All across the UK, you have heard many speakers and others talk about the benefits of social media. While the information given may leave you wondering how it’s possible for your business to benefit from social media, you know that you will not get all the answers in a 1-2 hour seminar. However, it is enticing when you are told how much revenue your brand can make by having a certain number of followers!
So what are the benefits anyway?
Social media is the new way that people from all walks of life interact. The most popular websites are Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, in addition to forums and blogging websites that may be geared towards a particular demographic. Many business that are new to this concept are discovering ways to create an effective online marketing strategy based on conversations.
In order to be successful in this medium, all it takes is using a level of engagement that your demographic can relate to and maintaining a positive rapport on an ongoing basis.
The reason being is that it provides all levels of communication. When you attend a networking event, you go to speak with people on a social level – not to sell your products or services. Find out what competitors and non-competitors are doing. Be friendly and engaging as even exchange can make a great foundation for doing business that may lead to more traffic and eventually, sales.
The great part about social media is that there is no one set formula for every brand or business. By utilizing different concepts, you can create a campaign that will produce results.
Active Listening
Before creating a social media account at random, do a little research as to where your customers (and potential) like to socialize. Then find the sites that would be compatible with your brand. Also, find out what people are saying about your competitors and visit their forum to find out what’s on the mind of their customers.
- What topics are being discussed?
- Who is on the minds of your customers?
- When is the new product (competition), event or concept coming out?
- Where/when is thing going to be held?
- How can I create something that is similar but different?
Take notes and if you have the opportunity to pry a little, take advantage of it. For instance, you may enter a forum that discusses finding gluten-free desserts for a reasonable price. As the world of professional baking is already competitive, start a conversation about flavours the public would like to see and improvements that existing bakeries can make now.
And continue to listen to the demands of your customers! Being a people-person comes in handy when hearing the public and your listening skills will be especially important. Before planning any marketing strategy, it would be best to listen and note feedback.
Sociability Mindset
Remember: An effective social marketing strategy is to help build a solid reputation.
An advantage to a person posting their feelings online is they are likely to be candid and this can give a business owner a lot to work with. When customers sing our praises, we can feel as if we want to levitate off the ground. However, when someone has negative feedback, it is best to take things constructively by noting what may have gone wrong.
- First, do not respond (even if it’s to apologize) until you have read the comment thoroughly.
- Find out what could have been done to prevent the issue.
- Be objective. We all have days when we are not at our best and if there is something that was missed, see if things can be rectified immediately.
- If possible, communicate one-on-one with the other party and come to a resolution.
- Though some new ventures cannot afford to lose a client, sometimes it is best to cut the loss at the risk of losing more money and time later on.
Communication is a two-way street!
Relationship Building
The first step is to get a dialogue going and find out how your visitors feel about your brand.
- Those who are happy clients will recommend your product or service to others.
- You can bring on staff members that have strong marketing research and/or social media skills to help create an interesting campaign.
- Make your conversation with others friendly, to-the-point and if possible, non-generic.
- Let your personality shine in your communication. By keeping things fresh and engaging, people will not only return but tell others about the exciting experience.
Resourcing
Building a strong social media presence does not happen overnight and for the most part, needs to be resourced in order to be successful.
- Be realistic and start off slowly. You don’t want to give away too much at once and then fizz out, leaving nothing of interest. All marketing requires consistency to be successful.
- By finding out your team members strengths, you can delegate tasks accordingly. For example, one may be great at writing tweets or another can tag images. If you can get in on the action sometimes and learn, you won’t be stranded in their absence.
- Narrow down about when customers and prospects are online? Since everyone is in a different time zone, this can be tricky but once you get a 30-60 minute time frame and communicate with consistency, more people are likely to join in.
Your Online Branding – People buy People
A small business brand is defined by the values, standards and behaviours of the owner.
- By having a strong brand from the start, social media will enhance this by keeping positive communication with both current clients and get the attention of prospects.
- Describe why people use your products or services. By pointing out your brands’ strongest features such as uniqueness, quality, cost, you will get new traffic with the right keywords.
- Choosing a style that fits your brands’ image, you will get more traffic. Not every social media format fits every image as some are visual or textual or a little of both. However, by using your blog to create this image, this will allow for great viewing and it will be easy to create fitting content.
- By networking with others brands, you can build some great relationships. Get to know people on a first name basis, have a link exchange and lend a hand from time to time and they are sure to reciprocate. Sometimes, it is hard to identify with a brand that has no alliances.
Also, building relationships is based on who you know that can vouch for you. When prospects read reviews about your brand, what are they likely to find in an engine search? Are you likely to be recommended on Facebook or Twitter?
Start communicating now and you’ll see for yourself!
Lifesure are specialist business insurance providers. Call 01480 402475 to talk to our knowledgeable team.
