This document provides an overview of why small businesses should establish a social media presence and how to go about it effectively. Some key points:
- Social media usage is skyrocketing and many customers now search for local businesses on social platforms. Having an online and social presence can put small businesses ahead of the competition.
- Choosing one high-potential platform like Facebook or Twitter to start and focusing efforts there is recommended over spreading resources too thin across multiple networks. Localizing outreach on these platforms to the target community is emphasized.
- Developing a social media strategy including defining the target audience, finding followers through ads or local community engagement, and creating a regular posting schedule around relevant, shareable content is
Facts you should know before choosing social media platforms for your busines...Nativedge
Which social media platform works best for my type of content? Are my potential readers on the social media platform? Will it work for me? With all these questions and more, these facts will give you the guidance you need to choose the platform that works best for your business.
Find out what’s happening on social media and what it means for your business. The quarterly trend report from The Social Lights summarizes the major social media network updates and provides recommendations for how businesses can take advantage of the new opportunities.
Social Networks included in the Q1 Social Media Trends Report:
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Instagram
- Snapchat
Want to stay informed about changes in social media? Check out The Social Lights’ blog: thesocial-lights.com/subscribe
Online marketing and social media in particular have changed how the travel decision-making process takes place, forcing travel brands to adapt their marketing accordingly. Yet, not everyone adapts at the same rate, and there are still many who question the worthiness of efforts in this sphere.
Social Media & Your Career: Realities?MattYoungquist
Are social media websites now essential for job hunters to master? What\’s the balance between "sizzle" and "substance" in terms of what these new tools offer from a career advancement and job hunting perspective?
Facts you should know before choosing social media platforms for your busines...Nativedge
Which social media platform works best for my type of content? Are my potential readers on the social media platform? Will it work for me? With all these questions and more, these facts will give you the guidance you need to choose the platform that works best for your business.
Find out what’s happening on social media and what it means for your business. The quarterly trend report from The Social Lights summarizes the major social media network updates and provides recommendations for how businesses can take advantage of the new opportunities.
Social Networks included in the Q1 Social Media Trends Report:
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Instagram
- Snapchat
Want to stay informed about changes in social media? Check out The Social Lights’ blog: thesocial-lights.com/subscribe
Online marketing and social media in particular have changed how the travel decision-making process takes place, forcing travel brands to adapt their marketing accordingly. Yet, not everyone adapts at the same rate, and there are still many who question the worthiness of efforts in this sphere.
Social Media & Your Career: Realities?MattYoungquist
Are social media websites now essential for job hunters to master? What\’s the balance between "sizzle" and "substance" in terms of what these new tools offer from a career advancement and job hunting perspective?
Building a WordPress website is not like building the Field of Dreams. Just because you build it, does not necessarily mean that “they” will come. In order to build a following for your brand or business, you must engage your audience or target market. This stands true across the board for the average WordPress user as well as the developer. We’ll take a look at the importance of proper and timely engagement, as well as what the average WordPress user can utilize in order to create seamless and streamlined avenues for engagement, right now. We’ll also take it a step further and discuss what the average developer can implement in order to make engagement much easier for the users having the websites developed.
Markitors aggregates the top social media audit tools to evaluate your social media marketing performance. Here is a social media audit example. For more information and to learn what tools we use in our audits, please visit: http://markitors.com/social-media-audit/
Understanding Social Media Marketing | 30 Top Tips | Hammad SiddiquiHammad Siddiqui
Market for social media management tools grow over 100% to $970 million in 2016, from $389 million this year.
Companies that are still waiting to enter in the ever growing arena of social media will soon find alienated from the rest of the corporate sector
Building a WordPress website is not like building the Field of Dreams. Just because you build it, does not necessarily mean that “they” will come. In order to build a following for your brand or business, you must engage your audience or target market. This stands true across the board for the average WordPress user as well as the developer. We’ll take a look at the importance of proper and timely engagement, as well as what the average WordPress user can utilize in order to create seamless and streamlined avenues for engagement, right now. We’ll also take it a step further and discuss what the average developer can implement in order to make engagement much easier for the users having the websites developed.
Markitors aggregates the top social media audit tools to evaluate your social media marketing performance. Here is a social media audit example. For more information and to learn what tools we use in our audits, please visit: http://markitors.com/social-media-audit/
Understanding Social Media Marketing | 30 Top Tips | Hammad SiddiquiHammad Siddiqui
Market for social media management tools grow over 100% to $970 million in 2016, from $389 million this year.
