Advice Needed: Social Media & small businesses

[stinger094]

Tribe....in keeping with the pirate mentality, I am putting the finishing touches on my new business. My web designer and attorney both suggest I open facebook, twitter & instagram accounts.
I have none of these personally, but see where they could be benificial from a business perspective. I recall Gabe saying recently "pirates dont sail on wooden ships anymore" recently when talking about Instagram. Any suggestions on what to start with or how to go about it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks-


Stinger

[Mervo]

My place of business has a youtube page, facebook for each facility, and instagram. Anything you can do to reach a broader audience is $ in your pocket.

[Nick Randall]

I think it depends upon the type of business. I read a consulting book where a security guy stated that social media had not been responsible for one lick of work coming his way.

[NateR]

If you don't have a smartphone, get one, then download the apps for Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is easy to post pics and minor status updates from your phone throughout the day (large updates, announcements, and site maintenance should still be done on a proper PC).

Cross-post everything. If you make a major announcement on Facebook or your blog (if you have one), you should link back to it on all of your other accounts.

Corollary to the above: Learn to use a URL shortener such as goo.gl. You should use it a lot, especially on Twitter.

Be very careful what you post. Everyone has bad days, but the internet is forever.

Consider hiring a social media manager if your budget allows for it (assuming your needs justify the expense).

N

[Eldora]

I was at a seminar last week that focused the afternoon segment on social media for business. The guy's name is Steve Black. You can find him here www.businesssuccesstraining.com He's pretty good at it. I think you would find it helpful. Best wishes on your venture.

[JPourciau]

I personally primarily use Facebook to keep tabs on businesses that interest me more so than Facebook friends. I think investing some time in social media is a good business decision.

[Wolf Pack Sr.]

Check if a local university has a Small Business and Technology Development Center. Ours offers a "Social Media" class at a very reasonable price. http://www.atu.edu/asbtdc/

[WinstonSmith]

Good info. I would also suggest that the accounts you open be specifically used for business and reflect the business' names, not your personal names. If email addresses are visible, make them business specific and not directly tied to your name as well. Compartmentalization is a good thing.

[stinger094]

Thanks to all of you for the input!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NateR]

A fully realized business web presence should include some or all of the following:

Company website
-Email
-Blog
-Newsletter
-Forum
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

Managing all of these services can quickly become a full time job (imagine how much time it takes to record a product demo, upload it to YouTube, feature it on your website, post about it in your blog, post it to the forums (yours, and possibly others), write about it in your newsletter, link back to it on all of your other accounts, then field any additional questions you recieve from potential customers). It is easy to see why some orgs employ staff solely for this purpose.

Further reading cherry-picked from Google:

http://mashable.com/2010/02/10/business-web-presence/

http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/6-ways-to-boost-your-web-presence.html

[JustMe]

I think it depends upon the type of business. I read a consulting book where a security guy stated that social media had not been responsible for one lick of work coming his way.

this, sort of.

you get an indexing bump in the search engines for the backlinks you create.

from there, as always, "content is king" on your website.

as stated by others there is a trade of regarding the level of effort put into social media versus the gain. for example, you may well be better off getting and adwords account and paying for leads to your site. also of interest, younger folks are not using social media as many thinkg they do - back to social media being a function of what you are trying to accomplish.

also of note, how much REAL competition do you have? is it local versus global?

internet development is a huge profitable industry, lots of people willing to sell advice and services you probably do not need. get yourself a google webmaster / analytics account to see what google thinks of your site, who is visiting, and why.

[JustMe]

recommended reading: http://www.amazon.com/Art-SEO-Eric-Enge/dp/1449304214

[michael]

My perspective as far as real estate goes: a good friend is my Realtor and selling our house. Ads run by her on Facebook have brought in about 17-18 showings in 2 weeks, which is twice what we had in 3 months before by another Realtor who did not use Facebook. The Facebook ads are run for 3 days. When the ad isn't running, showings slow to a trickle.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[clintofio]

If you have a business that has interaction with the public, or could potentially have any kind of fan following, social media is an absolute necessity.

The best way to think about it is that your .com domain is the center of your online solar system, and twitter, facebook, youtube, instagram, etc... etc... are satellite outposts. You should build your online strategy so that commerce and business is happening on your .com website, but your social media is educating the marketplace, forming relationships and fans, and eventually sending people from those satellites to your .com where you have a chance to convert them into paying customers.

A big mistake people make is TOO prominently featuring their social media links on their .com homepages. Put your facebook and youtube links in the footer of your .com site, not a big button at the top. Your goal is to have people come to and stay at your .com, not send them back into facebook so they can get distracted by someone else 3 seconds later.

Also remember with Facebook to not be too 'salesy' on there. You have full permission to pitch on your .com website, but facebook it can be a major turnoff. Facebook is all about 'them' not you. If you want to be successful on facebook, you need to communicate your VALUES and HAVE FUN, and do and say things that resonate with the core values you share with your customers.

[clintofio]

Also, if you want to be successful on Twitter, use it primarily for LISTENING AND RESPONDING, and put broadcasting/communicating as a distant 2nd priority. Most people get this backwards.

Search Search Search. Find if people are already talking about your business, and tweet back at them directly. If you're in the wine industry, search for people talking about wine or looking for wine recommendations, and help them out. Give give give give give. Listen listen listen listen. Respond respond respond respond respond. That's how you win at Twitter.