If your business is about to embark on this journey for the
first time, here are five tips that will ease you in and calibrate your
expectations.
1. Do Some Research
Doing research upfront can help you make the most of social
media networks.
Howard Greenstein, president of the social media consultancy
the Harbrooke Group, blogger at Start-Up Toolkit, and national board member at
the Social Media Club, offered research tips on getting into social media:
See if people are already talking online about your business
by monitoring brand mentions.
Subscribe to relevant local popular blogs, Twitter users,
and review sites such as CitySearch and Yelp to see what people are talking
about in your area.
Ask your customers what social networking sites they use and
what your business can do for them there.
2. Know You’re a Newbie
“Accept the fact that you’re a beginner,” said Chris Heuer,
director of iStrategyLabs San Francisco and founder of the Social Media Club.
He encourages new users to build learning into the process.
Spend two or three hours a month reading, learning, and getting engaged.
Use tools to monitor and manage time spent on social media
sites. Greenstein said CoTweet and Social Oomph let users check their social
networks without being on them all day.
Use failures as a learning opportunity. It’s not the
failures that people remember you by on social media, it’s what you do to
change as a result, according to Heuer.
3. Converse with Your Fans, Followers and Connections; Don’t
Sell
Focus on building relationships and customer engagement.
Heuer said people are not there to hear a sales pitch, but they’re there to
learn something.
He noted one of simplest ways to start using social media is
to get a Twitter account and tweet: Follow us for deals and specials. “It costs
me nothing but my time to do, but I increase my business.”
He recalled a business tweeting about a three-for-one drink
special and the response being larger than expected because people shared the
deal with their friends. “People on social networks are social animals. They
arrive in packs,” he said.
Virality can translate to more sales. According to Heuer,
word-of mouth is an important element because customers will help sell for you,
and it ends up reducing the overall cost of sales.
4. Cross-Promote Your Social Media Presence
Greenstein said to make people aware that your business is
interested in connecting with them on social networking sites. He suggested
putting information about your company’s Facebook, Twitter, or other social
media pages on your store’s counter.
He recommended adding the links of your social media pages
to your company’s website, business cards, e-mail signature, and your on-hold
telephone message with something like, “We’d love to hear from you on our
Facebook Page.”
Also, it's important to use consistent branding. Heuer
recommended getting a digital identity for your small business, which is a
secure username that works across multiple networks. Have that identity link
back to your company’s website as well. This consistency will help users who
are already interested in your brand find you on whatever network they already
use.
5. Use Social Media Regularly and Reassess
If businesses create good content and offer deals using
social media, Greenstein says, the audience will come back.
“It’s not going to happen exactly overnight and it’s not going
to happen in the way that you think,” he said.
Pay attention to your audience. The simplest yardstick of
social media success is how actively people are commenting on what you’re
doing, according to Heuer. You won’t get interaction unless you’re part of it.
He said it’s important for small businesses to interact with customers
regularly.
Finally, don’t think you’re stuck with one strategy -- an
ongoing adaptation of your social media methodology works best.
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