What comes to mind when you think about social media? Is it moody teenagers making duck-faces into their Selfie Sticks, or maybe that one relative who is always posting pictures of her food, or perhaps people who seem to spend all day on Facebook? Maybe your company has avoided a business social media presence altogether because you’re just not sure where to begin. Don’t worry, you’re not alone!
The truth is social media has grown to the point where it’s an effective, simple, and efficient way to reach your customers and prospects because nearly everyone subscribes to it in some form. If you have a small marketing team, it can be intimidating to know where to start. Now that the holiday season is upon us and many people are spending time checking up on their friends and family online, it’s a great time to either launch or enhance your company’s social media presence. We have some tips to help you out:
- Know who your audience is, and where they’re looking. Although young people ages 13-20 are using Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Instagram, businesses and adults of all ages are gravitating toward a simpler mix of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If your company is new to the social media space, start with these three platforms and build your presence there before expanding to others.
- When it comes to posting, keep it short, sweet, and informative. Facebook estimates that over 6.2 billion pieces of content are shared via their site in a single day—how do you make your post stand out? When generating content, less is more! An impactful post can be 3-4 sentences advertising a new product or service, an attention-grabbing picture, and a link to where customers can find out more information.
- Measure and monitor—but not too much! It takes up to a year for even a large company to establish a commanding presence in the social media space. Keep track of things like “likes” and followers, but also understand that the point of social media for telcos is brand awareness, not necessarily having a huge following.
- Stay present and don’t disappear. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, when it comes to posting on social media quantity is sometimes more important than quality. Not every post has to be groundbreaking or advertising something new; keep a steady stream of posts so that when clients visit your Facebook page they see that you are active. For a small telco, posting 2-3 times a week is ideal. Post pictures from around your office, holiday greetings, service announcements, etc. Make sure your clients know they can visit your social media homepage for up-to-date information.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment with trends. Try out a hashtag and encourage your followers to use it. If you’re offering a special deal or promotion, embed that into your hashtag and try to get it to trend (#ABCTelcoHolidayDeals). Humor is another attention-grabbing tool. Memes not only get you noticed, but establish emotional connections with your followers as well. Hey, there’s a reason cats are an internet sensation—people pay attention to them!
Social media doesn’t have to be intimidating. By following a few simple steps, your company can establish a presence, create brand awareness, and build customer loyalty without spending a dime on advertising! At an age when 7 out of 10 people have some sort of social media presence, your company has the ability to reach more customers than ever before just by clicking “share.”