Social media is a powerful tool – for both social and business use. It’s like being in a massive networking event where you can seek out exactly who you want to talk to and get into conversation.
If you’re in business this is excellent news – and most business people understand that social networks offer huge opportunities. The surprising thing is that many of these people don’t know how to make the most of their presence on the various platforms.
These are my 7 tips for creating an online profile that starts building relationships.
- It’s a business tool – so it only works if you use it properly. Get educated about which platform(s) will work best for your business. If you’re selling business to business then LinkedIn is a good place to start; if you’re selling direct to consumers Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram (or all three) are likely to work well for you. This means you do need to know your audience and where they hang out.
- Complete your profile – if there’s no information people tend to assume you’re not active on the platform and don’t waste their time trying to engage you. This is particularly important on LinkedIn where there is quite a lot of material to complete.
- No picture? What are you hiding? A professional headshot is worth its weight in gold – it carries lots of subliminal messages about you. Make sure you look friendly and approachable, are smiling at the camera and are either on a blank background (preferable) or in a professional environment.
- Get involved, get into conversations, join groups, take action and help others. If you are simply in the numbers game counting connections/friends, people will quickly forget you. If you’re a ‘lurker’ it won’t build your relationships with the people you want to get to know.
- Join groups where your target audience – or possibly their suppliers – hang out. Being in a peer group with other people who do the same as you isn’t the best place to find new business!
- Share your knowledge, add value and help people – this will get you a reputation as an expert and an authority in your core area of expertise. The more visible you are the more people will remember you first when they need your kind of help.
- Have a plan of action – assign time to your social media posts and activity and stick to it. Put it into your diary – it doesn’t have to be hours, a regular 15-20 minutes maybe 3 times a week is better than an hour once a month; and you’re more likely to get into the habit if it’s a regular occurrence. Be aware of the distraction factor too – if you’re on Facebook for business learn not to get drawn into your personal account home feed!
These steps will get you ahead of most of your competitors who dabble!
If you need help with your strategy for online marketing – give me a call on 01245 473296.