Companies that are still waiting to enter in the ever growing arena of social media will soon find alienated from the rest of the corporate sector
15 step social media marketing strategy for businesses in 2021Samaritan InfoTech
Too many businesses go into social media marketing on an ad hoc basis. They know they should do something about social media, but don't really understand what they should do. Some firms just give access to the company's social accounts to some junior staff members – merely because they are young, so should know all about social media.
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3 Social Media Marketing Tips for finally Getting Started Real-Time OutSource
Getting started with social media marketing shouldn't be confusing or difficult.
It's all about how you approach it, how much work and time you are willing to put into it, and what your final goal is. These tips will help you gain control of your social media profiles and amp up your engagement.
Learn how your small business can leverage social media to meet your marketing and sales goals. Includes information on choosing a platform, creating content, and five basic rules for social media success.
This is the presentation I gave at the GO Topeka EMBD's Small Business Breakfast Buzz on Feb. 18, 2015. For the complete workbook from this session, please find the slideshow entitled Social Media Basics for Small Business
Marketing through social media can be tricky, but at Suncoast Social, we’ve got your back. This series of guides will keep you from toppling down the hole into social media purgatory.
Over the last decade, social media has evolved drastically. Every day, more businesses are creating their profiles, and even more potential customers are also creating their profiles. Social media is no longer a novel concept for businesses but rather a necessity for building a reputation and brand awareness Online digital marketing has numerous advantages for businesses. First, the information travels fast, and it is very cost effective.
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Businesses have been getting in on the action as well—building lively social communities and discovering a powerful new tool for engaging with customers online. And, by combining social media with email marketing, have found yet another way to stay top-of-mind and well connected with their target audience.
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“To be integrated is to feel secure, to feel connected.” The views and experi...AJHSSR Journal
ABSTRACT: Although a significant amount of literature exists on Morocco's migration policies and their
successes and failures since their implementation in 2014, there is limited research on the integration of subSaharan African children into schools. This paperis part of a Ph.D. research project that aims to fill this gap. It
reports the main findings of a study conducted with migrant children enrolled in two public schools in Rabat,
Morocco, exploring how integration is defined by the children themselves and identifying the obstacles that they
have encountered thus far. The following paper uses an inductive approach and primarily focuses on the
relationships of children with their teachers and peers as a key aspect of integration for students with a migration
background. The study has led to several crucial findings. It emphasizes the significance of speaking Colloquial
Moroccan Arabic (Darija) and being part of a community for effective integration. Moreover, it reveals that the
use of Modern Standard Arabic as the language of instruction in schools is a source of frustration for students,
indicating the need for language policy reform. The study underlines the importanceof considering the
children‟s agency when being integrated into mainstream public schools.
.
KEYWORDS: migration, education, integration, sub-Saharan African children, public school
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Multilingual SEO services are essential for businesses aiming to expand their global presence. They involve optimizing a website for search engines in multiple languages, enhancing visibility, and reaching diverse audiences. Filose offers comprehensive multilingual SEO services designed to help businesses optimize their websites for search engines in various languages, enhancing their global reach and market presence. These services ensure that your content is not only translated but also culturally and contextually adapted to resonate with local audiences.
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The Challenges of Good Governance and Project Implementation in Nigeria: A Re...AJHSSR Journal
ABSTRACT : This study reveals that systemic corruption and other factors including poor leadership,
leadership recruitment processes, ethnic and regional politics, tribalism and mediocrity, poor planning, and
variation of project design have been the causative factors that undermine projects implementation in postindependence African states, particularly in Nigeria. The study, thus, argued that successive governments of
African states, using Nigeria as a case study, have been deeply engrossed in this obnoxious practice that has
undermined infrastructure sector development as well as enthroned impoverishment and mass poverty in these
African countries. This study, therefore, is posed to examine the similarities in causative factors, effects and
consequences of corruption and how it affects governance, projects implementation and national growth. To
achieve this, the study adopted historical research design which is qualitative and explorative in nature. The
study among others suggests that the governments of developing countries should shun corruption and other
forms of obnoxious practices in order to operate effective and efficient systems that promote good governance
and ensure there is adequate projects implementation which are the attributes of a responsible government and
good leadership. Policy makers should also prioritize policy objectives and competence to ensure that policies
are fully implemented within stipulated time frame.
