It is one of the cheapest ways to market their services and products. Yet, just over a quarter of small business owners use social media in their marketing. New Business has tips on how to start.
It’s a mystery that not more business owners have embraced Facebook, Twitter or other social media to do more and better business.
There is not one entrepreneur who does not want new customers, and it makes us wonder if it is uncertainty about how to do it, lack of time or disinterest that is the reason.
The most common answer is that it would take too much time from the business, but also that most people don’t know where they should start or what they should do.
Another common answer is that there is no knowledge in the company how to use different social media.
According to an American study, two things are especially needed to succeed in social media marketing: long-term and a clear and conscious strategy.
Those who have been for several years see a marked difference in results, compared to those who have only been for a couple of months.
Contrary to what many people believe, it does not take much time to be successful. Updating a Facebook page a couple of times a week requires no more than ten to twenty minutes. Those who do so and are enduring see a clearly increased traffic to their own website.
The fact is that many smaller companies still lack a website, but the smaller companies are still better than large companies on using social media.
Here is a small checklist of seven great tips for what to think about when starting your social media marketing.
Analyze. Think about your company’s situation in the market. You should then go through what you are going to use social media for, as well as who or whom you want to reach.
Also consider what you want to achieve and how to do it. Also, consider which social media channels are available and reach your target audience.
Make a strategy. How do you want your company or brand to be perceived and who do you want to reach out to? Also formulate an internal policy with your rules of play. Do not start all channels at once. Choose one or two social media.
Educate yourself. Read books, blogs, attend classes and listen to lectures to learn more about social media. For example, both Facebook and Linkedin have their own webinars on various features that can be very useful. You can also find training via Youtube.
Integrate. Social media should be an integrated channel used in combination with other communication channels. To structure the work you need to create a marketing plan with all your activities put in place.
Also make a communication plan for what and when to publish different messages in the channels.
Optimize. What can be better and how must you do it. If you do not have the time and resources, you can hire a consultant to help you.
Implement. Make sure you really incorporate the social media plan into your business plan.
Follow up. Review each activity at regular intervals so that you get to know your channels and develop them.
