People often ask me, “How much time do I need to spend on social media?”
And it’s never a simple answer. Before getting started on social media platforms, first ask yourself these key questions.
• Realistically, how much time CAN you spend on social media for your business?
• How much time are you willing to spend on social media for your business?
• Who will be engaging your online community? Will you have a designated community manager, or will you be doing it yourself?
• Are you familiar with popular social media platforms?
• Are your customers using social media? Which platforms are they using?
• What do you want to get out of social media for your business?
For small business owners who don’t have the time or resources to have a dedicated team bolstering their online communities, I say, do what you can. But be realistic. If you can’t spend at least 15 minutes on your social network(s) per day, you probably shouldn’t even have a presence. Period.
Like with any business endeavor, you have to be willing to invest a little bit of your time and money to get a positive result. The same stands for social media for business.
The whole idea behind creating a brand presence is to engage users for your business. And if you can’t dedicate the time to do that, you really don’t belong on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, etc.
The fact is that social media management, or community management as marketers more frequently call it nowadays, takes time and dedication. And it takes a certain amount of knowledge about how social networks work and how users actually use them. It is not the easiest thing in the world to do.
Business Benefits of Social Media
I don’t want to scare you away from using social media as a marketing tool for your business. People enjoy social media because it’s fun. And the benefits of social media for brands are endless, really. But here are my favorite benefits for small, local businesses, if they use social media well.
• ROI: Your brand will still be around in five years. (Socialnomics.net)
• Create and increase brand recognition, awareness.
• Increase customer loyalty.
• Get meaningful feedback.
• Communicate rapidly.
• Gain new customers via word of mouth.
But in order to gain these benefits, you must first commit to social media.
Repeat after me:
I (state your name) solemnly swear that if I create a Facebook page/Twitter handle/YouTube Channel/Google+ page/(ENTER social network here), I will check it at least once a day and post a mix of rich content for my community to share. If this means that I need my smart phone on me at all times to post content for my customers, friends and community, then so be it. I will post content regularly, but not too frequently. I will not post sales pitches and expect to gain anything. I will strive to remember that social media for businesses is about relationships, connections and community. Over time, I will build connections that will help increase my brand’s visibility. And above all: I will have fun.
That felt good, didn’t it? Now repeat that to yourself, every time you feel like you’re in over your head or that you don’t know what you’re doing.
For more tips on social media for business, please contact me at whitney@verdinvision.com or call (805) 541-9005.
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