from like-minded individuals, businesses or Web sites. Doing so can go a long way.
LinkedIn The Professional Social Network
Business is all about networking with everyone according to some. But then again, there are others who will tell you that directly targeting your industry and then making connections with them is what matters. Yet others will suggest taking the time to create as well as approach what works best for you. Regardless of which angle you take, you can always begin with the following tips.
Begin by joining like minded groups. If you’re not a member of LinkedIn yet, then it’s recommended that you join. There are some large professional groups on LinkedIn who currently has more than 125,000 members, which means that there’s a potential group of targeted and qualified members who should find your content interesting.
Also, you’re able to become a member of a group which is relevant to your industry, or you can just simply create your own and then invite your entire contact list.
It’s also recommended that you post blog articles or involve yourself in your industry or niche based groups, and then steadily establish yourself as an expert or authority in your field. Also, make sure that you connect your LinkedIn and your Twitter accounts together, so then all of your Twitter feeds will appear directly and instantly on your LinkedIn profile.
Ensure that you remain as professional and as focused as possible. Try not to mix any of your extreme personal life, such as taking your cat to the vet, which the majority of your professional clients won’t care about. Avoid posting sensitive, political or controversial content. Make sure that you use the social networks just to share your experiences as well as to get new unique ideas. Keep it short and as simple as possible.