Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter

Social Media: What Impression are you giving your customers?

Many people seem to Tweet and post comments on Facebook without thinking about what they’re saying. That’s bad enough on a personal account but an ill thought out post on your business Twitter account or Fan Page can do quite a bit of harm. Here’s an excellent article from Harsh Aimera that discusses this as well as looking at which social networks you should be using for your business …

 

Harsh Ajmera wrote:

Isn’t it amazing how it only takes seconds for you to form an opinion about someone, even before they have opened their mouth! The same is just as true online. But what if you were unprepared to start those conversations? Maybe your hair hadn’t been brushed yet, you had morning breath, you forgot your business cards, or you were still dressed in your pajamas. Not a good impression. Similarly on Social Media a lot of times customers are turned off with the online presence of the brands.

Social Media: Are You Networking in Your Pajamas? image social media pajamas

But on these platforms it’s all about the customers! By engagement, creating awareness, drive traffic and create sales! That’s how you build customer relationship which in turn makes them your paying customer in future. Are you also networking in your pajamas? Don’t worry with these solutions you will be able to attract customers like a magnet.

Which Social Sites Should You Choose?

The most common mistakes brands make, they create their brand pages on all platforms and expect customers to just pop. You have multiple options on social media, and as a brand you need to choose the platforms in which your target audience is lives, drinks or sleeps. And need to be conscious of the type of content works best on that platform, to do the same below is the image that you might helpful.

Social Media: Are You Networking in Your Pajamas? image social media guide

The selection of photo, video, link, or text posts for each platform is of utmost importance and so are below points describing the key to success on Social Media for your brand.

You are your Brand

The most important way to create your online presence is by being clear on what your brand is and how you want to express it to your customers. Once you have sorted that strategy you can start working on ways to strategize and understand where your potential customers are hanging out online. How you want to market your brand and the desired way it should affect them.

Example: Jetblue Airlines has a great presence and the way it handles interaction be it negative or positive.

Engagement is the key

Social Media: Are You Networking in Your Pajamas? image engage onlineDon’t just stand there; do something. Simply being present on social media doesn’t cut it these days. People need a reason to interact with you, and their reason will never be “because they’re here.” Make an effort to create content your target audience will find interesting and will keep them coming back for more. The beauty of social media is that it’s a two-way medium, so converse with your audience. Respond to their posts and questions, share their stories, and give your brand page a personality. What you want is for the people who connect with you to stop and read your posts, rather than scrolling past them. Eventually, when you spur enough engagement, you’ll have customers voluntarily posting reviews, and tagging photos regarding your brand product and spreading the word for you!

Example: Tata Docomo has got it right with the engagement and the sort of content to be posted on social media with the amount of likes, followers, +1’s they have received.

Are You Really Wearing Pajamas?

Just like people are forming opinions about you by how you dress, how you do your hair, how you smell, etc. People are always forming very real opinions about you by how your web site or blog looks, how your social profiles look and what you say. Everything should be clearly expressing what your brand is about. Your blog and social profiles should also express your uniqueness. No one likes going to someone’s boring, unprofessional site. People want to know what makes your brand different than your competitors, why they should care about what you have to say. Be innovative and different; don’t do the things which have been done to death in various platforms. Be unique and don’t copy others, otherwise they won’t be able to tell the difference, eventually get bored and just be another Fan/ follower number on your page!

Example:Oreo is a great example of the way they handle their brand pages. They have creative content.

No vacation on Social Media

Social Media: Are You Networking in Your Pajamas? image no vacationsThere are no vacations on social media, once you have made your brand page you have to be committed. A lot of brands initially create brand pages get their desired amount to followers/fans and then stop! They become a Ghost. Update your profiles with content which is viable and consistent. If you can’t post manually everyday! Then choose social tools like Buffer, Hootsuite which will help you pre-set your task and post it for you according to your schedule!

 

 

Food for thought? Are you using the right social networks for your business and for your customers and are you posting the sort of content that they really want to see?

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Twitter

Is Twitter the Best Marketing Platform?

What do you think of Twitter as a marketing platform for your business?

twitter

Some are suggesting that it is in fact the best marketing method for a small business but I have to say, I’d don’t think I’d quite give it such an accolade!

