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It is time for your business to tweet, here's how |
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In our last post we talked about the importance of integrating social media into your business and the benefits it could bring.
Today, I would like to provide some advice on the various steps that will get your existing company active in the social environment.
Social media is not about what fans can do for you or what you can do for them. Instead, it is what the two of you can do for each other. It is about a relationship built on mutual respect. However, in order for your company to get to that level you need to put in time, effort and ultimately build trust in your brand.
How will you do this?
The Seven Steps to Integrating Social Media into your Business
1. Appoint a Social Media Manager: You can employ someone for this purpose in-house or add the function to one or more of your employees. In some cases it is worth exploring the option of getting a social media strategist from outside to assist you with planning and managing your social efforts.
2. Analyse your Business: Before you join any social media sites you must first establish what your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT analysis) are. As with traditional media, social media allows you to market your strengths and it provides a platform where you can prove your worth. IMPORTANT: Ensure you can practice what you preach.
3. Develop a Business Persona: Your social media needs a “voice”/personality that identifies with your target market. You can’t have a product and service aimed at teens but your social media “voice” is too grown-up.
4. Create Accounts: Create accounts on the social media networks where your target audience have accounts. It may require some research.
5. Start Posting Updates: Add content to these sites. Visitors to your social media networks will read the content you post before deciding to join you or not. What kind of content should you add? A good start would be a combination of industry, brand and general interest topics that will be of importance to your target audience.
6. Gain Fans: Now that there is some activity and content on your sites you need fans. The best way to gain fans is to advertise your pages via your website, newsletter and blog. You can also invest in online advertising or run a launch competition.
7. Engage & Entertain: You don’t necessarily need to run weekly competitions or be fun and amusing in order to engage and entertain your fans. As long as you continue to post relevant and interesting updates to your profiles, reward your fans and shake things up now and again you will keep your followers and gain new ones.
The above steps are easier said than done. They need thought and they take time. However, should you put in the effort and hours you will over time create an avenue of fans and followers that could make your specials viral, build your credibility, enhance traffic to your website, improve products and boost sales.
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