Social Media: Life After Starting An Account

 

So I made all these social media accounts and pages for my business, what do I do now?

First things first, once you create your accounts you need to make sure that you completely fill out the profiles.  Doing this provides a more professional appearance for your business and how its represented on social media.  Think about it, if someone finds your business on Facebook, wouldn’t it be more convenient if they had access to your phone number, address, and website from your “about” page instead of having to hunt it down elsewhere?

How do I get more likes and followers?

The last thing you want to do is beg for people to like your Facebook page or follow you on Twitter.  This makes your business come off desperate and unprofessional.  Instead focus on share worthy content that encourages your current market to want to pass on your page as being the place to get information.  If you have a blog that your company regularly updates, share the most recent post.  Find trustworthy content on the internet to share, give credit to the author who provided the content.  Building a circle of trust with your online community (followers and other pages you share) will keep your name out there and move you up the social media ladder.

How do I find content?

If you run a repair shop then you have a plethora of knowledge at your fingertips.  Your technicians may have suggestions for the different customers (on-road and off-road) and what they want to check before they ride for the first time each season.  Look at different online publications such as http://www.cycleworld.com or http://www.ridermagazine.com for content that may be interesting to your audience.

Our business got a bad review!  We must delete it!

Although no one likes a bad review being out there for everyone to see, it’s not the end of the world.  There is a way to salvage your reputation from a bad review, namely being transparent in your responses.  You do not want to get defensive with the reviewer, instead clarify their concerns and the situation publicly and ask them to contact you and give you the opportunity to rectify the situation.   Once you come to a resolution: go back to your public venue, let that customer know you appreciate their time and how happy you are that you could reach a resolution that worked for them.  This shows that you not only acknowledge your business isn’t perfect, but also that you’re willing to work with the customer to come to a resolution.  Customer service is key, even in social media!

We just got new units in, time to post them up!

Although you’re there to sell new units and draw in customers to purchase those units, this is not what your social media is for.  Social media is there to attract an audience that sees your business as a place they can trust.  You want to use social media to drive customers to your website so they can learn even more about your business and brand, posting up every single new unit you have in inventory isn’t necessary and can be quite the turn off for your audience.  Instead find alternative ways to encourage customers to visit your website where they can see the units; try posting up a poll involving units you have listed asking your audience which unit they like better.  This will not only encourage interaction from your audience, but it will drive them to look at the units listed on your business website.

I just saw a new social media application, it’s supposed to be the next best thing!

It’s great to learn about the newest applications out there, you never know what is going to take off like Facebook and Twitter, but you don’t want to spread your marketing efforts thin by trying to participate on every single platform that comes out.  Focus your efforts on the main platforms, but go ahead and keep your eye on the new ones coming out, understand how they operate and if they’re beneficial to your business.  You’re right, you never know what is going to gain momentum quickly, but you can’t work off the “what if’s” and try to meet goals for every single app.

So people are sharing my content, I’m getting likes and followers, now where do I go from here?

Now that your brand is picking up on the social media outlets you chose to focus on, you’ll want to take the time for thanking the people who share your posts, interacting those who comment on them, and maintaining your share worthy content.  Just because you met your quantitative goals does not mean that you’re done working on your marketing plan and don’t settle for what has worked in the past, social media is constantly evolving and your business has to evolve with it in order to maintain and grow.