The team at 3twenty have written an informative guest blog for SMEs trying to leverage Social media. Some great Tips:
It’s a great time for SMEs to be up and running with social at this particular moment in time. Why? Because we have access to ‘free’ social platforms, and with a couple of clicks we can post content to our followers on Twitter, fans on Facebook and groups on LinkedIn. The question is – what makes good content for social and how do you get the right balance?
Think about the platform
Firstly, before you go and create a profile on all social media platforms – think about why you’ve chosen that particular platform. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc all have a slightly different objective and some appeal to a particular target audience. Think about what the platform has been created for.
For example, Pinterest is all about images and inspiration. This platform is more suited to aspirational brands, motivational quotes, beautiful clothing and delicious recipes – all of which focus on great images. So if you have a brand that has lots if visual content – then this may be a platform for you.
Also, start with just one or two platforms initially and then expand to more if needed. It’s better to do a great job on a couple of platforms than to do a mediocre job on several.
Have a plan!
Now that you know what channels you’re going to start with, you need to create an editorial plan. This will need to include:
- The platform (Twitter, Facebook etc)
- Day, date and time of post/ tweet
- Media type: image, video, link
- The copy for the post
- Brief outline of the objectives
This should make it easier to manage the platforms as you can create this plan a week, or even a month in advance. You can then use tools such as TweetDeck or Hootsuite to schedule in this content so you don’t have to manually send it out – but remember, social media is about being ‘social’ so make sure you check on your content and respond to people in real-time.
The 80/20 split
This is the most important point. It’s great to have a content plan, but don’t fill it with constant hard sell! Your content needs to educate, entertain or give your fans something of value. Create a good balance that shows your brand personality with the occasional gentle nudge to your products or services. If you can, try and make the product based posts as engaging as possible by asking questions about what people think. You could use the free Froo! Smart Social tool to do this, which will help you share your products from eBay onto social – connecting people straight to your product, and giving them an opportunity to engage.
In a nutshell, if you have a services based business then show off your knowledge and experience with blog posts, industry insights, top tips etc. If you have a products based business then educate people on how to use the product, ask people to send through their UGC (user generated content) of the product and use this as an opportunity for market research.
Engage
You’ve had a decent number of likes and comments – that’s great! Show your appreciation and start a conversation with your community. You’re on a social platform, so use this to it’s full potential. The more you engage with people, the more they will feel appreciated and want to get involved with your conversations.
If you have scheduled content, make sure you go back and check your platforms and engage, engage, engage. So if someone retweets your tweet on Twitter, go back to them and say thanks. Or if someone comments on a LinkedIn post, take a look at what they have to say and start a discussion to demonstrate your knowledge. Don’t ignore your fans as they are your potential customers.
Who are 3Twenty?
3Twenty are a group of social media and online marketing geeks who work as digital marketing consultants for your business – covering social media, email marketing and digital PR. They have the skills and experience to deliver results for both B2B and B2C clients. Client portfolio includes brands such as Chevrolet, make mine Milk, Frankie & Benny’s, Bullring and Halfords to name a few.
For more information visit 3twenty.co.uk or email info@3twenty.co.uk