KEYWORDS: Developing Countries, Nigeria, Government, Project Implementation, Project Failure
How social media marketing helps businesses in 2024.pdfpramodkumar2310
Social media marketing refers to the process of utilizing social media platforms to promote products, services, or brands. It involves creating and sharing valuable content, engaging with followers, analyzing data, and running targeted advertising campaigns.
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Social media refers to online platforms and tools that enable users to create, share, and exchange information, ideas, and content in virtual communities and networks. These platforms have revolutionized the way people communicate, interact, and consume information. Here are some key aspects and descriptions of social media:
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Non-Financial Information and Firm Risk Non-Financial Information and Firm RiskAJHSSR Journal
ABSTRACT: This research aims to examine how ESG disclosure and risk disclosure affect the total risk of
companies. Using cross section data from 355 companies listed in Indonesia Stock Exchange, data regarding
ESG disclosure and risk was collected. In this research, ESG and risk disclosures are measured based on content
analysis using GRI 4 guidelines for ESG disclosures and COSO ERM for risk disclosures. Using multiple
regression, it is concluded that only risk disclosure can reduce the company's total risk, while ESG disclosure
cannot affect the company's total risk. This shows that only risk disclosure is relevant in determining a
company's total risk.
KEYWORDS: ESG disclosure, risk disclosure, firm risk
Exploring Factors Affecting the Success of TVET-Industry Partnership: A Case ...AJHSSR Journal
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to explore factors affecting the success of TVET-industry
partnerships. A case study design of the qualitative research method was used to achieve this objective. For the
study, one polytechnic college of Oromia regional state, and two industries were purposively selected. From the
sample polytechnic college and industries, a total of 17 sample respondents were selected. Out of 17
respondents, 10 respondents were selected using the snowball sampling method, and the rest 7 respondents were
selected using the purposive sampling technique. The qualitative data were collected through an in-depth
interview and document analysis. The data were analyzed using thematic approaches. The findings revealed that
TVET-industry partnerships were found weak. Lack of key stakeholder‟s awareness shortage of improved
training equipment and machines in polytechnic colleges, absence of trainee health insurance policy, lack of
incentive mechanisms for private industries, lack of employer industries involvement in designing and
developing occupational standards, and preparation of curriculum were some of the impediments of TVETindustry partnership. Based on the findings it was recommended that the Oromia TVET bureau in collaboration
with other relevant concerned regional authorities and TVET colleges, set new strategies for creating strong
awareness for industries, companies, and other relevant stakeholders on the purpose and advantages of
implementing successful TVET-industry partnership. Finally, the Oromia regional government in collaboration
with the TVET bureau needs to create policy-supported incentive strategies such as giving occasional privileges
of duty-free import, tax reduction, and regional government recognition awards based on the level of partnership
contribution to TVET institutions in promoting TVET-industry partnership.
KEY WORDS: employability skills, industries, and partnership
Enhance your social media strategy with the best digital marketing agency in Kolkata. This PPT covers 7 essential tips for effective social media marketing, offering practical advice and actionable insights to help you boost engagement, reach your target audience, and grow your online presence.
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2. 2
CHAPTER 1
WHY YOUR SMALL BUSINESS NEEDS SOCIAL MEDIA
Have you been sitting on the proverbial fence debating the merits of putting
your business on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest?
As you peruse your own personal social media accounts and wade through
an endless stream of goofy photos of your friends and mindless chitchat,
you may find yourself wondering “what’s the point?”
SOCIAL MEDIA USE IS SKYROCKETING
While some social media posts are indeed goofy, it’s important to note that virtually
everyone you know is interacting on social media! The audience is huge. According
to eMarketer’s Worldwide Social Network Users: 2013
Forecast and Comparative Estimates report, one in four
people around the world will use social media in 2013.
In the United States, in 2014, 169.5 million people will
use social networks. The report predicts that number
will increase to 183.8 million social media users by 2017.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that creating a social media presence for your small business will expose you to millions of social media users.
What it does mean is that your current and future customers are most likely using social
networks. When you look at it this way, it makes sense to go where your customers go.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS LOCAL
Unless you have your sights on building a global business, small business owners
don’t need thousands of followers around the world. You need targeted followers
who have a genuine interest in what your business has to offer. Building a local following and offering exclusive promotions to encourage first-time or repeat business is an effective way to grow your business.
