Ok, so your small business is now all over social media. You have a Facebook fan page, a twitter account, a YouTube channel, a LinkedIn profile and you’ve even started blogging. (If you haven’t done any of this don’t worry, I’ll have a solution very soon 
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So now you’re thinking to yourself, “what do I do now?”
“How can I use all of this stuff to get more customers and make money?”
“Which one should I use? When? Why??”
Well, you’ve come to the right blog so here are, the top 10 things you SHOULD do with your small business’s social media:
1. Tell
Tell the world what you’re all about. Tell them about the products you sell and/or the services you provide. Tell them why you’re better than the rest. Use twitter and your Facebook fan page for this and make sure you consistently blog about it also. LinkedIn has a great recommendation system also, so you can get others to tell you, how good you are.
2. Teach
Teach the masses on how to use your products and/or access your services from tip 1! You can even teach your customers on how to sell for you. You can pretty much, teach them almost anything. People naturally want to learn, so you need to be willing to teach. Use your blog for this by getting into some great detail.
3. Show
An extension of tip 2, show your customers / clients your products and/or services. Show them how they work, how they’re built, and how they’re used. If you’re selling a service, show them what you can do (think personal trainer) or even just show yourself. YouTube is the perfect platform for this. You can then share this video through Facebook, twitter and even on your blog. A picture is a thousand words so video is surely a couple million.
4. Help
Nothing builds a more loyal customer than helping them. If they have a problem that you can fix, fix it. Or, if you can’t fix it, but know someone who can, send them to that person. LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are great for this and with practice, it will become as natural as telling someone about your great mechanic during a weekend BBQ.
5. Ask
You rarely get, what you never ask for. So ask. Ask your fans, followers and customers what they want from you. A new product, a different range, longer hours, more support options. It may not be something you can supply or even provide, but it will give some good information about your business and where possible opportunities may lie. Twitter and Facebook are both brilliant for this. Use “ask a question” on your fan page and see what comes back.
6. Talk
Social media has the word “social” in it. So be social! Much like the BBQ example in tip 4, just talk to your fans, followers and customers. Once again, this builds loyalty and trust and if you go about it the right way, you can take secret notes of some of your bigger customers. Gauge their reactions at the weekend football results or about a touring band, and that could be some good information for future decisions. Twitter and Facebook are definitely the winners here.
7. Apologise
We all make mistakes and we hate to admit them. However, social media gives us the opportunity to not only acknowledge these mistakes, but allows us to address what we are doing in order for it not to happen again. It gains just that little bit of respect from people. Do it everywhere you feel is necessary, twitter, Facebook and even LinkedIn. A video apology is over the top, but not unheard of.
8. Announce
Social media gives us a platform to address the world. Unlike your website where people have to visit your page in order to get the good info, social media places the news in front of them. So let everyone know about the new arm to your business, or the new products that you’re now stocking (you took notes from tip 5 yeah?) and it’s all hands on deck with this one. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and your blog should be screaming at the world with each and every significant announcement you make.
9. Surprise
Everyone loves surprises. So every now and then, hold a contest with a valuable prize, throw out some free give-aways and list some “specials”. It’ll keep people coming back time and again. Facebook is perfect the platform for this with applications specifically written for this purpose alone. Wildfire are one of the masters of this.
10. Grow
This is all about you and your small business. Just use social media to grow, and, if done properly, it will. In spades. Use each and every platform available to address as many people as you can. Some people will be only on Facebook, others only twitter, some may just lurk on LinkedIn but by addressing them all on their own turf, you’ll be able to reach them all. And be creative! Don’t just rely on text, throw some videos on YouTube, integrate some podcasts into your blog and most of all, have fun and keep sharing your great content.
So, have I forgotten anything? Most likely. So let me know some of the things that YOU do with your social media, and while your typing, please subscribe to my blog using the nice pink box in the type right, or follow me on Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, basically wherever you’re at. Party’s at your place.
dEx
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