Everyone and their mom has a Facebook account these days. And Twitter isn’t far behind. Then you have YouTube videos popping up left and right that go viral and get seen by millions of people. And here you are, a small to mid-sized business owner, wondering how you can harness the potential you see. Is it possible that such Social Media outlets can be used to expand your business.
You bet. But you have to know how.
Understand What Social Media is Good For
So what’s the point of social media? Do you just go create a bunch of profiles and use them to talk to people? Well, not exactly. If you do that, what you’ll probably find is you have a Facebook Fan Page with no fans and a Twitter page with no followers.
The idea behind social media is sharing. And what are you sharing? Content. Ah, it always seems to come back to this, doesn’t it?
You need to have quality content that other people will want to see. If you are putting this content out there, people are going to take notice. And not only will they take notice, but they will share with other people. The next thing you know, there’s a snowball effect and more and more people will come to you for the content they’re longing for. See where I’m going with this?
What Kind of Content Are We Talking About?
Well, first of all there are the original blog articles that you should be producing. Make sure they aren’t a bunch of rehashed drivel. Each article needs to be fresh and unique—you know, attack an existing issue from a new angle.
There are also videos. These can be webinars, short commercials—anything people will watch and want to see more of. Webinars, like articles, should provide useful information. Commercials should be original and not scream “BUY BUY BUY!”
And of course, you can also share other people’s content. This is a good way to make friends that are noteworthy in your industry. It also keeps you from having to produce all the shared content yourself.
Social Media—Get with the Times
If you aren’t yet taking advantage of social media, don’t fret. There’s always time. Form a plan and slowly begin to implement it. Just remember, social media is only one piece to the overall marketing puzzle!
About The Author
Brian Waraksa
Brian Waraksa, founder of Raxa Design in Houston, Texas has been in marketing and small business branding since 2002. He writes the Raxa Design blog on issues affecting small business marketing and corporate brands.
Posted on
Mon, November 7, 2011
by Brian Waraksa
filed under