Localizing social media isn’t as difficult as you may think. For example, if you are a
veterinarian in Midland, Texas, you could create a targeted Facebook ad campaign
3. 3
to encourage Midland pet owners to “like” your Facebook page.
With Facebook advertising, you can hone in on specific demographics and interests so that only those users who meet your
exact criteria see your ad. In this case, you might target men
and women age 25 or older living in Midland, Texas (or even a
specific neighborhood or ZIP code) who have indicated an interest in “dogs” or “cats.” If you don’t want to pay for an ad, you
could also get followers by including your social media profiles
on your business cards, signs, company cars, phone book advertisements, website, and email signature.
The goal is to get the right social media users to follow your
social media profiles. It’s quality over quantity that counts.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS INCREASINGLY USED FOR
SEARCH PURPOSES
Google and other search engines remain relevant. However, social media users often search for businesses from within their
desired social networks. If your business does not have a presence, it won’t be
found. In addition to searching on sites like Facebook or Twitter, users turn to review sites such as Yelp to find and research local businesses.
enter your search
SEARCH
YOUR SMALL BUSINESS MAY ALREADY BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE!
Some review sites, including Yelp, will even create basic business pages for local
businesses, allowing users to post reviews. Whether you’ve created a social profile
or not, one may already exist for your business. Wouldn’t you rather be involved?
Wouldn’t you prefer to post your own interesting tidbits about your company and
its features and benefits rather than leaving your profile to chance? Wouldn’t you
like to be informed if a user posts a negative review about your business so that you
can rectify the situation or respond? This is yet another reason to get your business
involved in social media sooner rather than later.
4. 4
SOCIAL MEDIA IS MOBILE
According to comScore’s recent report on U.S. Smartphone
subscribers, as of April 2013, 138.5 million people in the U.S.
owned smartphones representing 58 percent of the mobile
market. Why should you care about smartphones? These
powerful devices are always connected to the Internet, and
always in a pocket, purse, or backpack - if not in the user’s
hands. Information is always just a tap away.
Imagine that you run a Mexican restaurant and a hungry potential customer is a few blocks away. She whips out her smartphone and searches for Mexican restaurants in your city. If your
restaurant does not have a website or social media presence, it
might not show up! If it does show up due to a generic listing, it may be competing
with other restaurants that have photos, menus, coupons, and other enticements.
DEVELOPING AN ONLINE AND SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE COULD
PUT YOU AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION
With so many social media and Internet users flocking to social networking sites,
you’d think all small businesses would be taking advantage of the opportunities
these channels offer. However, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 24.8 percent of businesses surveyed in 2007 had a website. Though this data is old, a recent
article featured on USAToday discusses the 2013 National Small Business Association Technology Survey which found that one in 10 small businesses don’t have a
website and that nearly 30 percent of them do not use social media.
If you want to tap into a local audience of current and future customers who
are using social media to find and interact with businesses like yours, you
need to both create a website, ideally one optimized for mobile users, and
get on social media.
5. 5
CHAPTER 2
CHOOSING A SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK
Now that you’ve decided to hop off of that fence and jump into social media, you’ll need to decide which social media networks to embrace. While
you could certainly join multiple social media networks, if you’re just starting
out, it’s wise not to spread yourself too thin. If you’re one of the 90 percent
of small businesses that does not have a website, start there. Make sure
that you select a website design firm that can optimize it for mobile users
(remember those smartphone users who are always connected?) as well as
include blog functionality (because blogging is social!). Once you have your
website up and running, pick one of the following social media types and
begin socializing. Once you’re comfortable with that channel and no longer
overwhelmed by it, pick another.
BLOGGING
Adding a blog to your website allows you to regularly
post new content such as announcements, articles,
and fun facts of interest to your customers. Blog posts
do not need to be long in order to be effective. A veterinarian could post a friendly reminder around Halloween about dogs eating chocolate or share an anecdote about black cats. Blogging regularly is a great
way to keep your website fresh with new information
as well as with keyword phrases related to your small
business. For example, the blog post about dogs and chocolate
candy could be titled “A Friendly Reminder about Dogs and Chocolate from Your Midland, Texas Veterinarian.” Blogging regularly also
shows search engines that the website is active and relevant.
In addition to serving as a platform for sharing information and
for attracting search engine traffic, blog readers can join the con-
6. 6
versation if you allow commenting. If you do allow
commenting, make sure to respond promptly and
actively moderate your blog posts to prevent spammers from taking over. Most blogging platforms include anti-spam tools to weed out most spam.
