A Top 10 for your social media marketing
Social media is the new front line in business marketing.
Customers love the instantaneous interaction with the companies they use and
businesses have a free channel to speak to existing customers and win new ones.
Toolkit can help you get the most out of these powerful new
platforms – from Facebook to LinkedIn, Twitter to YouTube - with a range of
social media services. We’ll get you set up with great looking and easy to use,
branded social presences.
There are possible pitfalls to social media though and this
list from digital marketing specialist Mike Alexander contains some tips every
business should bear in mind online.
Creating your profile
1 – Make sure you use your web domain and your full company
name when you set up your social media profiles. It’s an opportunity to get
your brand name across, don’t waste it.
2 – Keep your branding consistent across all your social
media pages. Don’t use a different name on, Twitter and Facebook, you’ll only
confuse people
3 – Keep your personal contact information away from your
business profiles. Set up new pages for your business and keep them well
separated.
4 – Post a company profile and make sure you classify your
profiles in the right industry; it will help people find you.
5 – Don’t pontificate on your business profile. Personal
views are just that, personal, and should be kept away from your work. Not
everyone will share your views and some people will shop elsewhere if they
don’t like your opinions.
6 – Make some plans before you start. Toolkit can help you
set up a social media plan. Even if you don’t get help it’s a good idea to work
out what you hope to achieve from your social media presence, how you intend to
go about it and to define some measurable achievements.
7 – A dead, silent profile is more damaging to your business
than no profile at all. If you don’t have the time or inclination to interact
with customers through these channels then simply don’t open them. A page or
profile with no activity makes your business look dead and can soon fill up
with negative posts from customers.
8 – Be active. If people are going to talk to you, you need
to play your part too. Remember not to share too much in the way of personal
opinion, but be an open and engaging presence on social media. Look for people
who may be interested in your services too, they won’t just come to you, there
are millions of businesses online and you need to do some work.
9 – Make use of your existing marketing efforts to link with
your new social media presence. Email your database and ask them to join you
and add links to your profile or the addresses to all your marketing materials
10 – Images and videos are powerful and likely to be shared.
However, beware of people’s sensitivities and don’t post anything that could
offend.
11 – Be yourself. Use “I” or “we” when you write online.
Avoid overt advertising, that’s not why people use social media, if you have
something interesting or useful to say people will soon start to love your
profile.
12 – Try to make your posts open to response – questions and
polls are great ways to get people taking part. But limit your posting, you
don’t want to get blocked as spam.
13 – Social media may get you some new customers, but it’s
more likely to be a way to keep existing customers coming back. Look for new
customers with advertising and Search Engine Optimisation – ask Toolkit about
SEO services that really work.