As a business owner, I am interested in finding out how I can use social media to support my clients. Let’s face it – the business world is transforming as communication and marketing methods are changing. A recent Sensis® Social Media Report shows that business is not really utilising social media as well as they could. It shows that only 14% of small businesses, 25% of medium-sized businesses and 50% of large businesses have a social media presence. There are a number of reasons for this and it is worth reading the report: What Australian People and Businesses are doing with Social Media.
Social media if leveraged correctly can be useful for small business to connect with their target markets. Wider audience exposure, building relationships and branding are some of the benefits of using social media. Yes, it all takes time but the end results are really worth it, especially if you can connect with your target market and gain market reach.
Here are some suggestions to consider if you are thinking about using social media for your business:
- Think before you act. Give thought to your social media strategy.
- Plan what you want to achieve from your social media strategy.
- Have achievable goals that can be easily implemented.
- Use these goals to measure what you achieve on a regular basis.
- Don’t market or advertise. Connect and share with your audience instead.
- Invest the time and keep going even when things don’t seem to be changing.
- Keep your writings simple, relevant and short.
Most importantly, have fun with it! Enjoy….
I would be interested to hear what you think. What have you tried for your business that has/hasn’t worked?