MAXIMISING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS (PRACTICAL TIPS) - PART 2 POCKET FINANCE BUSINESS

PRACTICAL TIPS ON HOW TO MAXIMIZE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Like I always tell people, the social media is one bandwagon every business should jump on. Whether you are a traditional, upbeat or contemporary business, you need to be there.  However, you must be strategic about the social media site your business gets on because at the end of the day, you want to benefit from it.

The first step is to align the social media site to your business goals and values. According to Jan H. Kietzmann, Kristopher Hermkens, Ian P. McCarthy and Bruno S. SilvestreSeven, there are 7 building blocks of the social media: Presence, Identity, Reputation, Relationships, Sharing, Conversations and Groups. Looking at these building blocks, which of them are most important/suitable for your brand and the services you provide?

To take you out of the tight spot, every business needs Presence, Reputation and should be able to Share. So the basic social media sites for every business are LinkedIn (company account or individual profile depending on your business), Facebook, Twitter and/or Google+.

Take a look at the charts above, notice the social media sites with the most active users and their numbers. Now, based on the building blocks that are important to your business ask: “Which site is most relevant for my business? “Where are my customers likely to be? How do I cash in on these numbers?”

 For example, if you are a chef or jeweler, you know people need to see pictures and/or videos so you want to get on Instagram, Pinterest as additional social media sites. And maybe get a YouTube channel to upload videos of you preparing interesting meals.

Some Nigerian organizations recently started promoting WeChat (owned by China’s most popular  tech organization –Tencent Holdings)plus Tencent just launched an online advertising platform on the site so you may want to start looking at WeChat  to see how your business can benefit.

You may be thinking “does this mean I get to spend all day on Social media?” NO! For some sites, because you need presence, you just create a profile so when people search they see your business and can contact you if need be. This way, you can focus on the sites that can produce maximum benefits for your business.

Practical Social Media Tips for your business:

1.      Get a LinkedIn account, create a solid profile

2.      Join Twitter : Follow leaders and some peers in your industry. Determine how many tweets per day, week, and month

3.      Grow followers and create a realistic target of followers/Likes and Connections you need to get per month

4.      Learn to share your content at optimal times. Determine the best times people are online in the various social media sites

5.      Share engaging and relevant content

6.      Position yourself as a thought leader by sharing original content and ideas based on your niche area at certain times. When people perceive your business as a leader, they will follow and consequently become customers.

7.      Be Selfless: Branding goes more than just your business, let people know your business cares.

8.      Be interesting: Don’t talk about your business all day. Get involved in topical issues, infuse some entertainment and fun in a respectable and organizational manner.

9.      Follow strategically: Build relationships by following back, note your most active fans (the ones who regularly retweet, favorite, share, Like etc)

10.  Create a content schedule to determine what goes out when and how on all your pages. 

11.  Collaboration: Now, with the understanding that you can’t do it all and that collaboration is key, you may decide to hire someone to professionally manage your digital media communications so you can focus on the offline. Most multinationals and even small businesses are doing this. Just ensure to get the right person.

Above all, you need to understand that using social media as a business is very different from using it as an individual. There are things an individual would post that people will overlook, but a business won’t be so lucky, there are people just waiting for your business to goof.  Sell your business online but be responsible in your sharing and the language you use. Communicate with your customers respectfully

ABOUT THE WRITER: Omawumi is a Communications specialist who believes that communication rules the world and being able to utilize it creatively and effectively ultimately increases profits.

She is Co-MD of Lace Scent Communications, where she helps individual and corporate brands improve their communication strategies and implementations.  Having had educational and field experiences, she also provides social media management and training services to individuals and organizations.