Here’s just a few of the resons why Blogging Tips website thinks that Twitter is best:

 

Following are the points which prove that twitter is the best marketing platform:

 

1. If you ask any marketing expert, he will tell you how important it is to have a good headline, and that’s what twitter is all about. Twitter followers use this platform because it helps to focus on the desired audience and there is no trickle-down effect. Every point is put forward through tweets in a very precise and straight-forward manner letting  twitter followers use this to the point conversation to reach others and develop them as prospective leads for marketing purpose.

2. User demographics of the twitter are more businesslike and professional, which makes it the first choice for all marketing professionals. Social twist claims that twitter has major click views of people who are looking for business and online entrepreneurs.

3. Twitter is proven to bring more traffic to twitter follower’s websites because people who get attracted to tweets most likely do more research and want to know more than just 140 character tweet, and hence they click on the additional link which is given in the tweet and increase the traffic to your website effectively.

4. With a twitter account, you will have access to both your present and probable customers, and they will be updated regularly on your activities. You can very efficiently receive the feedback and reaction from your existing and prospective buyers and hence regularize and modify your marketing practices and business in that way which will suit your audience in a proficient way. You can search twitter on any possible conversation, which will be related to your business, and you should give thanks to twitter hashtags for this feature. This will keep you informed about any fresh information and relevant news, which is related to your business….More at 10 Reasons Why Twitter Is The Best Marketing Platform

Personally I find SEO (search engine optimisation) to be the best marketing method for small businesses because once a website is on page one of Google for relevant search terms (so for a hairdresser in Wigan, they’d be appearing high in Google for searches such as ‘hairdresser wigan’ etc), then they can be found online 24 hours a day and other than a little SEO maintenance, nothing else is required to give them free advertising day in, day out.

Twitter on the other hand does require regular Twittering, as tweets rapidly disappear from view. A few days without twittering means no marketing for your business during that time.

Don’t get me wrong though, I still see Twitter as an effective means of promoting a business and one that I regularly use myself. It’s just not deserving of the best award in my opinion.

If you’re not yet using Twitter as part of your marketing, or want to do more, then here are a few ideas on taking things to the next level…

[title color=”orange-vibrant” align=”scmgcleft” font=”arial” style=”normal” size=”scmgc-1em”]Make sure you are following your customers[/title]

Twitter is a great place to talk with your customers. However, this means that you have to connect with them.

It’s impossible for you to know which of your customers are on Twitter. For that reason, it’s important for you to advertise your Twitter account to your customers. This way, your customers can find you.

How can you tell who is your customer on Twitter? Here are a few tips:

  • They talk to you. Some customers may start a conversation with you using your Twitter handle. You should follow everyone who talks to your business.
  • They mention your business. You should set up a saved search on Twitter so you can find people talking about your business. Always reply to people who mention your business and follow them.

You can also search for your customers using their email address.

 

[title color=”orange-vibrant” align=”scmgcleft” font=”arial” style=”normal” size=”scmgc-1em”]Put Twitter to work solving your business challenges[/title]

Sometimes, the best way to improve your experience with a tool is to ask more from it. If you’ve been casually using Twitter and allowing the results to unfold, maybe it’s time to give Twitter a real job.

It takes some time using Twitter before you’ll be ready to put it to work on your business goals. But after you understand Twitter and have built a community, it’s time to take your Twitter use to the next level.

Twitter can help you meet your business goals. Think about a challenge you face in your business today. How could Twitter help you solve that problem?

For example:

  • Offer a Twitter-only special. If your restaurant or store is a ghost town on Tuesday nights, why not promote a Tuesday night event on Twitter? Offer a special deal (free dessert or a special discount) for everyone who knows the secret code you tweet out Tuesday at 5 pm.
  • Reward people who retweet you. Is your blog a little lonely? Twitter is a great tool to drive traffic to your blog. Set up a contest or a reward for people who retweet your messages about your blog posts. You might give away an ebook, a seat at an upcoming webinar, a free 30-minute consultation or a product discount. Explain the terms of the offer in a blog post or on a special website page and link to that page in your tweet so people understand your offer.
  • Organize a tweetup at your business. Have you been chatting with local people whom you have not met in real life? Or has it been a long time since they have visited your business? Why not organise an informal tweetup? Set a date and time, offer refreshments and give people something fun to do or learn and they will come.

The best way to make Twitter work for your business is to try something new. Learn from what happens and try it again with improvements….More at 16 Creative Ways to Use Twitter for Business | Social Media Examiner

 

Whether you agree that Twitter is the best marketing platform for your business or not, I hope this post gives you a few ideas to make your tweets more effective for you.

Chris Towland

 

 

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