by Noah Yaughn
This post is part of the Top Ten Tips series put on by SCORE. SCORE is a great organization dedicated to setting small business owners up for success. I’m so honored to be part of their board and kicking off the Top Ten Tips series. This is the second post of ten so please start from the beginning otherwise you may get lost.
A quick recap: For something that has only been in existence in the last ten years; social media has gotten a lot of press. It has also grown in complexity as it has gone from a place for friends to get together to something companies develop entire strategies around. This can be quite daunting. When I put these three facts together: young, complex, daunting; it reminds me of a particular time in my life. It’s called high school. So we’re going to have some fun with this by connecting social media with high school.
Nothing gets everyone pumped about a game like cheerleaders. Even when things are going poorly, the cheerleaders charge forward with enthusiasm and unbridled optimism to inform you that your team is indeed the best and the other team is U-G-L-Y and have no alibi.
While it is unnecessary to derogatorily speak of your competition’s looks, it is often necessary to excite and engage your customer base. I think the tips given for brand loyalty could easily fit here too so I’ll be brief on this one.
Get the Word Out
It’s easy for people to share your news on social media. They can usually do it with a single click and the analytics will track the whole things.
Put Out Fires Faster
Fires are going to happen. Someone finds a tentacle in their burger. The “smart” refrigerator you sold refuses to open until the treadmill gives the okay. When these things happen; people will be posting about them. I guarantee you. When every second counts; being able to respond to the emergency on social media immediately can calm people down and restore corporate trust (the tentacle is high in fiber and the refrigerator was just following the doctor’s orders).
Get Ranked
Your customers are online, but so are the experts. Your local media outlets, community bloggers all hold a tremendous amount of respect in your community and they are all on social media. Getting familiar with these guys and engaging with them the way they prefer can give you great exposure. The website’s of these people are usually well-ranked on Google and mentions from them can lead searchers to you meaning more business.
Tip Number Seven:
Socializing with the Public on their terms will help Relations
Next time, we’ll help you figure out what social media vehicle is right for your company.