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.

Tags: blogs, facebook, linkedin, social media, social media in a box, Twitter

7 ways SMEs can use Twitter

This post was last edited by Alex Cohen, on the March 8, 2010 @ 11:07 am

So Twitter is the next big thing. How can SMEs use it for their business? Here are 7 suggestions:

1. If you run a hotel, say in Berkshire, whenever somebody Tweets about going on holiday to Berkshire you can send them a message asking if they have somewhere to stay.
2. If you have something interesting to say and people want to hear it, tweet about it. When somebody needs your service they’ll come to the person that’s show up on their Twitter feed every day!
3. Networking – find people with similar interests – collaborate, share ideas and work with each other.
4. Do you have a business that has regular special offers? Maybe a sandwich bar that has a daily special or an online store? Use Twitter to tell people about your offers.
5. Stay in contact with your customers – whether it be advice, special offers, customer service, feedback or just one-to-one communication
6. Monitor your competitors
7. Twitter is great for Search Engines. Use your keywords frequently and soon your Twitter updates will be high in search engines.

How are you using Twitter or thinking of using Twitter?

Tags: Marketing, SME, Twitter