How to Get Your Message Heard in Social Media Marketing

 Online Content, Online Media, Small Business, SMEs, Social Media, Social Media ROI, Social Media Tips  No Responses »
Feb 112013
 

With an ever-increasing number of online platforms, businesses now have so many choices when it comes to social media.  This can provide the false impression that so long as businesses engage with the networks, everything will fall into place.  This is not the case and it is important to create a social media existence that is purposeful and strategic.

1. Develop a Strategy

A clear strategy around your reasons for using social media and what you hope to achieve is vital.  The strategy needs to combine other business and marketing goals to be part of the overall marketing and communication strategy.  This way everything is interconnected and social media platforms are linked to the main business website and vice versa.

2. Social Media is a Marathon, not a Sprint

Social media is about building relationships and this takes time.  It requires consistency, engaging with others and learning to listen to what individuals are saying.  Spending time having a two-way conversation will be more productive in the long run than forcing a message in a one-way direction.

3. Make it Different

Obviously the usual things apply when on social media, such as add value, have a clear purpose, complete your profile, show personality and so on, however, to stand out, there needs to be an element which is diverse.  Try the following:

  • Use humour
  • Have a cleverly designed infographic
  • Use vibrant colours, easy to understand language
  • Use bold graphics, images, phrases, or titles

Once you have a concept to promote any number of tools can be utilised to make your message stand out.  It is just a matter of experimenting and seeing what works.  Try one of these and see what happens!

 

Thanks for reading!

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 Posted by on 11 February, 2013 at 11:04 am

Social Media is not a “one fits all” approach

 Online Content, Online Marketing, Online Media, Social Media Tips  No Responses »
Jan 292013
 

Social media is the ‘buzz’ word of online marketing, however most businesses are oblivious to their social media efforts and activities.  Most people are under the impression that social media is a ‘one fits all’ approach when in actual fact nothing could be further from reality.  Having a Facebook page does not equal social engagement.  Those businesses that choose to adopt the ‘one fits all’ approach or treat all applications or platforms the same may damage their online creditability in the long run.  Not all platforms have the same interactions and applying them the same way means not being effective in social media.

What to do then?

Not all social media platforms will suit your business so it is essential to select your social media targeted to your business and its requirements.  The key is to choose the best social media platform for your business regardless of what other similar businesses are implementing.  This way you can make the most out of social media and engage with customers and potential ones.

So the key things to consider when choosing a social media platform include:

  • Who is your intended audience?
  • What do you want out of the communication? Brand awareness, demonstrate your expertise, data collection?
  • How much time are you willing to invest in social media?

Once you have decided the best platform to interact for your business, commit to a long term strategy for the best results.  There is no right or wrong just experimentation.  With some strategic thought you will go a long way to ensuring that you have a positive social media engagement.

 

Thanks for reading!

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 Posted by on 29 January, 2013 at 1:21 pm

What Makes Social Media ‘Social’

 Online Content, Online Media, Social Media  No Responses »
Aug 202012
 

So what is it about social media that makes it ‘social’ and challenging to traditional media?  Social media has a ‘many to many’ structure, it is immediate and the creating and publishing of user generated content makes participants ‘active’ in an environment that is more ‘bottom up’ than ‘top down’.  Its characteristics are more inclusive and appealing (although these same characteristics can also be used negatively).

 Here are 4 aspects that make social media more social:

Openness

Opinions, contributions and sharing of information are the core aspects of social media.  Businesses that interact and engage with the audience via this space must get to know and understand their audience.  They must build relationships based on respect and integrity.

Participation

Traditional media is a linear medium that broadcasts or prints information to an audience in a one-to-many structure.  Social media is collaborative with contributions from the audience (user generated content) allowing them to participate in a two-way interaction of sharing, contribution and conversation.  The user is both the producer and the consumer in a many-to-many structure.

Community

Groups are formed easily to develop communities that are based on shared common interests.  These communities share information and engage according to their topic of interest.  People feel a sense of belonging that they can interact with like-minded people.

