- Better than nothing (is harder than you think): http://bit.ly/cFiMEs
social media
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogs – What’s best for you?
This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the June 22, 2010 @ 8:35 am
You want to get started in social media, but don’t know where to start? Which platform is better for your business? Should you do a bit of everything?
The answer depends on what you are trying to achieve. Here we review the key social networks so you can decide where best to invest your time.
Twitter - the fastest growing social media platform; easy to update, perfect for checking out what your competitors are up to. Will it get you more business? Yes:
- If you are in a B2B market; it is seen as professional and a good place to search out new suppliers
- If you have regular offers. Check out Dell’s Twitter page, this increased their business by $6.5m in 2009
- If you update it regularly and interact with your followers
Facebook – the daddy of social media, everyone has heard of it even if they don’t use it. Great for catching up with old school chums; but is it right for gaining new customers? Yes:
- If you are in a B2C market
- If you run a community/group type organisation
- You want to be able to talk and interact with your clients on a relaxed friendly level
Blog - an easy way of sharing your knowledge with others who are interested in your field. Is it worth spending the time writing one? Yes:
- If you have a knowledgeable, professional service
- If you have an exciting product and want to keep people updated
- If you can write well, keeping your reader wanting to come back for more
LinkedIn – the Facebook of the business world. Handy for introducing associates and acquaintances who you feel might benefit from being in touch. But is online networking the way forward? Yes:
- If your line of business benefits from ‘who you know’ type scenarios
- If you’re too busy to attend face to face networking groups
- If you have lots of relationships you want to nurture and sustain
Do what you can do but do it well. Make sure you’re still running your business first. The more platforms you and your business are on the better but only if you have the time to monitor and maintain them all. You don’t have to be on everything, better to be a terrific Tweeter and nothing else; than a boring blogger or failing Facebooker. If you feel you should be on more social media sites but don’t have the time to run them why not check out our Social Media in a Box package here.
Everything you need to know to start blogging
This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the March 30, 2010 @ 9:21 am
So you’re thinking of starting a company blog or you’ve heard about blogging but you’re not sure where to start? This post should provide a good starting place:
Why blogging?
- Positioning - Blogging helps position you/your company as an expert. This is especially true with B2B businesses. Most websites say the same kind of things, a blog helps set your company apart allowing you to prove you know what you’re talking about within your industry
- Search engine ranking – Using keywords in your blog titles and posts is a good way to improve your search engine ranking. A well written, useful post will naturally attract users and be placed highly on search engines. Regular posting also encourages search engines to spider your site more often, which means your content is listed faster. Added to this the more pages your site has the more weight you have in Google
- Increased links – If your blog posts are interesting and relevant, people are more likely to link to them
- Generating repeat traffic – If you blog regularly and allow users to subscribe either by email or RSS, it can be a great way of keeping users coming back
- Keep customers up to date – New developments and company news can be broadcast quickly and easily
What do I need to know to start?
Now that you’ve decided to start blogging how do you get started?
We recommend using wordpress.org as your blogging platform. This is free but needs someone technical to set it up. There are free web-based platforms like wordpress.com and blogger however these are not hosted on your website meaning you will not get the search engine benefits of using a blog that’s integrated with your website. If you need some help with this you can always give us a call.
After that it’s simple; start writing. You should aim to blog at least once a week, more if you have time. Keep a list of blogging ideas you have and try different things.
Use your website, Twitter and other social media to promote your blog posts.
What can I blog about?
- Hints and tips to make you look like an expert
- How to guides and tutorials
- Lists such as 10 ways to do x
- News from your organisation
- Reviews of books, videos, software
- Links to useful resources
- Predictions like what’s going to be hot in 2010
- Ask your customers questions and have a discussion with them
- Interviews with influential people in your industry or even your company
- Case studies that demonstrate how a customer can benefit from your product or service
- Multimedia posts, videos and pictures
- Events you are holding, exhibiting at or attending
- Commentary on a news topic
For more information on blogs and Social Media check out our Social Media in a Box proposition.
Social Media Diary
This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the March 8, 2010 @ 10:32 am
Like all other aspects of marketing, Social Media needs to be planned too. Here’s a handy breakdown of what you should be doing and when:
Before you begin:
- If you haven’t already; set up a Twitter account making sure you have a keyword rich profile and company branded background
- Set up a blog or use a web-based blog such as on Wordpress.com
- If relevant set up Facebook and LinkedIn accounts
- Sign up to Google alerts and receive emails informing you whenever anyone mentions keywords specific to your business, or even your business name
Daily (Tweets):
- Try and Tweet daily. You could link to an interesting article that you think your followers might enjoy
- Post updates on exciting new business wins
- Tell people what You’re up to
Your followers will most likely get 100s of Tweets feeding through to them daily, make yours stand out from the crowd and you’ll be the one they remember.
Weekly (Blogs):
- Plan your Blog titles at the beginning of the month
- Give your view on a current topic
- Comment on news headline
- Include keywords in your titles and content
- Remember to Tweet and Digg all your blog posts
Blogs show you have knowledge on your industry and they can put a ‘personality’ to a more corporate website. They are also an ideal way to generate traffic and increase your search engine ratings.
Monthly (Newsletters):
- Broadcast to your clients, contacts and subscribers
- Updates on the latest company news
- Include links to the past months Blogs ensuring everyone gets a chance to read your words of wisdom
Following this plan, over a year you will have provided 12 newsletters, over 50 Blog posts and at least 250 Tweets, each time putting your company’s name out there in the virtual world; that’s pretty good marketing!
If all of the above sounds good but You’re thinking ‘I just don’t have time to do it’, why not look at our Social Media in a Box proposition? Click here for more information.
What can you do with social media?
This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the March 8, 2010 @ 10:46 am
Social networking sites are more popular than email, 1 in 6 minutes of UK internet time is spent on social networking sites…how can you get involved?
The following lists the 5 most popular sites and ways to use social media for your business…
- Twitter: A micro-blogging site, great for feeding ‘breadcrumbs’ to your followers on a daily basis.
- LinkedIn: Great for connecting with business contacts. Consider setting up a group and facilitating discussions around your brand or creating a group that appeals to your target market.
- Facebook: Great for B2C marketing. Facebook has more demographic data than it knows what to do with. Target by age, location, relationship status and hobbies.
- Blog: You’re reading one now. Great for news articles, viewpoints or how to guides. Search engines also really like them.
- Digg: Lets people share content – the more people that share it the higher your content gets ranked. Great for search engines and getting your content found.
How do you use them – as with any marketing you should start with a strategy, set goals and measure results by whether or not you achieve these goals.