MICROBLOGGING
By now, you’re likely familiar with Twitter and its
140-character tweets. Because of its micro-sized
tweets, Twitter is known as a microblogging site.
While other microblogging sites exist, Twitter is the
best known.
Using Twitter in conjunction with a website and blog
is highly recommended. Whether you tweet links to
your latest blog posts or embed your Twitter feed
onto your blog, Twitter allows you to interact with
customers in real-time.
Perhaps one of the biggest advantages to using
Twitter is its Search tool. Simply search for your business name or brand and find out what people are saying about you. This allows you
to monitor customer satisfaction and respond promptly. You can also use Twitter’s
search tool to find people looking for products and services like yours. For example,
you might enter “good vet in Midland” to see if anyone has posted questions such as
“Fluffy is sick. Does anyone know a good vet in Midland?”
FACEBOOK
Facebook is clearly the godfather of social media sites and may even be your first
choice for venturing into social networking for your small business. In order to set
up a Facebook business page, you will first need a personal Facebook account. Your
7. 7
Facebook personal profile and business pages will be linked, but not
necessarily publicly linked. In other
words, your customers will not see
your personal posts and your personal friends and family members
will not see your business posts.
Creating a business page on Facebook is a process with many considerations. You may need professional
help to set it up. It’s also smart to use
online tools designed specifically for businesses that want to market on Facebook
such as GroSocial.com. These tools make creating attractive profiles, tabs, and special offers a simple matter of drag and drop.
As you likely know, Facebook users log in and view a “news feed” which contains
status updates from their friends and brands that they follow. Users can “like,” share,
or comment on these updates (or all three). The more a user engages with another,
whether it’s a person or business, the more likely it is that their future posts will appear in the user’s news feed. Because Facebook uses engagement (likes, shares, and
comments) as a factor when it determines what to display in someone’s news feed,
it’s important to post updates that people will want to like, share, or comment on.
Keep engagement in mind whenever posting to Facebook and you’ll be more likely
to build an active community.
PHOTO-SHARING
Social networks such as Instagram and Pinterest are photo-sharing networks. These
networks can be a good choice for businesses that have highly visual graphics and
photos related to their products and services. Some ways to use photo-sharing
sites are listed below:
• Show behind-the-scenes photos of your business
• Create and share infographics
• Show pictures of your products
• Document a special event with photos
• Create step-by-step photo tutorials on how to use your product
8. 8
Blogs, microblogs, Facebook, and photo-sharing sites are
just the tip of the social media iceberg, but they’re a good
place to start for most small businesses. Dozens of other
options are available including social networks and forums
dedicated to music, video games, books, science, art, politics, travel, religion, genealogy, and even knitting.
In addition to becoming active on popular social networks such as Twitter
or Facebook, you may want to investigate social media niche sites related
to your business. For example, if you run a knitting and crochet shop, you’d
probably want to join Ravelry which has approximately 3 million registered
users all interested in knitting and crochet. Wikipedia has a huge list of current social networking sites at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_
networking_websites.
9. 9
CHAPTER 3
PLANNING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Now that you’ve decided which social networking site to start with, it’s time
to strategize. In the interest of simplicity, we’ll assume that you already have
a website and blog and that you’ve settled on using Facebook. Though we’ll
refer to Facebook as an example, these tips should apply to just about any
network you choose.
PLANNING YOUR STRATEGY
Getting on social media is the easy part; it’s the follow-through that tends to trip
people up. It doesn’t matter how pretty your Facebook page looks if you fail to post
content to it. It also doesn’t matter how many followers your page has if none of them
are potential customers. Obviously, you will need to build a Facebook profile. However, there’s more to consider than which image to upload as your cover picture. Below are a few of the most important considerations beyond page design to address:
Who are You Targeting? Do you know who your ideal customer is? This goes back
to Marketing 101. You should have a solid idea as to who you want to target. Whether
home mom, college student, or video
game enthusiast, you need to spend
time figuring out who you want to target. Once you know, you’ll be better
able to find them and create messages
S
EA
lawyer, pet owner, foodie, stay-at-
ID
senior citizen, teenager, bride-to-be,
ID
EA
S
your ideal customer is a man, woman,
IDEAS
that will resonate with them. Without
this vital information, you are setting
your business up for a struggle. With
media plan.
