|
Winning with Social Media
When I attended the fall conference of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Executives last year, I was pleased to meet Marcy Weaver, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at Micronet. Micronet currently provides assistance to 2,000 Chambers and associations, including hosting Seward's ChamberMaster database and sewardne.com website. In the latest issue of The National Chamber Review, Marcy submitted an article on winning with Social Media.
Social media is popular with organizations because it is affordable and easy to manage with a simple internet connection. But why are some businesses more successful with social media than others? Marcy's tips for success have six main considerations.
1) Don't spread yourself too thin. I believe this to be excellent advice. Look at available social media platforms and decide which one or two best fits your business, then commit where you fit. This balances what is referred to in the advertising world as reach and frequency. You need to reach the people interested in your product or service and you need to do it often enough to be effective.
2) Consider spending a little for increased exposure. Sites such as Facebook have started filtering unpaid posts, limiting users that see them. Boosting your post can help you be seen by more of your target market.
3) Create interesting and relevant content for your users. Marcy suggests a one-to-six rule: make six social posts for every post you make about your product or service. My wife uses the example of an in-person social gathering. If someone at a party just walked around trying to sell something to each of the attendees, s/he would likely not be effective in generating any business. However, a little bit of business mingled with genuine conversation about oneself or the community has much more potential to engaging potential customers. Let's face it; people do business with people they like. Social media is your chance to get people in your target market to like you and your business.
4) Not all content has to be original. It is estimated that nearly half of noteworthy social media content comes from third party sources. As you search for content to retweet or repost, just vet the information to make sure it comes from a reputable source and that it is relevant to your base.
5) Involve your customers. Post testimonials from them. Post about their achievements or contributions they have made to the community. It is good for people to see that businesspeople and customers like each other.
6) When Possible, use video to tell your story. Trends show that photos are half as likely to be seen as a video.
Tomorrow, Resa will be attending an online workshop on Social Media to help us stay on top of the latest trends. If you feel that you need a little help starting or recharging your social media presence, plan on attending next week's membership luncheon. We'll be happy to answer your questions related to social media. We'll also be talking about online issues and resources available to you through ChamberMaster and the sewardne.com website. Cost is $10 payable at the door and lunch includes a hamburger bar catered by Sam & Louie's.
Please RSVP to the Chamber by Friday, May 8th. 402.643.4189 or sewcham@sewardne.com
| 
