Are you a business that’s about to take the inevitable plunge into the realms of social media? Are you a business already using Social media but feel like you’re just not engaging with your target market? Here is a quick checklist to help you evaluate your social media presence. If you still feel you’re not getting the most from your efforts why don’t you drop us an email here at Surge and we’ll see if we can help.
And remember, social media is new to everyone. Facebook is only 11 years old (at time of writing) so we all have a lot to learn. This is a little titbit of what we have learned so far.
Be human.
You have to give a little to get a little. You need to take time to read other’s post’s, watch their videos, click and comment and have faith that the favour will be returned. I find the easiest way to do this is to have an interest in what others are sharing. In other words, if you sell knitting needles then focus your attention on people interested in knitting. You will be interested in what they are sharing and they’ll be interested in what you are sharing. You will start to develop meaningful relationships and that’s the name of the game.
Create relevant content.
How do you create relevant content? One great way I’ve picked up is to check the news. What are people talking about? What’s relevant to the moment? Then ask… Is it connected to what I’m trying to do? If you sell knitting materials and the local team are in the final of an event… why not knit a Small flag in their colours, take a picture and post it? Making these little connections to current affairs and other things people care about will significantly help your posts visibility.
Post regularly.
It doesn’t look good if a business social media page hasn’t been posted on in a while. It might look like you’ve gone out of business. Whereas a page that’s kept up to date with good relevant content looks good. It reassures people that you’re real and that you didn’t just set up the page to put a fancy Facebook button on your website.
If you like what we have done and are considering a redesign of your site why not drop us an email. We’re always happy to hear from you.
Find your target audience.
If you are posting and not really getting any reaction, then you might not be hitting your target audience. A clothes retailer shouldn’t have this problem because loads of people wear clothes. thankfully. But for small to medium sized businesses targeting a niche market, this can be tricky. There’s less people interested in knitting than there is people wearing clothes. How can you find your target audience? I typed ‘knitting’ into the Facebook search bar and two pages with over half a million likes popped up… Try getting an article shared by one of these pages. If you still can’t find your target audience, then you might have wandered completely off topic. Have you identified whether you are B2B or B2C? If you only supply knitting needles on an industrial level, then maybe you should be targeting business forums more and knitting forums less.
Don’t spam.
Don’t just try to spam people with post after post after post. People get tired of this constant content jamming their news feed and soon learn to scroll down past it instead of stopping for a look and clicking like or retweeting.
Use your blog.
Do you have a blog? Using a blog is a great way to create content that exceeds the parameters of the various social media platforms. You won’t be limited by the number of characters you can use. All you need to do is copy and paste the link. If you are using a blog that’s on your website, then this will also generate traffic back to your site which will help to improve the site’s SEO rankings and your general online visibility. If you would like to discuss with us more about blogging and SEO rankings, again, don’t hesitate to email us.
Analyse.
Familiarise yourself with the analytics tools provided by various social media platforms. They give really detailed information about the effectiveness of your posts and your page’s growth and development. Using this will enable you to see what works and what doesn’t.
Be friendly.
It goes without saying but avoid needlessly ruffling feathers. You might see other people’s posts doing really well because they are being a bit abrasive, maybe by insulting politicians or celebrities. But thread this line carefully. Not everyone will share your opinion and the potential negative repercussions could be a lot more damaging.
Don’t be disheartened.
Some people might think that social media isn’t for them because they don’t think that they can produce content that can go viral. Social media isn’t just about going viral. It’s about creating meaningful relationships with customers and clients through the content that you produce.
Think of the bigger picture.
Even if your content isn’t receiving the recognition that you’d like, remember the bigger picture. These posts will all contribute to your online visibility and could, in time, improve your rankings in search engines. You just need to keep it up and be persistent and the best way to do that is to enjoy it!
Please feel free to drop us an email here at Surge if you have any questions.