ID
EA
S
it, you have the foundation of a social
10. 10
How Will You Find Followers? A common mistake many businesses make is to buy
followers. For five bucks on Fivrr, you can find someone who will be happy to provide
you with several hundred followers. The problem with these followers is that, even if
they are real people, they are not targeted. If you’re a veterinarian in Midland, Texas,
what good does it do to have college students in New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, and
London following your Facebook page?
If you’ve already figured out who you want to target, finding followers becomes much
easier. If you have a small budget, consider running a few Facebook ads to get “likes.”
This is an inexpensive, targeted approach mentioned earlier. Need to attract women
ages 55 and above to your crochet shop in San Diego? Start with your shop’s ZIP code,
target women ages 55 and up, and enter “crochet,” “crocheting,” “needlepoint,” and
“knitting” as interests. Create a Facebook ad with a great graphic and a call to action
such as “Click LIKE if you love to crochet!” This is simple, but it can quickly result in
an audience that meets your criteria. They live in your community and love to crochet;
when they need new patterns or supplies, which shop will be at the top of their minds?
Yours thanks to your social media presence and consistent, relevant interactions.
What if you don’t have a budget for Facebook ads? Another technique is to interact
on Facebook pages that your targeted audience is likely engaged with. Many business pages allow users to post content, not just comment, on their pages. For example, a veterinarian might become involved with the local animal shelter’s page. You
could offer helpful suggestions in response to questions, talk about the importance
of neutering and spaying pets, post tips about keep pets safe during a thunderstorm,
and so on. Keep your posts informative and helpful and avoid the temptation to blatantly promote yourself. Users will recognize your professionalism and grow to trust
you. Many will follow you without prompting.
11. 11
What will you post? Don’t wait until you have a following to start posting content to
your Facebook page. While it may seem counterintuitive to post content to a nonexistent audience, you need to give users a reason to follow you. They’ll check out
your page to see what you’re all about. If you don’t have any interesting content on
your page, why would they want to follow it?
So, what should you post? Again, go back to your ideal customer. What is
your ideal customer interested in? If your ideal customer is a video game
enthusiast, you might post reviews of the latest video games, cheats, and
tips. If your ideal customer is a bride-to-be, you might post wedding planning tips, photos of gorgeous wedding gowns, wedding photography or
makeup tips, or healthy eating ideas. Use your ideal customer and his or
her interests as a guide.
Many businesses find it helpful to
follow a theme. For example, an
auto repair shop might designate
Mondays as “Muffler Mondays”
and post content related to exhaust leaks or discounts on muffler repairs. Tuesdays could be
“Tune-Up Tuesdays.”
It’s also important to post content that your ideal customers
will “like,” share, or comment on. Cute pictures, interesting
infographics, controversial questions, caption contests, and
polls are all good ways to drive engagement. Not only does
engagement affect whether or not your future posts will
eventually show up in their news feeds, but their liking, sharing, and commenting exposes your posts to their social media followers, some of whom could be potential customers.
As these secondary people see your post, they, too, might
like, share, or comment on it. From there, their followers will
see it. This is how social media spreads.
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HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU POST? After deciding what
to post, how often should you post? Set a realistic schedule that you can accomplish and take care not to overdo
it. You might start with one or two posts a day. No matter
what you determine will be best for your business, try to
post consistently as your followers will eventually begin to
look forward to your posts.
As enthusiastic as you may be about starting your
Facebook page, be careful not to over post or over
promote. Social networking users use sites like Facebook to hang out with
their buddies, goof off, relax, and occasionally find solutions to their problems. If they’ve trusted you enough to allow you into their inner circles,
they may tolerate the occasional exclusive offer (and even expect them),
but they won’t tolerate an endless barrage of self-promotion. Use Facebook to share useful information, educate, answer questions, and continue
building trust with your followers
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CHAPTER 4
SHOULD YOU OUTSOURCE SOCIAL MEDIA
OR MANAGE IT IN-HOUSE?
Creating and managing social media sites is a big task. Not only must you
create content such as blog posts or status updates on a regular, if not daily,
basis, you also need to be available to respond to other social media users.
HOW MUCH TIME DOES IT TAKE TO MANAGE SOCIAL MEDIA?
