Much of my work in 2013 focused on navigating social media for my small to mid-sized business clients. Previously, I was in a social media role at a large corporation where I was giving dedicated social media budgets and very well defined marketing goals. At the start of this year, I quickly learned that I had to approach social media in a very different way for each one of my small business clients. My key takeaway from 2013 is that social media can succeed without large budgets and major campaigns through some basic principles. As we enter into 2014, here are my top five tips for any small to mid-sized business, with a slight holiday twist!
5 – Good things come in small packages
Companies often get stuck on how many fans and followers they have, and deem their efforts unsuccessful if they don’t have the same number of “likes” as company X. Instead, focus your efforts on quality, not quantity. Creating campaigns and “like” initiatives for the sake of driving numbers can be counterproductive if the community your building doesn’t believe in your product or mission. A small, but loyal, fan base can give you better results.
4 – It’s better to give than receive
Give your audiences the chance to participate in your social media. If you constantly push sales or services, you’ll never see true results from social media. For every post that pushes your product or service, create three that give your fan base something valuable and the chance to participate and give feedback. If you take the time to engage and listen, you’ll gain invaluable knowledge about your brand.
3 – Home for the holidays
When it comes to your company in the digital space, think of your website as home. As much as possible, drive your fans and followers back to your website. Think of your company as the experts in your industry, and use your website to share that expertise. Create a news section or blog where content can live. Going back to the idea of giving – give your potential customers a reason to believe in your product or service. You can do this by creating content that people are already looking for when searching online for your product or service. This regular content on your website will help with your search results and provide great social media content. Here is great success story on this very topic.
2 – Go tell it on the mountain!
If there is one small thing you can do in 2014, it’s think socially! Make sure that your social media URLs are on every piece of collateral you print, and a part of every event you attend or hold as a company. Take offline events and initiatives, and make them digital. Try live tweeting an event, or simply engaging online when your company is at conference or event. You want the right people to know that they can connect with your well past the event, or mailing.
1 – Have a plan.
No one wants to be the person on Christmas Eve frantically searching for the right present. Take the time in the beginning of 2014 to create a plan that sets clear goals for all of your marketing efforts, including social media. Social media is often seen as an afterthought, and tends to be the place where content is just thrown to the wall without really thinking about results. If you don’t set clear goals through a communications or marketing plan, chances are you’ll be frantically searching for results and left wondering if social media was a worthwhile the investment.
