So, I want to talk to you about social media!
Social Media can offer entrepreneurs a platform to really connect with their target audience, to be able to build brand awareness and engage with customers directly. And it can have a hugely positive effect. But there are also plenty of examples of where people pin all their hopes on using social media to build the business only to end up really disappointed with the end results.
So here’s my six minute guide on social media and how you can use it in your business.
The first thing that you need to consider is what kind of social media is going to be right for your business.
Now, if you start by thinking about your target audience, ask yourself if they are the kind of people who are active on social media? If you’re B2B selling to other businesses, then you might find using LinkedIn is a more effective way to talk to your customers than some of the other platforms or Instagram which can tend to attract younger consumers.
Companies that have really visually appealing products or services such as fashion or food tend to perform well on the visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest where images are at the heart of what they do but with businesses that have less visual appeal, like consultancy legal services, they might struggle to create very engaging content for those platforms.
Then, consider how much time and money you can spend on your social media presence. You’ll be amazed at just how time consuming it can be to dream up all of the new content ideas, to create them and then the time that you spend interacting, all of the effectiveness of that.
Quite honestly, it can start and feel like a full-time job and then some!
If you think that all of the effort required all of that it’s going to heavily impact on your ability to run your core business then I want you to think really carefully about whether the returns are really worth the investment.
Now, I know I sound like a right negative nelly at this point but I’m not, I’m a huge fan of social media and also the benefits it can bring. But, I’ve also learnt the hard way that you need to stay in control of it so that it isn’t in control of you and it doesn’t run your business but rather it’s for your business.
One of the biggest benefits of social media that I’ve seen is the fact that it creates a proper environment for some real-time feedback from your customers, and that is something that can really help, because it’s going to help you to adapt and grow your business.
Over the years, it’s been a brilliant way for me to connect with our crafting customers to help us plan new product introductions, help us plan promotions based on their reactions and their comments.
Another benefit of social media presence is the ability to establish your authority within a sector.
You don’t have to be the biggest company out there, but with careful positioning, you can really create a voice that can punch well above its weight.
Social media also gives you the opportunity to create communities, bringing like-minded people together.
Whether they’re the six-minute entrepreneurs or the keen crafters, communities create an energy that’s not only good for your business but it is brilliant for your audience.
Now it’s fascinating to drop in on some of the conversations and find out what people are talking about on social media. You’d be surprised at how often you’ll get inspired to create new products or launch new initiatives because of the chats that you see on there and here is where I want to talk about the whole subscribers and followers.
There’s so much focus on how many people you’re getting to see your posts or how many people follow your stories but those numbers can be really misleading. For me you should be focusing on quality rather than quantity. I know it’s easy to say, but if you think about it if half a million people see your Instagram post but not a single one of them buys anything from your business, it’s not really going to help your bottom line.
I’m not saying it’s all about sales, brand awareness might be what you’re targeting, you know that’s really valuable for you but if you run a little bakery in Rotherham and your followers live on the other side of the planet, then it’s unlikely they’re ever gonna come into your shop and buy a cake or anything else that you might be selling.
And that’s what you need to think about is, what is it that you want to get out of your social media? What is going to give a positive return for your business?
So let’s bring it all together. I’ve got three big takeaways that I want you to remember. Number one, find your tribe. Find out where your customers spend their time on social media and go to them. Number two, be consistent. Post content regularly to build your voice and really enhance your credibility. And then thirdly engage with your audience.
Encourage feedback, listen to their comments, and all of that together will give you all of the feedback you need to be hugely successful when it comes to social media.