MightyRecruiter8 Social Media Secrets for Small Business
If you run a small business, it might feel like the large corporations always have a leg up. There is one place where small businesses are on top of the pyramid, however: social media! Most large companies do have some sort of social media, but not many of them are very engaging. CEOs of big business simply don’t have the time or just don’t realize the importance of social media. That’s where you come in! With a few social media secrets for small business, you will be able to engage potential clients and employees and probably be able to bring in bigger profits along the way.
Forget the Fax Machine
When is the last time you receive an unexpected fax Probably not for quite a while, if ever, which brings you to the first and possibly most important of the social media secrets for small business. Stop advertising your fax number in your emails! All it is doing is taking up valuable Internet real estate. Replace it with links to your Facebook, Twitter and any other social media accounts you use. This shows potential clients and employees that you keep up with trends and know what you’re doing in the social media world.
That is Not a Pound Sign
If you have ever referred to that little crosshatched symbol as a pound sign around teenagers, they probably looked at you like you had two heads. Everybody knows that’s a hashtag. One of the better social media secrets for small business, hashtags are any word or phrase with the “#” symbol before it. These clickable links, popular on both Twitter and Facebook, direct you to entire conversations about the topic at hand. Be sure you understand the meaning of the hashtag before jumping into the conversation, though. Sometimes abbreviations can be deceiving!
Create a Dialogue
Now that you know what a hashtag is, you need to know how to use it properly. It’s not enough to create a tweet talking about your products and using a hashtag in hopes that someone searches for them. Nobody wants to read a “monologue.” Use your hashtags to ask questions and get involved with the people you hope to bring on as clients or employees.
Measure Your ROI
None of these social media secrets for small business will matter if you don’t know how to gauge their effectiveness. Facebook and YouTube provide return on investment (ROI) metrics for you at no charge. Twitter doesn’t offer analytics itself, but a quick Google search will pull up plenty of free options to help you analyze your account.
Don’t Be Overwhelming
You don’t need to post a hundred times a day to make a difference. Gauge when your followers are most active and post around those times. Usually once in the morning and once in the evening is enough. You’ll get your message out without looking like spam.
Mix Your Media
Text gets boring after a while, which is why mixed media is one of the great social media secrets for small business. Use PDFs, infographics, videos and other types of media to engage your audience. You can shorten their URLs using a free website such as Bit.ly.
Set Up Google Alerts
Think of Google Alerts as a personal assistant that lets you know about the important happenings of your day. Research some keywords that pertain to your industry and set up Google Alerts to let you know when they pop up in blogs or on news websites. You can send the information right to your email in real time, so you’ll be in the know and able to create conversations based around the trending topic.
Email Still Plays a Role
Email is still important despite these social media secrets for small business. Use it for one-on-one communication and to ensure your most important messages reach their respective audiences. A follower might miss a tweet you want them to notice, but they are much less likely to miss an email. Use Mail Chimp or another free email marketing service to help you distribute a regular email newsletter.
Social media has been around in one form or another for more than a decade now, and it doesn’t look to be going anywhere anytime soon. If you truly want your small business to succeed, be sure to incorporate these social media secrets for small business into your marketing plans. If you are interested in learning more about how to use social media to grow your brands, check out Mighty Recruiter for informative articles and useful tools.