(look away, embarrassed, fiddles with phone to see if anyone has text…)
It seems that our online, local businesses is swamped in paperwork and strategies, when all you really want to do is earn a living BUT, as part of that essential daily activity, you also need to keep one eye on future work – a portion of your day, week or month does really need to be given over to finding new customers, new products, new services and improving the ones you have.
Do local, online businesses need one?
The clue to the answer is in the question… ‘online’. If you are online and you canvass the majority of your new customers (and keep welcoming the ‘old’ ones back) by online means then, yes it really does make sense to have a social media strategy.
Don’t forget those social signals too; exactly how Google does work out how it ranks pages on the web is still a slight mystery with only really the top few people at Google really understanding, but it seems that the more ‘authority’ your site appears to have, the more people will trust it (* see bottom of page) – or so Google thinks.
So getting plenty of likes, pins, shares, G+s, tweets and the like, the better placed your website could be placed in the increasingly crowded world of the web.
A social media strategy: how does it look? What’s in it?
The first point to note is that is isn’t just about updating your status on a daily basis; this is, of course, not necessarily a bad thing although this can mean you spend more time tweeting etc. than doing any actual work.
A social media strategy is about sharing content on your website; this could your blog, new product and additions to your online ‘shop’ as well as any news items regarding your business. It is a way of connecting your website to the outside world and the outside world to your website.
Below are 8 steps that could form the outline of what your social media strategy could look like. In a table format, we think it makes a handy ‘cut out and keep guide’, a start as to how you can make the very best use of your social media strategy…
What is it? |
Your notes… |
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Step 1:the time, the place… |
Just like a first date, you need to give this some thought but bear with us before you flick to another website. This is a serious point; all too often we try and cram things into the shortest time possible, working on the back of a scrap piece of paper whilst driving the car and filing a tax return.Step 1 is to recognise the importance of this strategy. It might not break your business not using social media to its fullest, but it will as heck make a massive difference. | Where can you work uninterrupted? |
Step 2:Target – WHO are you trying to reach through which social media? |
If you have a marketing plan, the information should be in there but it doesn’t cause any harm to take a specific look at this with your social media.There are now various studies that show which age groups use certain social media platforms, hence it pays to know where your potential customers are at…If you have a product that is visual, then the platform that share photos are a great starting point; those with non-visual products or services may be better looking at sharing platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.It pays to do your homework.
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Jot down demographics, such as gender and age… where are these people hanging out on social media? |
Step 3:Content – WHAT do you have to offer them? |
Social media is not just about selling – in fact, go down this road and you may find that you actually drive customers away.Social media is about conversation, but what it is that your customers want to know?What information will they value?Once you have an idea, post this information vis your social media and then invite potential customers or partners to your website.
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You can share blogs and news, both current and already published work, especially if it coincides with something current. |
Step 4:Be proactive |
Customers will not come to you; this is the bit where you need to be pro-active and you need to start building your following audience.Great content is fabulous (we go on about all the time at Locally!) but, it is not a case of someone will stumble upon it and away you go.Do apart from tweeting what you had for breakfast, or pining a photo on another platform of your new delivery van, you also need to be creating great content (like this blog!) and then share it; tell people about it.And then tell them again in a few weeks’ time…
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Create a blog calendar schedule and stick to it. |
Step 5:Contact – be easy to get in touch with
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This is part a. of two small micro steps. The whole ethos behind social media is that people share things, share data, share information…So, on your website have the icons for the social media platforms you use | See your web design company for help… |
Step 6:TALK! |
The second mini step from above is once people have contacted you, liked or shared any of your tweets, statuses, pleas for help, you need to converse back. A bit like being at a party and making small talk.Thank people for liking something; ask questions; engage! | Make it part of your day to check social media platforms, just like you do your email… |
Step 7:Keep it going… |
And this is the hardest step.Keeping your social media stuff happening can be a full time job in itself and so unless you have the financial resources to buy in a social media manager (they do exist!), you either see your social media presence fail OR, you load it on to someone else in the office… either way, the results can be disastrous OR you can realise that your strategy can include times and dates when items are sent out etc.Have you seen www.bufferapp.com? You can schedule tweets, status updates and the like so that the app automatically do it for you. Takes the pressure off but still needs managing; message need responding to etc.
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Build in a monthly review; get your staff team on on board. If not, maybe outsourcing is a cost-effective idea? |
Step 8:Looking for new opportunities – constantly review and adapt it |
Social media, like the rest of the web, never stands still. So keeping an eye on any new social media platforms that seem to be gathering pace and favour is a great way of staying where your customers are at.Current platforms also look set to change in the future; Twitter for example, with its acquisition of CardSpring not so long ago, is hotly tipped to start offering ‘buy through Twitter’ in 2015. | Keep an eye on current trends, as well as making sure you are using your current social media platforms to their fullest… |
Need any more persuading?
Social media has had proven results but it took courage and commitment, as well as conversation but there are success stories out there!