What is Social Networking and should my Business be part of this?
What is Social Networking and Why Do I need To Be Part of This?
It's simple...because your competition is on Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn. It might have been only three years ago you asked the same questions, "Why do I need a web site?" and now you have a web site and are expanding your business.
Social networking is only a way that offers your vendors and customers to stay in consistent contact with you and your business. Even if you don't update you business Facebook daily, it could make a major difference if you only update it on a weekly basis.
More and more businesses are looking to the business Facebook and twitter accounts the same way they look at Better Business Bureau and Dun & Bradstreet. Only on Facebook and twitter accounts, they can look and see what your business has been doing over the past year, what type of other businesses follow you and what you are writing about.
Customizing your twitter and Facebook accounts will truly separate your business from the rest. Give a unique look and feel, post fun and exciting photos of business events.
If you still have any doubts about this "social networking", let me pose a question to you..."how much would you pay to send your business updates to an existing customer or potential customer and have it post directly to the person's computer or cell phone?" Some might say hundreds per month while others might say thousands, but the truth is, with social networking it's free!
How should I get myself up to speed in Social Networking?
These days, everyone, no matter what kind of business or job you are in, should have a LinkedIn profile, Twitter account and a Facebook page (personal, business or both). The basics are easy----just go to their website, set up your account and fill out the basic profile. Voila-----you’re on the social networks! Once you’ve done that, you can finesse the details for your particular needs. On LinkedIn, you can list not only jobs you’ve had, but organizations you’ve volunteered for. You can join groups with common interests to interact with. You can have your business listed so potential clients and employees will know details about your company. With Facebook, you can have a personal page about yourself and share details about what you have done. When you are in business, that may also include recommendations from clients, info on work you have recently done and even promotional videos. There will be a time when you will want to separate your business life from your social life and that is when you can set up a Facebook Business Fan Page. Many businesses are finding this is a great way to have information for people posted on a daily basis. Restaurants for example, will run “daily specials” on Facebook. What better way to see if your favorite diner is having your favorite meal at a reduced price that day! Major companies will run a promotion on Facebook to give extra help to their sales force. Musical groups use Facebook to promote shows, concerts and their latest music. You name the type of business and you can do a search on Facebook and they will probably be there.
Where does twitter fit in here? Twitter is limited to 140 characters, but that actually forces you to just provide the important parts of your message. There is a lot of info in a tweet like “Sale through this Friday, buy one pair of shoes and get the second half price. Sammy's Shoes, (555) 555-1234. Full shoe repair services too! ´ With only 139 characters, you have promoted your company and told your followers about your weekly deal. Twitter has become the foundation for the food truck movement, with some trucks having thousands of followers, all of whom find out where the trucks are daily through tweets. Then, when Freddie’s Fusion Salad Truck tweets that they will be at the Downtown Mall on Friday at 11AM, their fans can immediately plan to join them at the location. You can give everyone the important news immediately. And don’t forget that the social part is easy---what’s simpler than tweeting “it’s a baby boy” right from the delivery room!
What should I do when I’m ready for more advanced social networking?
Once you’ve mastered the basic sites, the sky is the limit. For a business, the nest step is setting up accounts on YouTube for video and Flickr, Photobucket or some of the other sites for photo sharing. Many businesses, both large and small, have for several years now realized how simple it is to shoot a video to promote a product and service and post it to YouTube. With basic programs like iMovie and Windows Movie Maker, it’s easy to make a video about your business. Just remember, you’re making something to promote your company and its services or products----keep it short and simple. Once you’ve done that and posted it, you can then link it back to your Facebook account and get even more views.
Probably the easiest thing of all is setting up a photo gallery. These days, you don’t even need a camera----just use your cell phone. Most phones with cameras can easily download your pictures, so you can have your assistant do a full “before and after” set of photos of little “Fluffy” getting groomed. Post those to a photo gallery with your company’s name and you are on your way. Once you’ve done it, you can update any time you want, either adding a new album of photos or just leaving it as a master collection. The best part is that you can do this any time you have your phone around. Of course, if you don’t have a camera phone yet, you can pick up an inexpensive digital camera for your business to do the photos with. There are lots of choices for well under $100.00. Again, it is a small investment for good promotion.
Now it’s time to take the next step. There reaches a time where it makes sense to turn to a professional for some help. Many designers now do Facebook Business and Fan pages, creating custom images and sites designed specifically for the dimensions of a Facebook page. If you want your customers to see you are really serious about the way you present your business than you might want to consider having someone take it to the next level for you.
How can I keep up with all of this?
The nice thing about social networking is that you only need to put in as much time doing it as you can afford to. Promoting your business can be as easy as a once a week tweet or a monthly Facebook post. Of course, the key to any type of publicity is consistency so the more often you post or tweet (within reason, of course----no one wants endless tweets about nothing) the more people will remember you and follow you. Again, look at the food trucks as an example---they will send out a tweet about their daily location, one about their daily special and maybe a few about interesting things that day. One major food truck has over 90,000 followers. That’s a lot of people to reach just by posting a 140 character tweet! Sometimes a professional can help you with that too----there are people who specialize in helping build a following. With social networking, a small outlay can often yield large dividends. And you know you are doing well when your followers start retweeting your tweets to their friends-----then you are definitely in the world of free, word of mouth advertising.
Where do I start?
That’s easy-----set up a twitter and Facebook account. You’ll be part of the social network. You’ll also be surprised how many of your friends and business acquaintances say, “I’m glad to see you here!”
It's simple...because your competition is on Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn. It might have been only three years ago you asked the same questions, "Why do I need a web site?" and now you have a web site and are expanding your business.
