Social Media Sites
Facebook Fan Page - Twitter Account for Small Business
Well for those who have not heard, read, seen others or themselves catching up on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, LinkedIn or others, then - please exit the cave. You might say: "Yeah, I'm on social media sites but just for social reasons, not for business reasons..". Think again.
Social media sites are quickly gaining importance with business - big and small - for just about any piece of their business plan.
Some quick stats for those who are still not sensing the urge of the importance of social media for small businesses today.
- There are more than 100 million ACTIVE participants in the U.S. using (reading, acting on, passing on) stuff they come across on social media sites. Globally the number is over 400 million. Facebook is by far the social site with the majority of users; however, twitter and blogs are popular and important in the social media scene.
- Between 200,00 and 300,00 individuals join a social site everyday - from all over the globe.
- A Facebook fact or piece of data released in June: quickest growing group of Facebook users are > 25 years of age.
These facts should tell you something - social media and having a social media site is important if not NECESSARY for today's businesses.
How? And what is the best way to set up a social media site?
Our advice is to take part in the social media scene and look at the blogs of small business in your industry and then take the lead. There is always a better, catchier, new way when it comes to managing a social media site. You have to be committed to keeping up with your blog or adding news to your Facebook page or tweets.
The social media sites are a great way to connect with your current client base, add new "fans" or clients, build your credibility, and in the end increase your sales leads. Facebook fan pages is the page for most businesses to develop. It does not take any programming or special skills. But again, it does take some good photography (glad you know Criddle & Company can offer you good photos of your products or place of business), some good content and constant updates that are "news-worthy".
Criddle and Company will just introduct you to the main social media sites that a small business should use:
- Facebook - again, this is the most popular and the one that isn't going away anytime soon. The global reach and the number of users increases by the minute and more and more businesses have designed some really great fan pages and seen some good results with the social media marketing.
A fan page on Facebook has a lot of competition but with appealing graphics, good content and anything fresh and new or even funny will get your business fan page on top. On top of search engines and on top of consumers minds when they are looking for goods or services that your business offers. The content of a Facebook fan page is public (unless you restrict it or block) which means the search engines are all over your new content. This is good for your business as the higher you rank, the more "fans" or clients who search, read, and act on your site. And in the end, purchase from you. To top it off, if they like what they receive, the work is not simply "they tell one person - they tell one person..." it becomes they tell up to 5,000 people who tell 5,000 people and so on. So, in terms of marketing, Facebook is a must do. - Twitter - another record breaking social media site with updates and numbers of individuals to reach that are beyond belief. Some advice for using Twitter in your business is to first set up an account. The best way to is to use your business name or brand - something people will remember. The majority of people who catch up and use twitter are those on mobile devices. The content is limited on twitter, so make good use of your limited words or phrases. The current limit for Twitter messages is 140 characters. Your twitter account posts your message and the latest, greatest comment is posted first with the history of twits below.
A great asset to use for a company managing their Twitter account is to use the website that Mark O'Neill recommends (markoneill.org) called SocialOomph. This site or Twitter manager allows a business to send "tweets" (your twitter comments or messages) out at a specific time.
This is a great benefit for a small business who wants to measure or see how Twitter or any social media site is helping them. Sending out a "ONE DAY Only Sale" on twitter or sending out "Come in Between 2-4 PM" and specifying a time will really give your business some concrete data on the benefits of social media sites.
Criddle and Company wants you to take this information about the importance of social media sites and start looking at what is out there. There is no right or wrong - but there is good, better and the best! Criddle and Company is here to be the best and we offer you that support. Contact us about social media set-up and even content to keep it on top of the search engines and the users (all 400 million of them) daily search.
