Recently, a friend found a box full of newspaper clippings amongst her elderly mother’s keepsakes. At five, her mother attended a birthday party, and a dance at fourteen. In 1948 she had a slumber party. No kidding. Life’s brief snippets were matters of course in the local newspaper, which was the primary social media outlet until very recently!
Today social media travels at light speed on the Internet. The most popular sites for businesses remain Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, with YouTube and Google+ gaining regular usage and popularity. A social media presence is critical to business growth, yet if you’re unfamiliar with each site’s advantages, you’ll waste precious time and not produce the outcomes you seek.
These tips help you get the most productivity from the time you invest in social media marketing:
- Do your homework. Become familiar with all of the major social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+) and who is on them. Not all sites are appropriate for all businesses. Go where your demographic is. Seek out the best two or three sites for your business and goals. Where are similar industries or professionals most visible?
- Strike a balance. Of course, you want potential customers to find your business through social media marketing, but aggressive advertising is a turn off. We recommend an 80/20 split: 80% industry related information, news and education, 20% self-promotion.
- Have good writing/content. Make it interesting, consistent and focused on your primary target audience.
- Be consistent. These are Three Girls Media’s recommendations for minimum posting requirements to raise brand awareness and name recognition:
- Twitter: 1-3 quick “tweets” per day. Be punchy and you have no choice but to be concise with a 140 character maximum. If appropriate, offer downloadable coupons or special deals via “tweet.”
- Facebook: 3-5 posts per week. Share something informational and entertaining (“infotainment”). Have fun and encourage fans to engage. Use tools like “questions” to learn valuable info from your customers. Here’s an example of a possible Facebook campaign: Post 3-4 times per week, making the first post about your business, including a link to an informative blog, or run a poll about something related to your industry. In post #2, highlight a positive experience with another business. With post #3, recommend someone’s related industry (perhaps a power partner); in #4, offer a helpful tip or share a news item. Repeating these steps consistently builds trust, longevity, name recognition and a loyal following.
- LinkedIn: LinkedIn is great for meeting power partners and other professionals, and finding discussion groups or events relevant to your industry or market. Set up a personal page and a page for your business, and post 3-5 times per week sharing news relevant to your industry. Join groups that make sense for your business and participate in them regularly both starting, and responding to, discussions. Aim to stay in the “Top Influencers” sidebar in each group you join by frequent participation (this will also raise your visibility with other professionals you haven’t met yet). Ensure your profile stays up to date by checking it regularly.
- YouTube: Pictures often communicate better than written words, so post short, informative videos on topics relevant to your industry on a consistent basis (once a week, once a month or even once a quarter). Bottom Line: Whatever you post, at whatever frequency, make sure that it’s relevant, informative or entertaining and useful.
Keeping up with today’s social media marketing takes time, attention to detail and consistency. It can be a do-it-yourself endeavor if you’ve done good research and scheduled time to stick to it. Three Girls Media helps businesses structure consistent and well-messaged social media marketing campaigns that raise brand awareness and name recognition. Email today for a free, no obligation social media assessment. Happy posting!
Photo Credit: Asthma Helper