Social networking is only a way that offers your vendors and customers to stay in consistent contact with you and your business. Even if you don't update you business Facebook daily, it could make a major difference if you only update it on a weekly basis.
More and more businesses are looking to the business Facebook and twitter accounts the same way they look at Better Business Bureau and Dun & Bradstreet. Only on Facebook and twitter accounts, they can look and see what your business has been doing over the past year, what type of other businesses follow you and what you are writing about.
Customizing your twitter and Facebook accounts will truly separate your business from the rest. Give a unique look and feel, post fun and exciting photos of business events.
If you still have any doubts about this "social networking", let me pose a question to you..."how much would you pay to send your business updates to an existing customer or potential customer and have it post directly to the person's computer or cell phone?" Some might say hundreds per month while others might say thousands, but the truth is, with social networking it's free!
How should I get myself up to speed in Social Networking?
These days, everyone, no matter what kind of business or job you are in, should have a LinkedIn profile, Twitter account and a Facebook page (personal, business or both). The basics are easy----just go to their website, set up your account and fill out the basic profile. Voila-----you’re on the social networks! Once you’ve done that, you can finesse the details for your particular needs. On LinkedIn, you can list not only jobs you’ve had, but organizations you’ve volunteered for. You can join groups with common interests to interact with. You can have your business listed so potential clients and employees will know details about your company. With Facebook, you can have a personal page about yourself and share details about what you have done. When you are in business, that may also include recommendations from clients, info on work you have recently done and even promotional videos. There will be a time when you will want to separate your business life from your social life and that is when you can set up a Facebook Business Fan Page. Many businesses are finding this is a great way to have information for people posted on a daily basis. Restaurants for example, will run “daily specials” on Facebook. What better way to see if your favorite diner is having your favorite meal at a reduced price that day! Major companies will run a promotion on Facebook to give extra help to their sales force. Musical groups use Facebook to promote shows, concerts and their latest music. You name the type of business and you can do a search on Facebook and they will probably be there.
Where does twitter fit in here? Twitter is limited to 140 characters, but that actually forces you to just provide the important parts of your message. There is a lot of info in a tweet like “Sale through this Friday, buy one pair of shoes and get the second half price. Sammy's Shoes, (555) 555-1234. Full shoe repair services too! ´ With only 139 characters, you have promoted your company and told your followers about your weekly deal. Twitter has become the foundation for the food truck movement, with some trucks having thousands of followers, all of whom find out where the trucks are daily through tweets. Then, when Freddie’s Fusion Salad Truck tweets that they will be at the Downtown Mall on Friday at 11AM, their fans can immediately plan to join them at the location. You can give everyone the important news immediately. And don’t forget that the social part is easy---what’s simpler than tweeting “it’s a baby boy” right from the delivery room!
What should I do when I’m ready for more advanced social networking?
Once you’ve mastered the basic sites, the sky is the limit. For a business, the nest step is setting up accounts on YouTube for video and Flickr, Photobucket or some of the other sites for photo sharing. Many businesses, both large and small, have for several years now realized how simple it is to shoot a video to promote a product and service and post it to YouTube. With basic programs like iMovie and Windows Movie Maker, it’s easy to make a video about your business. Just remember, you’re making something to promote your company and its services or products----keep it short and simple. Once you’ve done that and posted it, you can then link it back to your Facebook account and get even more views.
Probably the easiest thing of all is setting up a photo gallery. These days, you don’t even need a camera----just use your cell phone. Most phones with cameras can easily download your pictures, so you can have your assistant do a full “before and after” set of photos of little “Fluffy” getting groomed. Post those to a photo gallery with your company’s name and you are on your way. Once you’ve done it, you can update any time you want, either adding a new album of photos or just leaving it as a master collection. The best part is that you can do this any time you have your phone around. Of course, if you don’t have a camera phone yet, you can pick up an inexpensive digital camera for your business to do the photos with. There are lots of choices for well under $100.00. Again, it is a small investment for good promotion.
Now it’s time to take the next step. There reaches a time where it makes sense to turn to a professional for some help. Many designers now do Facebook Business and Fan pages, creating custom images and sites designed specifically for the dimensions of a Facebook page. If you want your customers to see you are really serious about the way you present your business than you might want to consider having someone take it to the next level for you.
How can I keep up with all of this?
The nice thing about social networking is that you only need to put in as much time doing it as you can afford to. Promoting your business can be as easy as a once a week tweet or a monthly Facebook post. Of course, the key to any type of publicity is consistency so the more often you post or tweet (within reason, of course----no one wants endless tweets about nothing) the more people will remember you and follow you. Again, look at the food trucks as an example---they will send out a tweet about their daily location, one about their daily special and maybe a few about interesting things that day. One major food truck has over 90,000 followers. That’s a lot of people to reach just by posting a 140 character tweet! Sometimes a professional can help you with that too----there are people who specialize in helping build a following. With social networking, a small outlay can often yield large dividends. And you know you are doing well when your followers start retweeting your tweets to their friends-----then you are definitely in the world of free, word of mouth advertising.
Where do I start?
That’s easy-----set up a twitter and Facebook account. You’ll be part of the social network. You’ll also be surprised how many of your friends and business acquaintances say, “I’m glad to see you here!”
Ed Simon
WalkInWebStore
4344 Katella Ave
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
B:562-291-6576 F: 562.799.3317
www.walkinwebstore.com
[email protected]
WalkInWebStore
4344 Katella Ave
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
B:562-291-6576 F: 562.799.3317
www.walkinwebstore.com
[email protected]