Social media advice Port Macquarie

Social media set up and advice.

So you already have a website but want to raise your profile and attract more opportunities for your business. You find marketing online confusing and overwhelming. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, blogging – so many choices! So what do you really need and when you have it what do you do with it?

Here are Facebooks top social media tips for small business:-
Plan Your Social Media Marketing Strategy. Outline the goals and the steps you will take.

Find Your Customers. With so many social networking platforms available to consumers, it can be difficult to choose a social network for your business to use. Before you randomly log on to Twitter or Facebook to start your small business marketing campaign, research to find out where your customers already congregate online.

Schedule Social Time. Once you become a social resource for customers you have to stick with it and be there on a regular and frequent basis. Using social networks is time consuming. You want to have enough time each day to monitor conversations, converse with customers, and to send out new messages.

Be Authentic and Human. People are more likely to create relationships with other people more so than with businesses. You can encourage customers if you use a "human" voice -- not a corporate presence -- when connecting in social spaces.

Be an Expert. One of the best ways for a small business to interact with customers is to be an expert in social spaces. By joining existing communities where your customers are, you can easily insert yourself into the community by being a voice of expert advice.

Learn to Listen. It's easy to fall into the "broadcast trap" where you spend too much time talking about how great your products are or how fabulous this week's sale is. In a social network you have to stop broadcasting and listen to what your customers have to say. People use social networks to converse, and the best way to build strong a social relationship with acustomer is to be a "friend" who can listen.

Be Social. A small business also needs to demonstrate good conversation skills -- after all responding to people is the best way to show you are listening. The point of a social network is to converse, and customers will get bored very quickly if you don't participate in the social flow. You can demonstrate good listening skills and boost participation by responding directly to questions and comments in a timely fashion. Just like an offline conversation, you should also ask for opinions and direct questions to customers within your social group to make them feel valuable.

Respond Often. Successful social media marketing depends on your own ability torespond to customers in a timely fashion. You want to show customers that you are a "reliable friend," so stay active and participate in all conversations related to your company or area of expertise. If you see new questions or comments, be sure to answer immediately. This is also a great way to "be social" by asking questions back to the customers to keep the conversation going.

Provide Value. You'll find that just your own conversation and participation is not enough to keep a continued interest in your social network, especially if you choose to create your own community instead of joining an existing one. There has to be value in the interaction for people, and you will need to provide the reason for people to stay and participate in your social network. You have converse with customers on a regular basis, but you also need to provide ways for customers to connect and befriend each other to firmly establish your social community as a popular online destination.

And if that is as clear as mud contact us!