If you have just decided to launch a social media campaign for your business or perhaps started some time ago but never quite got going, here’s an updated A-Z of Social Media to get you inspired and heading in the right direction
Answer Questions.
Most businesses want to tell the world their story, everyone else want help on what they feel is important. Take time to review Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo questions and answer them using your business account. Do it in a non-spammy way and you’ll get more followers, likes and business.
Blog
Writing a blog not only allows you to stockpile material that you can send people to later, it also builds your credibility. When thinking of things to write on Twitter and Facebook, these past blog posts can be a godsend and reduce the amount of time you writing your social media updates and give more time to interacting and engaging with your audience
Conversation
One of the biggest mistakes we see businesses make in Social Media Marketing is acting like a one-way radio. Instead of just telling people what you have to offer, get involved in conversations. You’ll seem more human and likeable. We all want to do business with people we like
Daily
No one ever said it would be easy. You need to be posting every day on Facebook and Twitter as a minimum (even if you schedule it – See H below). People will interact if they think you’ll be around to listen and help
Engage
Thank everyone who follows or likes your page. Acknowledge all Retweets and shares. This is mean to be SOCIAL, not just another vehicle for you to waste time in the day!
Feedly
Consider using a news aggregator such as Feedly or Flipboard. Take 10 minutes to find and organise newsfeeds around key topics that will give you things to talk about in your Tweets and status updates
Google+
1bn accounts registered, over 350 million active users per month and yet Google+ is still considered by some to be a flop…. So far. If you aren’t ready to take the plunge at least register your business name now before it’s too late. This will definitely be a dominant player in the future.
Hootsuite
As a Small business owner you need to know how to get Social Media done in less time. Hootsuite allows you to manage multiple accounts on social media at the same time. Please don’t confuse this with posting the same message across different networks. You can also schedule future posts, updates and tweets at Hootsuite.com via your PC or smartphone and it covers Facebook, Twitter, Google+ & LinkedIn
At Snowflake Media We are piecing together a training program that will let small business owners master Social Media in under 15 minutes a day. Tweet or like us for details @SocialSnowflake or Social Snowflake Facebook
Instagram
If you have a product or business that can use visuals, then Instagram is essential. Not quite ready to get started? Well take a minute to set up an account with your business name now. This is the fastest growing social network so you don’t want to miss out
Juggle
Yes, you have to do some Juggling as a small business owner, Social media is no different. Don’t take the easy route and auto-post 1 message across all networks. Instead use different messages to drive people to the same (if relevant) content. Using services like Hootsuite will help you schedule and send messages from a single web browser or phone app, rather than logging in to each social media network to post content
Klout
Not everyone thinks Klout is a good thing, but this will let you have a benchmark to both see how much influence you have, and also to see which of your followers or fans has most influence too. This helps you work with certain followers to help spread your message in a more targeted way
LinkedIn
If you are in a business to business environment you’ll no doubt already be using LinkedIn. Did you know you can export all your contacts in to a CSV file and then go to Facebook and invite those contacts via Facebook with 1 upload to like your business page? Need help? Here’s a step by step guide: Using Facebook to invite your LinkedIn contacts
Meaningful
One criticism for Twitter in the early days were reports of what people had for breakfast, however it (for most people and businesses) has come a long way since then. Lots of people “do” their social media marketing on the run, this is ok, but if you take a little time to think about what you want to say, what your interpretation is of the topic and write some really meaningful stuff that can help someone else, then you’ve really cracked the essence of Social Media
Network
Being online has its privileges. You get to meet and Network with people all around the world including thought leaders. Never before have we had an opportunity to meet, share ideas and help so many people. Even if you are incredibly shy, you can still find an audience and peers to share ideas with.
Offline
Social Media is just one part of how you can tell your story. If you have a store, make sure you are telling people about your website, blog and social media channels via stickers, leaflets, maybe even till receipts. Use Email newsletters, leaflets & press releases to drive traffic, likes and Retweets
Personality not Personal
No-one cares what you had for breakfast or what your current view on a politician is (unless you are a political reporter/expert). Your tone of voice is important and is essential but rants just don’t come across well on business pages
Quality
The higher the quality, the more likes, shares & Follows you’ll get. If all you do is retweet without any insight or comments, you’ll struggle to grow your social following
Reach
“People talking about” as a % of your followers & Fans is actually more important than the number of Facebook fans you have. If you can achieve a 20% talking about you are on the road to social success!
Share
Often as a small business owner you take for granted what you already know. Don’t be selfish, share your expertise and your knowledge. You’d be surprised what you think is basic, but other people don’t know
Tone of voice
Be authentic, be true to how people know you offline. If you are a youth brand, talk how you normally would to your audience. Equally don’t try to be too “youff” if your audience doesn’t roll that way!
Url Shorteners
Whether you are driving traffic to your website or Social Media channels or referencing external websites on your tweets, use a URL shortening service. Most have analytics to show how many time they were clicked. Our current favourites are Goo.gl, owly & lots of people lobe bit.ly
Video
Everyone knows that pictures paint a thousand words… well Video, paints a thousand pictures. The ability to tell your story effectively, quickly and with maximum effectiveness is achieved through Video. You can now use services like Camtasia to record video or screencasts and publish via Vimeo, your blog or even our YouTube (see below)
Webinar
This is a two way street. You can use your social media channels to drive people to a webinar, a place you can demonstrate your expertise or use webinars to drive people to your social media channels. Just be sure to record any webinars and transcribe them for future bogs, posts & tweets
Xml site maps – Great for search engine optimisation and for allowing Google & Bing to check your links out to social media platforms.
YouTube
Owned by Google and the dominant search engine for videos. Make sure you check out Jeff Walkers tips on YouTube including optimisation and how you can leverage all your other assets from this amazing site
Zany, Zest & Zing
You only get one life to achieve your dreams. Use Social Media to deliver the best you can. In preparing this A-Z for social media for businesses, I looked up the definition of Zing.
“To act with energy, enthusiasm & liveliness!”
Most blogs, tweets and updates are boring…Make yours “Zingy” and memorable!
We hope you liked this A-Z of Social Media for business. Be sure to like our Facebook page, follow our Twitterings and circle our Google+ page. Bit above all…. Have fun, engage with people, add value and enjoy yourself!!!
Until next time
Written by:
Lee Kenny
CEO: Snowflake Media
The A-Z of Social Media for Small Businesses in 2014