Some Fun Social Media Statistics [INFOGRAPHIC]
Ever wonder just how big the social media world really is? The infographic below details just that. Hard to believe so many people are in one virtual place…
4 Social Media Strategies Businesses Should Be Employing
What are some social media strategies you can use when getting started?
One of the biggest mistakes many businesses make when starting a social media campaign is doing so without any viable social media strategies in place. There is much more to social media than simply sending out tweets and posting to Facebook every now and then. Social media is an investment of both time and money (that’s right – social media isn’t free). Below are a few social media strategies businesses should be taking advantage of or at least considering when deciding to expand into social media.
1. Successful Social Media Is Not ‘Free’
As we noted above, using social media is not free. Of course, signing up for a social network such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or LinkedIn is free of charge, but managing these networks and driving business as a result of this activity will take investments of both manpower and capital. This is why the implementation of thoughtful social media strategies is an integral part to their success. You are going to need to know what your goals are, the appropriate channels to take advantage of, appropriate amounts of investment (e.g. activities such as Facebook Ads) and what metrics you wil be looking at in order to generate the highest return from your social media efforts. So while jumping onto a network might be free, getting the most out of it, like anything in business, is going to take a serious investment and commitment.
2. You Are Not the Center of Attention
Social media is about one thing and one thing only: being social. So, what will be the result of endless self-promotion on social networks? You’ll find your accounts on the island of abandoned brands. This is the last place a business wants to be, because it means that all of that investment we mentioned in 1 will be wasted. So how do you avoid this? Focus on others. Social media is about engaging with an audience. Tout yourself as an expert not by simply stating it in a tweet or post, but by helping others with their questions or issues. Do you know everything there is to know about web design? Well, instead of simply repeating that throughout the day hoping someone will call you, give tips, lessons, webinars or answer questions for people when they come up. This is a surefire way to generate business from the leads you find all over the social web.
3. The Customer Is Not the Only One in the Customer Experience Anymore
The customer experience now includes the entire network on which that experience took place. So when a customer announces that they hate your brand and product and will never buy from you again, use it as an opportunity. What? That’s right. Over 70% of customers who leave a brand do so because of poor customer service. However, a positive experience with a brand will result in that customer telling an average of 42 other people about it. On social networks, that number can be much higher. Don’t focus only on the good and try to hide the bad. The bad is what can help build your customer loyalty. Social offers an entirely new means of retaining clients, and the best way to do that is to take on poor customer experiences head on.
4. 10 Million Followers Does Not Equal 10 Million Sales
It’s a lot of fun to see your follower count grow, and it may be a point of pride to tell your friends that your brand has 2 million ‘Likes’ on Facebook, but how many of those followers or fans convert into sales? While a fan-base is a metric that should be looked at and evaluated over the course of a program, it is certainly not the most important metric one should focus on. After all, what good is having ten thousand guests at your party if you’re sitting alone in the corner because you don’t know anyone? A focal point for growing your fan-base should be specificity. Follow people who would be interested in what you have to say. Garner ‘Likes’ from people who are interested in your message. At the end of the day, you may not have as many Twitter followers as Lady Gaga, but you’re followers will be more likely to open a dialogue with you and possibly be converted into clients than millions of nameless faces.
Building up a social media program can take time, money and tremendous efforts, but if done correctly, it can easily be the most successful pillar of your business in terms of customer service and driving sales. What other strategies do you think would be helpful for a business? Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter!
Are Social Media Strategies Important for Small Business?
What value do social media strategies bring to a small or local business?
For some, this may not seem like a puzzling issue. Early adopters of social media strategies would argue that any business, large or small, needs social media strategies in place in order to be competitive. But early adopters are still a minority, and there are plenty of small businesses that are still looking at social media as an added cost that may be difficult to measure. The majority of people still think that social media is confined to Twitter and Facebook, and may have little value for a business, again, large or small. So where exactly does the value of social media strategies lie for small business? Below are three areas in which social media gives small businesses an edge that their competition might not have.
1. Establish yourself as an expert both at home and away.
Social media provides a previously unexplored avenue for individuals and businesses that allows them to establish themselves as experts at a much faster rate and across a much wider audience. Take, for example, a local mechanic who specializes in European cars. Sure, people in town may know he the best when it comes to their import, and word of mouth helps his business, but there is a ceiling to how much business he can produce with a finite clientele. Enter social media, or, word of mouse. If the mechanic can establish himself as one of the foremost experts when it comes to repairing imported cars in the social world, previously unexplored avenues open up to him that would have otherwise been ignored.
2. Offer unique incentives to your social media audience.
One common concern when it comes to implementing social media strategies, particularly for small businesses, is the perceived difficulty with measuring the return from a program. While there are a number of ways to measure social media success, none is easier than creating promotions and offers exclusive to your social clientele. this both incentivizes your followers and friends on social networks to become active clients, and allows you to see how successful your social media strategies are by measuring the return on a campaign.
3. Engage with leads and customers in an entirely new way.
One issue customers must deal with when it comes to purchasing a product or service is the impersonal touch that comes with big brand customer service. Social media for small business allows one to engage on a one-on-one level and make any lead or customer feel like they are the most important facet of the company. (After all, customers are what make a company successful.) Social engagement changes the concept of customer service. No longer must a customer type a dozen numbers into a keypad before speaking to a call center representative. Using social media, small business can address client issues immediately and, more importantly, show the world their high-quality customer care, which in turn will translate into more customers.
These three points are essential when it comes to developing social media strategies for small businesses, and they show just how important social media is for any business – big, small, local or international. What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below or tell us on Twitter!
Social Media Strategies Can Drive Revenue [INFOGRAPHIC]
Where is the value in social media strategies?
Like most companies, you’ve probably wondered how social media strategies might produce revenues and a noticeable return on your investment. This infographic from EventBrite details, in dollars, what social media is worth for your business:
Welcome to t2Social!
Thank you for visiting t2Social – your home for for industry-leading social media strategies and social media management.
At t2Social, our goal when constructing social media programs for our clients is to develop the most effective, engaging social media strategies for a brand or business, and put that strategy into action in order to achieve the highest possible returns from social and convert leads into customers at a much higher rate than conventional marketing. our focus is four-fold: acquire, cultivate, grow and profit. We strongly believe that social media provides a virtually endless pool of new leads, and we work closely with our clients to access this reservoir and take advantage of all that social media has to offer for business.
We encourage you to visit our Social Media and Solutions pages to find out more about how exactly we go about formulating a social media strategy for success, and please contact us with any questions you might have about our programs.
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