Thought for the day: How are you looking?

What adjectives describe your brand?

What adjectives describe what you stand for?

What adjectives describe your target audience?

What adjectives describe what your products/services do?

Understanding your personality is understanding your target market’s perception of you.

Social Media PART 5: When?

Social Media for small, local businesses is about connecting you to people and organisations that will benefit your business.

So how do you do that, which social media sites should you use,why should you bother, what should you post and when should you be doing it?

When.

The number of posts and frequency of posts will of course depend on your business type and your customer preferences. Based on social media sites’ best practices and different sources of research, the below guide can be used as a starting point for guidance (not gospel!):

Twitter: a tweet has a lifespan of up to two hours, but this can be as short as a few minutes. So up to five tweets a day tends to see a better chance of visibility.

LinkedIn: one post a day on a weekday.

Facebook: one or two posts a day during weekdays. Too many posts can lead to being ‘disliked/unfollowed’.

Google+: Seems to thrive on numerous posts and updates (up to four a day).

Instagram: Start with one a day, but increase as your number of followers increases.

Pinterest: Followers seem to favour multiple posts a day, more than a four a day appears preferable.

Check out this great social media infographic >

Social media.

Plan, be consistent, keep posting, post positive and enjoy it.

Social Media PART 4: What?

Social Media for small, local businesses is about connecting you to people and organisations that will benefit your business.

So how do you do that, which social media sites should you use, why should you bother, what should you post and when should you be doing it?

What.

What you post will represent your business and create an image and impression of you and what you do... so make sure you are creating the right impression and the very best impression.

Plan your posts and when you are going to post them. This will ensure you have a continuous flow of quality, interesting posts and they will not become a rushed, poorly executed or pointless chore. 

Here are some suggestions for posts...

Promoting business 

New products/services

• Images
• Benefits
• When they will be available and how to get them

Premises

• Photos
• Changes
• Special features
• Location map

Staff

• At work
• New employees
• Key team members
• Personal achievements of individuals (outside of work)

Customers

• Industry types
• Individual case studies
• References
• Photos
• Jobs in progress
• Jobs complete
• Products (you sold) in use

Awards and Accreditations

• Details
• What benefits they offer customers
• Image of accreditation logo/certificate (and person who achieved it)
• Image of awards – photos of award/certificate and photos from awards ceremony

Marketing

• New business cards - images
• Brochures – image and link to PDF
• Leaflets – image and link to PDF
• Signs - image
• Van branding - image
• Uniforms – image
• Website – image and link to site
• Social media – links to other social media accounts
• Adverts and PR – images (in press) and link to PDF of advert/PR

Promotions

• Competitions
• Discounts
• Offers
• Sales

Local area

Promote other local businesses

• Businesses you have used
• Businesses you have worked with
• Business people you have just met
• New businesses to the area
• Suppliers
• Customers

Local events

• Business
• Networking
• Social
• Family

Photos of local area

• Beauty
• New
• Funny
• Famous (infamous)

New openings

• Businesses
• Tourist
• Restaurants
• Bars
• Shops

Local News

• Headlines
• Sports
• Feel-good
• Business
• Funny

National/international news

Changes in legislations 

• Summary of legislation and the change
• Impact on customers
• Solutions

Political changes

• Summary of the change
• Impact on customers
• Solutions

Financial changes 

• Summary of the change
• Impact on customers
• Solutions

Changes in marketplace

• Summary of the change
• Impact on customers
• Solutions

New opportunities

• Summary of opportunity
• Benefits for customers

Events

Events you are putting on

• Announce date and event details
• Reminders of upcoming event
• Summary of how event went
• Photos of event

Events your are attending

• Announce date and event details
• Reminders of upcoming event
• Summary of how event went
• Photos of event

Promote interesting/useful events in your area

• Announce date and event details
• Reminders of upcoming event
• Summary of how event went
• Photos of event

A few of my recent clients.

Here are just a few of my recent clients. Click on the arrows to bring up the case study for the work I did for them:

Dolphin Telecoms: A refreshing move forward >

Feel Good Flooring: We got it covered >

The Beeline. Creating a real buzz >

Pro-Fit Energy. Providing the energy to grow >

Little Gems Preschool. Delivering fun, laughter & learning >

Whitehall Livery. Groomed to perfection >

Social Media PART 3: Why?

Social Media for small, local businesses is about connecting you to people and organisations that will benefit your business.

So how do you do that, which social media sites should you use, why should you bother, what should you post and when should you be doing it?

Read 'How?' here >

Read 'Which?' here >

Why.

With almost 40% of internet users following their favourite brands on social media and 30% using social media to research products, a social media presence now plays a significant and key role in business growth.

Here are just some of the reasons you should be on social media:

• Loyalty and trust is greatly increased when people feel they are interacting with you directly
• 1-in-3 people prefer making contact through social media rather than the telephone
• You can reach a larger audience of prospective customers
• It lets people know about your business and makes your business (brand) more recognisable
• You can find out what your customers do and like, so you can target them more effectively
• Direct more people to your website through links etc.
• Increase your search rankings on Google, etc.
• Free advertising and promotion through your posts
• Improve customer service through this preferred means of communication
• Gain feedback on your business products and services
• It’s free!