Social Media and Your Business

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Those of you who follow my blog may already realize that I’m relatively new to the world of Social Media. I’ve only been at it for about 6 months, but in that time I’ve learned some valuable lessons that I thought I would pass along.

Before I give you my few tips, I’ll let you in on why a company should be interested in the social media world. The plain and simple facts are that there are thousands of your clients, friends, family and community that are interacting online. They do business online, they maintain relationships online and they get educated online through news articles, websites and blogs. Why not get involved as a representative of your company? It’s easy but it does take a little time. However, this type of grass-roots marketing is worth it when you look at the cost – FREE. Talk about increasing margins… when cost of sales is nothing, sign me up for more of that!

So, here are my three tips:

1) Start a BLOG – Of course I’m going to recommend that you do a blog, considering  you are reading mine right now. There are a few different types of blogs. A few examples are: 1) The Personal Blog – this is the most common type of blog and it provides commentary and insight on topics that are of interest to the author. The posts are a bit longer and explore a variety of themes. 2) The Online Journal Blog – This is a shorter, daily version of a blog. It’s less about exploring topics and more about a breakdown of daily occurrences. 3) Video Log – Another version of a blog is when the topics being explored are all recorded on video and provided in that medium to the audience. This is often called a VLOG.

The reasons a company owner should do a blog are countless. For instance, a blog lets you put a name and a face to the company you represent. You give your customers some insight in to who you are, the things that are important to you and the life you lead outside of the business. It also lets you explain certain parts of your business or your industry to those that are interested. Another valuable part of the blog is it’s effectiveness within the search engines. Blogs will help your company’s natural rankings go higher so that new customers can find you when searching for keywords related to your business.

A word of caution when writing a blog – try to keep it varied in topic and interesting. For instance, I have a Houston Courier Service, but if I wrote about how great my courier service was every single time I wrote a post, my blog readers would lose interest very quickly. Think about how you run your business and what insight you have learned that could help other business owners. Use your blog as a way to help others, not just to pontificate about how great your business is.

2) Get a Twitter Account - When I first heard about Twitter, I did not think it would catch on at all. Who would want to do updates throughout the day about random things? Turns out, it’s really easy to get in to. With all of the additional platforms  that make it extremely easy to manage (TwitterBerry, TweetDeck, etc…), “Tweeting” is actually a fun way to reach customers or potential customers in your area.  Many of the Fortune 100 companies have a Twitter account where customers like you and me can see what goes on in an average day at their company.

Will you get customers from Twitter? Well, it depends. Having followers and following people in your area gives you a chance to become aware of events and things that you may not have known about. Attending these events can provide a way to get face-to-face time with potential customers who may need your product or service.  If you use the Twitter account as a way to get your foot in the door, then sure, you can definitely get new business from your FREE Twitter account.

A word of caution about Twitter – Do not push your company in every single Twitter post. Like a blog, your followers will get bored with your Tweets and “unfollow” you. Make your Tweets interesting, include links, pictures, funny thoughts, etc… Throw in a word about your business, but not in an overwhelming way. Keep the balance. Oh – and one more thing – many followers can see right through a “fake account” – so, keep it real.

3) Get a Facebook Account – Millions and Millions of people are on Facebook. Your employees, your friends, your grandmother, etc… This social media website has an extremely broad demographic that spans all ages, all genders, all cultures, etc… Why not create a page for you and for your company? Create a Group so people can follow your company and the events that are occurring. And the great thing is that you can link your Blog, Twitter and Facebook together so that all three update when one is changed. Post a blog and your Twitter and Facebook accounts can automatically inform your followers of the new blog with a link to it. Post a Twitter Update and not only do your Twitter followers get it, but so do all of your Facebook followers. It’s easy to set up and amazing to see the impact it can have on your business.

Those are my three tips for Social Media and your business. There are plenty more ideas that you can incorporate – Digg, StumbleUpon, Squidoo, etc…  If you are interested in more information, please feel free to comment and I can send more over. Just remember, I am still new at this myself and trying to figure out what works and what is a waste of time. But, I’m more than willing to help you and your business move in to the Social Media world.

Till Next Time,
Eric

Tags: blog, Business, courier service, facebook, management, Social Media, twitter

Posted in Business, Social Media | No Comments »