An IntersectionConsulting.com infographic posted on Social Media Today breaks a
typical social media workflow down into 11 components and then assigns an estimated amount of time per week for each component as follows:
• Updates - 4 hours
• Blogging (planning, writing, and publishing posts) - 7.5 hours
• Finding and planning content to share - 4 hours
• Curating and sharing content - 2.5 hours
• Interacting with your followers - 4 hours
• Monitoring brand mentions - 2.5 hours
• Developing promotions, contests, ads, and other campaigns - 2.5 hours
• Community growth - 2.5 hours
• Managing and adjusting strategy - 2.5 hours
• Analytics - 2.5 hours
• Resolving and mitigating unexpected problems - 4 hours
The workflow above requires about 38 and a half hours each week. While your
social media strategy may be more or less labor intensive, this sample workflow
highlights an important question: Where will you find an extra 38 hours each week?
As a small business owner, you already wear plenty of hats, is social media manager
one of them?
While some businesses may spend 38 hours on social media, they’re in the minority.
According to a survey from Vertical Response, most businesses spend less than 10
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hours per week on social media and only 7 percent spend more than 21 hours per
week. This same survey reveals that the most time-consuming activities were finding and posting content followed by learning and education, analytics, and following
the competition. The least time-consuming activity involved answering questions on
social media.
THE IN-SOURCING VS. OUTSOURCING DILEMMA
As you consider the amount of work a typical social media workflow requires, you
may conclude that you simply don’t have enough hours in the day to run your business and social media. The next question begs an answer: If not you, then who?
If you have employees or are willing to hire a part-time social media manager,
it may make sense to manage social media in-house. A few of the advantages
and disadvantages of keeping social media in-house include the following:
ADVANTAGES:
• Employees understand the business and its customers
• It’s generally easy for employees to take photos throughout the workday
• Adding social media responsibilities could add interest to an otherwise mundane job
DISADVANTAGES:
• Employees are pressed for time and may not prioritize social media
• Though they may be active social media users, employees may be ill-equipped to
manage business pages
• Employees may spend too much time managing social media to the detriment of
their other duties
• The cost of a part- or full-time social media manager may be more than the cost
of outsourcing
Many of these disadvantages can be overcome with training, planning, and clear priorities. Digital agencies
and consultants often offer social media management services to small businesses for a flat
monthly fee. Outsourcing can also avoid many
of the disadvantages of in-sourcing while pro-
ADVANTAGES
DISADVANTAGES
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viding you with consistent and reliable social media services. But outsourcing also
has a few disadvantages including a potential lack of authenticity (after all, no one
knows your business better than you do) and concerns about who will address issues
that customers raise on social media. If you do opt to outsource social media, you’ll
want to discuss any concerns you may have with the agency to ensure that nothing
is left to chance.
The decision to do it yourself or outsource social media is up to you. If you
lack the time, skills, or interest in doing it yourself, then outsourcing is probably the way to go. On the other hand, if you love the idea of interacting with
your customers in the digital realm, you could find that managing your own
social media efforts is extremely rewarding.
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CHAPTER 5
SHARING ENGAGING CONTENT
You’ve selected a social networking platform, planned your basic strategy,
and have assigned someone the task of managing your social media efforts.
Assuming that you’ll be handling social media in-house, the next step is to
share engaging content. We’ve touched on what to post briefly including the
importance of sharing content that will encourage engagement. Here are a
few more ideas for finding and creating content to share on social media.
CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR
Before you start your search for content to share, it’s helpful to have a basic plan in
place that addresses the type of content to post and when to post it. With five business days in the week, you could create five categories (one for each day) and rotate
through them each week. For example, a personal trainer might focus on abs on
Mondays, leg exercises on Tuesday, the gluts on Wednesday, cross-training on Thursday, and nutrition on Friday. A simple system like this ensures that you always know
where to start. Your followers may even begin to anticipate your posts based on the
consistency you show week after week.
In addition to creating a schedule based on the categories you want to cover, you
may also want to identify the different types of content you’d like to share such as:
• Insights and tips
• Thought-provoking questions
• Polls
• Cartoons
• Blog posts
• Videos
• Infographics
• Relevant reports, statistics, trends, and news items
• Photos
• Promotions (coupons, contests, and other campaigns)
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Just as you rotate through
CALENDAR
the various categories each
week, you may want to ro-
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tate through the various content types. This adds variety
while keeping your messaging consistent. For example,
if you’ve decided to focus on
abs each Monday, one Monday you might share an abdominal exercise you can do
when sitting at the desk. The
next week you might post a funny cartoon that pokes fun at six-pack abs. The next
week you might share some research that highlights the benefits of strengthening
your core. The following week you might post a promotion for people who want to
tone their abs in time for beach weather.
