So, you are on Facebook personally but you have just recently started your business. Everyone is sharing their Facebook page posts and you start to think that is what you need. Maybe it is! Maybe not… The choices are now endless and you start to feel overwhelmed.
Should your business be on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope, YouTube, Vine, Meetup…or something else? Should you be using Buffer, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Tweetbot, LocalVox, Digg…? Do you even know what all of these are?
Here is a brief overview of some of the major social media sites to help you assess the right platforms for you right now – and perhaps earmark ones for the future.
A must have for business owners who want to build engagement with their clients and followers. It is not a selling platform, it is a way to show people who you are, provide them with your experiences and knowledge and offer your input to their questions.
This is the platform for your online CV. It is a business community enabling you to connect with a potential new client, current clients or re-connect with previous colleagues and associates. The effective search tool within LinkedIn allows people to connect with you to do business and seek your expertise.
You have news to share or would love to connect with people you could only dream of having as a client? Then Twitter is something to consider. This is a platform which scares a lot of people because its feed moves so quickly. But it is a fantastic way to communicate, share and network with business owners large and small. It is currently limited to 140-character posts, but news from Twitter HQ suggests this will be expanded soon to allow much longer posts.
If you have a visual business then this is a platform not to be missed. You are free to create different boards which show your expertise across the board! You can create mood boards and help others become creative too.
Another visual tool for your business, accessed straight from your iPhones, Android and iPads etc. With the vast amount of hashtags you can use on your posts, it is easy to see how you can quickly create a momentum around your business and what you offer. This one is handy if you have engaging ‘behind the scenes’ activities to share.
YouTube
A very visual tool for your business where video is paramount. Even if you do not enjoy being in front of the camera, there are tools for you to create video and use this platform to show your expertise and knowledge. The link with Google makes this platform extremely useful for the growth of your business.
So many options, it is clear why it should be so unclear as to which platform your business should be using!
The top tips to finding the right place for your business is to work out where your clients and target market hang out! Yes, that’s right and it makes sense, but when you are overwhelmed by so many choices even this can be hard to work out.
Where do your clients ‘hang out’? What is your ‘target market’? Where are your competitors?
First up, do your research. Find out the answers to these questions. You can do this by creating a survey and asking your current clients to complete. Make it very quick and it can even be just one page and they can click on the platforms they use. You can use survey software such as Survey Monkey, Capterra or Smart Survey.
If you are a new business, then start your research by looking at where your competitors have their business. Actually this is a good starting point whether you are new in business or more advanced. It is always good to know where your competitors are!
OK, you have found out that your business needs to be on at least two social media sites. But where to start?
Firstly, work on and understand one social media site at a time. Again if you work on two or more at any one time, you will be overwhelmed and you will probably just shut down!
It is important to understand how anything works, but especially when it comes to Social Media. You want to get it right otherwise any time you spend on it will be wasted. But how! How do you find out what to do and what you need to know?
There are a number of ways.
- Check out the help sections on the individual websites.
- Search ‘Google’ for FAQs on the individual site you have chosen.
- Ask for help from a specialist trainer on the platform you have elected to use.
One thing to remember, you are not alone and there a lot of people who are available to help you.
So don’t wonder anymore! Take the steps you need to get start on your chosen Social Media platform today.