Connection

Social media flourishes on being connected.  Not only are you connected to the people in your network you are also linked to their connections.  Thus, users are able to utilise links, resources and people from a vast network.

Businesses must remember these key points if they want to connect with their audience!

Thanks for reading!

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 Posted by on 20 August, 2012 at 4:06 pm

How SMEs Can Utilise Facebook for Business

 Facebook, Online Content, Online Marketing, Small Business, SMEs, Social Media, Social Media Tips  No Responses »
Aug 062012
 

Although primarily a social platform, Facebook can be utilised effectively as a business tool.  Here are 4 key fundamentals that need to be put in place to support the process.

Have a Goal

Anyone who establishes a Facebook page for business purposes needs to have a goal for what they want their page to achieve.  By creating a clear objective, this can be used to assist in shaping online perceptions about your business.

Some examples of goals to aim for include:

o        Building community

o        Raising brand awareness

o        Enhancing customer service

Create a Publishing Schedule

Publishing content is time consuming and repetitive.  Content needs to be published regularly to have any impact.  However, posting too much may annoy your Fans.  A schedule allows you to track your activities and strike a balance in terms of content upload as well as consider topics of interest, research and creation of content in a strategic way.

Link your Facebook Profile

If you have other social media profiles, then link these to your Facebook page.  A blog, Twitter account or LinkedIn page should all be connected.  These interrelated platforms are a great way to promote your business across platforms and establish a presence.

Create a Resource

Use your Facebook page to “add value” to your customers.  Offer information, create contests, offer deals and provide solutions to customer issues.  Post questions on your ‘wall’ so that your Fans can respond and be interactive.  Get them to share insights, opinions and reward them for their feedback.

But more importantly have some fun!

Thanks for reading!

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 Posted by on 6 August, 2012 at 12:47 pm

Social Media and Managing Your Online Brand and Reputation

 Online Brand Reputation, Online Content, Online Marketing, Online Media, Online Reputation, Social Media, Social Media in the Workplace, Social Media Tips, Social Network Sites  No Responses »
Jul 162012
 

Social media is an important tool for business communications.  Despite the positive aspects it brings, the nature of social media means that someone airing their bad experience online does so, instantly and potentially to a massive audience.

As the online environment becomes more crucial to business, and more people are continuously online, increasingly they will comment on their experience with friends via Facebook, blogs, Twitter and so on.  This emerges as a risk that all businesses need to manage.  Any negative comments from disgruntled customers (or employees) can potentially be very damaging to a business image if it goes ‘viral’.

Here are 3 steps for SMEs to be proactive in managing their brand and reputation:

1. Audit

This is essential to assess your brand and reputation and see exactly what people think about your business.  These conversations are happening with or without your presence so there is plenty of information out there.  Therefore it is vital for business to be a part of the online community and monitor what is being said about them.

2. Positive Content

It is unlikely that you will be able to have every negative comment or image removed from its original source.  Content which is hosted on a third’s party’s site is content that will be challenging to remove.  If you have been unsuccessful in asking nicely to have it removed, be proactive and keep publishing constructive content.  This can diminish the negative content’s visibility to the lower end of an engine search.

3. Track & Monitor

Think about key words or phrases that you believe symbolise you, your company, and your brand.  These can be typed into a search engine to see what comes up.  Better still, to be more efficient set up ‘alerts’ (i.e Google Alert) with your key words so that you are notified each time there is a post or tweet that mentions your key words.

Be cautious about trying to have negative comments removed as this may cause more damage as it alerts individuals to the content and suggests you are trying to hide something!!  Accept that the online environment is something you can’t control and that negative comments will always be part of equation.  Business can only track, monitor, negate and correct factual information.

Thanks for reading!

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 Posted by on 16 July, 2012 at 10:59 am

Online Social Media Strategies to Move Your Buisness Forward

 Online Content, Online Marketing, Online Media, Small Business, SMEs, Social Media, Social Media Tips  No Responses »
Jul 102012
 

With social media changing daily it can be challenging to keep up especially when you are a sole business operator.  However, there are simple strategies that remain effective despite the fluid online environment.

