If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I wax lyrical about social media being the best thing for your small business since instant coffee, but as you know, there are 2 sides to every story, and the 2nd side is usually the sucky one. Here are 6 of the suckier things you need to know about before setting up your small business social media.
1. You’re never really in full control. - Be a Scout.
So you’ve spent months perfecting your Facebook fanpage. All of your social media platforms are linked and the update process is now seamless and importantly, it just works. You’ve dropped some good coin on custom profile pictures and “welcome” and “like us” landing pages and within your industry; your page is the most active and is deemed “the standard”. It’s taken a while, but the results are well and truly worth it and you’re now reaping the rewards.
That is, until Facebook decided it no longer wants businesses to use its service.
Now this hasn’t happened, and it might not ever happen, but it could happen. There is nothing stopping Facebook from pulling the pin on Fan Pages, nothing. And the same goes for every other social media platform. You should build your social media presence knowing that in the back of your mind, it could all change tomorrow. Now this shouldn’t mean you put in a half-hearted effort, it just means that if that day comes, be a Scout, be prepared.
2. You’re forced to face up to your mistakes, publically. - Be a Fire fighter.
Social Media is about communication and engagement. It’s about letting your customers sing your praise to anyone and everyone that’s listening but unfortunately, that door swings both ways. Bad comments and bad posts can hurt your business and deleting these things makes matters worse. Be equipped to accept praise, but be a fire fighter and put out those flames. (hey that rhymes!) Too many flames builds an inferno, more than one fire fighter can put out.
3. You need to work a lot. Part 1 - Be a GPS.
Social Media is work. A lot of hard, tedious and sometimes frustrating work and those that say it’s not, probably aren’t doing it properly (or has paid someone else to do it). Being able to write new content, to frequently and regularly update all platforms, and to actively promote and communicate with customers is a full time job in itself, let alone an “additional” task for a business owner. This “extra” work is easily off putting but don’t let it stray you, be like a GPS and stay on track.
4. You need to work a lot. Part 2 – Be a part time Nerd and not a full time meathead.
There are 2 types of hard work.
- There’s hard work like moving a huge pile of 30kgs bricks from the front of the house to the back. By yourself. In the rain. At night.
- And there’s hard work like trying to figure out why after 3 months, your blog’s RSS feed no longer syndicates to the wall of your Facebook Fan page.
I’m a nerd so I’ll take option 2 every time, but if you’re a meathead full time , you’ll need to learn be a nerd part time to handle some of the surprises that await you online. In IT world, 1+1 doesn’t always equal 2.
5. You need eyes in the back of your head. - Be Big Brother.
Delegating Social Media tasks is a great idea, at first. If you go down this route, make sure you keep an extra special eye on the person doing it. Being a more “intimate” form of open communication it can take one wrong post, one wrong reply, or one wrong piece of information to potentially shatter your business so make sure you treat this person with kit gloves. Social Media responsibility is no joke, so don’t give it to the youngest, freshest, prettiest girl in the company thinking she’ll be a Facebook expert, cause chances are, she might not be. Be Big Brother, be everywhere.
6. The past can come back to haunt you. - Be a frying pan
Had a big one on Saturday night? Can’t remember a thing, but can relive it through pictures your friends uploaded on Facebook? Sound like a regular occurrence that’s been happening for a while now? Run your own business and don’t think that your personal and business profiles will cross paths? Think again.
If your personal profile shows you occasionally enjoying the drink, dancing around freely and putting your arms around strange women, that’s quite harmless for your mobile coffee “on the go” business. Whereas if your profile shows you passed out in vomit, making lewd sexual poses with your best mates or at the races betting your savings away, it could deter any would be clients to your Financial Planning business. There’s gonna be accusations!
Whatever your situation by like a frying pan and don’t make anything stick.
So there it is. 6 things you need to know before you launch your small business social media strategy. I hope that it’s opened your eyes a little so that you are a better prepared to face the coming onslaught. Don’t be put off by them, make a better campaign as a result!
dEx - www.gossipism.com.au
“I’m a full time nerd!”
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