Social Media is still evolving and is really at it’s beginning on the journey to become the super power of the internet and online communications.
When using Social Media to increase your brand awareness online the following tips might come in use:
1: Choose usernames / Fan Page names that reflect your business name or industry. Make sure you secure them soon as you may be too late as millions of accounts on Social Media platforms are created everyday. Examples:
Twitter.com/MarketmeTV
Facebook.com/MarketmeTV
2: Use professional branding when populating your Social Media platforms. Do not rely on new user backgrounds or standard backgrounds like those offered by Twitter.
3: Build yourself a professional profile. Use the ‘About’ and ‘Profile’ options wisely. Describe who you are and what your business offers to those who may look to follow, like, join or view your accounts. Think about what your clients are looking for and detail that in as much depth as possible (abbreviate for Twitter of course) within your profile information.
4: What not to say. Avoid as much as possible entering into fiesty debates, especially those that you do not have the full facts and information to back up your statements. It is wise to steer clear of topics relating to religion, politics and sports, especially football. Too many times we see business profiles that lead with the owners die hard passion for a particular football team – That is a complete turn off to potential clients who’ve a passion for the rival football club! On the flip side, contributing to discussions and questions is great and a good way to showcase your knowledge and expertise.
5: Research what your competitors are doing. Without doubt, many of your competitors will be using Social Media, from Fan Pages on Facebook to Videos on YouTube and these will have already accumulated audiences via Likes, Followers, Members and Views! Peruse what they are saying and the activity they are involving themselves with as this will give you good ideas for your own campaigns and showcase what is working and what isn’t.
6: Followers, Likes, Members and Views. Imagine yourself standing in an empty market square with the freshest Californian oranges and shouting out that it’s buy one get ten free – How many sales do you think you will make? Social Media is exactly the same and requires an audience which means that you have to build one. Once again, a good starting point is looking at competitors and their audiences to discover the kind of information they are engaging with. Especially with Twitter, you can follow audiences yourself and if the content you are sharing is read worthy, they in turn will follow you back. Make sure your Social Media links are clearly visable on your websites, email stationary, newsletters and any other online or printed marketing materials. We advise all our clients not to fall in to the scam of buying followers as you will only get numbers, but simply no one interested in knowing about what you offer in business.
7: Frequency. Social Media is the big buzz in the digital marketing world and you not only have to be in it to win it, but your presence needs to be frequent enough for audience retention. Your target audience are using Social Media platforms and will be seeking information relating to your products, if you are simply updating your channels / platforms once a week and a competitor can be seen to be active to an extent of multiple daily tweets then it is gaurenteed that they will secure the enquiry and the potential new client. If you are unable to put enough time to running and maintaining Social Media platforms then think about asking for external help from a professional who can manage your accounts and win you new business.
8: Celebrities. It is not only the kids and grandkids using Social Media to tell their friends what they are up to, or businesses communicating with their target audiences and selling their products and services, there is also the world of fame and fortune that use Social Media. As an example, check out your favourite music group, actors (even deceased ones have active Fan Pages), TV celebrities and business gurus and we are sure that they will have a direct or in-direct presence on Social Media. Many will have active Twitter accounts and take the time to communicate with their followers – This is a source of great exposure and PR possibilities for your business if you are able to place in front of influencial celebrities your brands products and services. Think of it this way, if you are selling kitchen appliances then what better way of gaining a serge of interest than by gaining a reTweet from celebrities in that field such as Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson or even The Hairy Bikers! If you are a StartUp then you can even find the cast of Dragons Den on Social Media platforms and all of them are very active!
9: Awards. Not only have you regional and national awards to research on Social Media, the likes of Twitter has companies and celebrities offering their own awards which once again offers great PR for your company. Below are some examples to research and start entering in for:
#SBS Award from Theo Paphitis (Small Business Sunday).
#WOW Award from Jacqueline Gold (Women on Wednesday).
#MOM Award from Jacqueline Gold (Men on Monday).
#SmartSocial Award from Marketme TV (Usage of Social Media in Business Marketing).
#PurpleBiz Award from PurpleDogNet (UK Business of the Day).
#QueenOf Award from Aqua Design Group (Lady Business Owner of the Week)
#KingOf Award from Aqua Design Group (Gentlemen Business Owner of the Week).
There are many others so start researching today!
10: Personality and Feeling. Social Media is exactly what it says on the tin (thanks Ronseal)! Social Media should be 90% engaging, entertaining and educating content and 10% marketing your products / services. Nobody wants to follow anyone who simply shares out what they are selling, ie House for Sale, House for Sale, House for Sale… Unless of course it is House for Sale at £1 – Then you might see some activity! In life, people want to socialise with interesting and engaging people from chatting down the local pub to reading articles in your favourite magazines – Social Media is about following people and brands that are interesting (remember that at all times it’s what you have to offer your audiences that will determine your success). Interact with people, share thoughts and ideas, build bonds with other companies doing similar to yourself and continue to deliver fresh and vibrant content.