To begin with choose one or two strategies discussed below and eventually work your way through all of them.  Implementing them this way facilitates more likely success as you are able to refine each strategy as you go instead of becoming overwhelmed with having too many!

1. Develop a Strategy

Having a social media strategy is vital and can’t be stressed enough.  It is essentially important to have a clear strategy around your reasons for using social media and the goals you hope to achieve.  The strategy needs to combine other business and marketing goals to be part of the overall marketing and communication strategy.  Therefore, everything is interconnected for maximum affect.

2. Social Media Means Being Social

One of the most common mistakes people make in respect to social media is that they treat it like traditional media – forcing a message in a one-way direction.  Social media is about building relationships and this takes time.  It requires consistent posting always engaging with others and learning to listen to what individuals are saying.  So the key is to be active, consistent and engaging.

3. Content is Still King

Content is king on the Internet.  Search engines love it and so does your target audience if you are providing them with information they require.  Static websites no longer work so add articles on a regular basis.  If you have a blog then update it regularly at least on a weekly basis and more if feasible.  Your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn platforms also need to be active and this can be done everyday with content such as quotes, clips or articles.

4. Make it Different

To stand out in social media there needs to be an element that is diverse.  There are a number of simple ways this can be achieved and here are some things to experiment with:

  • Use humour
  • Have a cleverly designed infographic
  • Use vibrant colours, easy to understand language
  • Use bold graphics, images, phrases, or titles

5. Use Video as Content

Video makes you visible and is a great tool to add to your marketing kit.  Potential customers may feel you to be more “trustworthy” or “real” when they see your face and hear you speak.  It is not as complicated as you think and once you have done it a few times it will be second nature and a great way to build relationships.

6. SEO is Important

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is essential and critical for online success.  It is not as intimidating as it sounds.  There are tech people that can support you with this.  However, you can learn about SEO and navigate simple techniques to begin with.  For example, starting your own blog if attached to your website is great for SEO.  As your rankings improve, targeted traffic will increase and hopefully generate more leads

So why not give one a go and see what happens? I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to ‘tweet’ or ‘repost’ this article or leave your comments….

 Posted by on 10 July, 2012 at 11:35 am

Traditional Media Finally Moves into the 21st Century

 Internet, Newspapers, Offline Media, Online Content, Online Media, Pay Walls, Technology shifts  No Responses »
Jun 272012
 

The recent announcements of both Fairfax and News Limited about job cuts in their respective newspapers has crystallised the reality of offline/online media.

The offline media in the way of newspapers has been struggling for a long while and Fairfax in particular has been slow to react to the certainty of the Internet.  Although I don’t believe newspapers are finished, they will definitely change in many facets, in terms of delivery, format and structure.

More and more people now receive their news online and will probably increase as younger individuals consume news.  Newspapers, however, will still have a very large place in our society and therefore they need to make money from their online business ventures.  Obviously creating pay walls and moving into the paid subscription mode seems to be the apparent answer. But is it?

There are two main points here:

1)     consumers have been consuming free content on the Internet for over a decade now

and

2)     consumers have never paid for the real cost of newspapers – advertisers have

The main question is will consumers be happy to pay for content online?  The bigger question, however, is not whether consumers will pay for content but what is the business model for creators of content, producers and those who deliver it on the Internet?  The old business model no longer works and finding a replacement has to date been challenging.  But traditional media needs to find a way to survive.

Because there is a diverse and wide range of content online, simply having just a subscription model may not work.  Part of the new model probably requires finding a mix of revenue models not just one and weighing up the costs of losing readers.

Some creativity and thinking outside the box is needed as there is a huge opportunity to create online outlets outside of newspaper channels that are viable and respected, which produce quality content that the public wants to read.  It is only a matter of time until this happens!

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to ‘tweet’ or ‘repost’ this article or leave your comments….

 Posted by on 27 June, 2012 at 11:18 am