MightyRecruiterBusiness and Social Media: Successes and Failures
Social media is a phenomenon that keeps creating phenomena. Many young social media stars are making a living creating social media content and businesses are wising up. Many companies are already using social media as a new means of branding and reaching a massive audience. However, while business and social media go together like peanut butter and jelly, cracking the social media code can seem impossible. How are you going to dedicate enough time to cultivating an engaging social media presence and still manage a successful business First, you’ll need to make a few key choices.
One Party, One Content Type
Transport yourself mentally back to your younger days of gallivanting around the city looking for the best soiree the night can offer. You’re on that one street with all the bars and hangouts and the lines are curving around the buildings. It’s clear from the start you only have time to wait in one line or else you’ll spend your night outside in the cold. What party you are going to choose
Take the same approach to your business and social media. Yes, you will most certainly miss out on the benefits of others platforms if you only choose one, but every platform has it’s own nuances as far as trends and culture. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much content creation responsibility. Pick one medium you think you can really excel in and that is relevant to your business. Come back to the others later and choose one:
-Blogging
-Webinars
-Short videos (under 30 seconds)
-Podcasts
-Tutorials, etc.
Enjoy Your Hangout Spots
For your business and social media strategy, take stock of all the social media platforms that are relevant to your business. While some platforms have thriving professional cultures, others are more focused on personal connections and networks. Consider the following questions:
-What is most relevant to your niche and consumer base
-Where does your industry already have a strong presence
-What platforms do you enjoy the most
If you select a platform professional in your industry already in use, you can piggyback off of the existing audience base instead of having to start from scratch. Also, if you don’t enjoy the atmosphere or culture of a particular site, you’ll be far less motivated to cultivate a presence in that medium.
Understanding social media requires more than researching posting guidelines. Predicting and anticipating trends is often intuitive, so the more naturally in touch you are with a type of social media, the easier it will be to use it effectively in the beginning. Choose two major (or minor) social media sites to engage with such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. Here, you can post your content and start interacting with your audience.
Skip These Mistakes to Save Valuable Time
Business and social media strategies have been around long enough that you can easily avoid newbie mistakes thanks to the wisdom of people who’ve been there and done all of that. Don’t waste your time with these easy to avoid errors:
-Not sponsoring, creating or curating content: Don’t just throw some words and images together and expect it to go viral. While that has worked for some social media stars, successfully pulling off that tactic is like winning the lottery. To create trust and authority, create focused and relevant content.
-Focusing only on your service or product: Your audience already knows that you want to sell something, but ultimately, they are buying your brand. Create content that draws in the reader with a narrative instead of just asking them to ïbuy’ or ïfollow.’
-Being inconsistent: Make a posting schedule and stick to it like it’s your job, because it is your job. Your audience checks social media regularly and they expect to see something new on a consistent basis.
The Most Disappointing Big Secret of Them All
Are you ready for the business and social media secret to rule them all Great, because there isn’t one. The strategy that works for your company probably won’t work for any other enterprise and it will have many different components. Finding your momentum can be the hardest part and while some social media experts can consistently muster thousands of followers to new accounts, they’ll be the first to tell you that their rules are really just flexible guidelines, if that.
Social media can certainly help you grow your business and reach a wide audience, but don’t get overwhelmed trying to cater to every platform and type of content. Pick one type of content and two platforms so you can focus on creating an effective online presence.