Social Networking Tips
Networking is second nature to many professionals, especially business owners who recognize the value behind a credible network of peers and customers. But the days of attending Chamber of Commerce meetings for networking opportunities are long gone; these days, as I’m sure you already know, nearly everyone networks online. Including an online approach to your business’ internet marketing initiatives is vital in today’s digital world. As social media continues to grow, your business’ website traffic and credibility will become more and more dependent on how well you use social media platforms. So, take a look at a few online networking tips.
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Mark Your Digital Territory
The sooner you begin to build your social media presence, the better. Register your business’ brand and trademarks on all the social media platforms you want to use. Make sure to register even if you aren’t active in the social place yet. Ultimately, the goal is to protect your business’s brand and to ensure that no one else gets a hold of your business name before you do! Unauthorized use of your brand’s name can cause serious damage to your business’ image. For example, on YouTube, another company is using the channel www.youtube.com/McDonaldsto promote their own line of burgers. Learn from this and beat your competitors to the punch. Just visit any social media portal you intend to use in the future and open a user account under your company name.
Ensure a Cohesive Tone
It’s important that you create a social media policy that clearly illustrates how your company’s brand should be represented by its employees and affiliates. This allows multiple employees to manage various social media efforts at once. And importantly, this will allow for everyone to have a similar voice and message. Ultimately, you will want all outlets to have the same look and feel as your company website as well as your other marketing material. For example, in a lot of social platforms like Twitter or YouTube, create a template that can be used across the system. Many more social networking tips to come! Learn more about how you can use Social Media to keep your business up-to-date with today’s evolving digital media technologies.
As internet marketing strategies become more prominent in your business’s overall marketing mix, you’ll soon realize (if not already) that online networking via social media platforms is integral to your company’s visibility.
Convenience is Key
Remember that Internet users are generally very lazy! Use social media marketing to help your customers save two things that are important to most people: time and money. For instance, you can offer exclusive coupons and specials via social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Or you can interact with your customers and allow them to make or cancel appointments via Facebook. (Of course, this means you’ll have to monitor your social platforms very closely!) Other users on Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, will notice the perks you’re offering and will be more compelled to follow your accounts as well. Examples of this are some shops that run competitions through Twitter. They show their special offers on the site and then say that the next person to go to the shop says a secret word, which they tell to their followers, wins something. This not only excites people about your shop but also gets them to your shop just after they hear your new special offers!
Gauge Customer Service
Portals like Twitter, Citysearch and Yelp are invaluable resources that enable you to monitor what customers have to say about your business’s products or services. If the feedback you find is positive, try sending a thank you note or a coupon that they can use on their next visit to your store or on your website. However, if the comments are unsavoury, ensure you take action! However, make sure you take the right course of action. Just because the customer is online and not in front of you the saying “the customer is always right” still applies. It is very important that your re-read every comment you leave because while you are writing a comment it might seem ok but when you re-read it, it seems arrogant or even rude. Back in April 2009, Yelp began allowing business owners to publicly comment on reviews about their businesses and provide additional context around specific reviews. The key lesson here is that replying to your customers’ reviews or comments shows you care about your reputation and are willing to go the extra mile to ensure your customers are happy. And since this is all done publicly, people will take note of your vested interest as a business owner and may give your services a chance at a later date. I’ll be posting my last 2 social networking tips soon! Learn more about how you can use Social Media Networking to keep your business up-to-date.
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