By identifying categories and content types, you can quickly create a content calendar.
SHARING INTERNAL CONTENT
If you are already blogging and have recently expanded into Facebook or some other
social network, you already have a great deal of internal content that you could tap
into. It’s also likely that many of your social media followers have not discovered
your blog yet, making sharing both new and older blog posts an excellent choice.
Again, you’ll need variety, so don’t rely solely on sharing links to your blog. Otherwise,
there’s no real reason for people to follow you on Facebook or Twitter as they could
just subscribe to your blog or visit it manually.
What other materials have you created for your business? Look through old newsletters, special reports, and fact sheets to see if you could repurpose any of that
content. Remember, you don’t need to share an entire newsletter or special report,
though you could. You may be able to pull some interesting fun facts from each and
spread them out over the course of an entire month.
In addition to repurposing existing content, you’ll likely want to create original content, too. While your posts should be well written, you don’t need to be a writer to
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create interesting content for your social media sites. When you’re planning your
editorial calendar, brainstorm ideas for blog posts, tips, and thought-provoking questions. You may be surprised at how much you have to say. Refer back to this list
whenever you are at a loss for words and start writing.
It’s not just words, think visually! Snap photos related to your business and
share periodically. Photos help make your business real. Short videos are
also fun. If you will be featuring recognizable people in your photos or videos, make sure to get a signed model release form.
Another form of internal content
involves coupons and promotions. There are various strategies you could use including
building Facebook tabs, creating an online coupon, or holding
some sort of contest. You could
also use Facebook tabs as a lead
generation strategy. If all of this
sounds complicated, it doesn’t
need to be. Services such as
GroSocial.com make it easy to
create campaigns, promotions,
and lead generation forms.
FACEBOOK TABS
SHARING EXTERNAL CONTENT
Not only can you share your own content, you can also share external content such as
YouTube videos, interesting blog posts written by others, recent press releases covering an item of interest to your followers, research, and more. Naturally, you’ll want
to give credit where credit is due and not infringe on anyone’s copyright. When you
copy and paste a link into Facebook’s status box, Facebook will automatically find a
thumbnail and include a short summary of the linked content. There’s room at the top
for you to add a comment if desired.
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SCHEDULING CONTENT
Whether you’re planning to share internal or external content, consider prescheduling some of it. You can preschedule posts directly on Facebook by writing the post as
normal and then clicking the icon that looks like a clock. From there, you can specify
the exact date and time your post should be published. You can do the same for Twitter; however, you’ll need to use a third party tool to schedule Tweets.
With a content calendar and scheduling tool, you could theoretically spend
a few hours at the beginning of the month planning, finding, and scheduling the majority of your content. This can be a real timesaver for busy small
business owners. For example, when searching for interesting YouTube videos to share related to your niche, you may find half a dozen great ones.
Instead of copying and pasting their links into a spreadsheet so you’ll remember them later, simply space them out over the course of a month or
two by using the scheduling tool.
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About GroSocial
Making the decision to jump off the fence and onto the social media bandwagon is
a big decision that could help grow your business. Numerous options exist including
blogging, microblogging, Facebook, and photo-sharing sites as well as niche networks and blogs. No matter where you choose to start, you’ll need a plan, and you
may need to get external help. One place to seek help is GroSocial.com. GroSocial
offers a suite of affordable tools for small business owners to create attractive Facebook and Twitter profiles, Facebook tabs, opt-in forms, coupons, and promotions as
well as manage content and much more. Sign up for a free trial account today and
build a social presence with confidence!
Sources
EMarketer: Social Networking Reaches Nearly One in Four Around the World
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Networking-Reaches-Nearly-One-FourAround-World/1009976
ComScore Reports: April 2013 U.S. Smartphone Subscriber Market Share
http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press_Releases/2013/6/comScore_Reports_
April_2013_U.S._Smartphone_Subscriber_Market_Share
USA Today: Digital Tools Play Big Role in Small Business Growth
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/10/06/smart-small-businessdigital-tools/2922423/
Wikipedia: List of Social Networking Websites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
Social Media Workflow (Infographic)
http://socialmediatoday.com/brianna5mith/1422451/social-media-workflow-infographic
Vertical Response: Survey Shows Small Businesses Investing More in Social Media,
But Juggling Resources
http://www.verticalresponse.com/about/press/small-business-social-media-surveyresults-infographic