One of the biggest worries that small business owners have in the 21st century is not actually whether they have the right image, suit, or even the right phone (which makes all the right noises on a tube train) but their social media network presence. So here’s how to use Facebook marketing tips so you can sit back while they do the work for you!
Did you know, that more people consider their social media profiles more important that their real one – the real one, is, of course, the one when you look in the mirror? The next time you hook up with your pals at the weekend, do a little experiment – look at their social media profiles on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter and any other site they might be registered on that you know about (don’t become too much of a detective here, you’re not stalking them!) And view it objectively. Look at the photo, what do they say about themselves> Look at the interaction they are engaged with, their blog and all the other pages that they use to symbolise themselves as a figure in business.
Social-media marketing is a constantly evolving beast – one that spawns new creatures under the same name, none of which can be conquered using the same weapon or battle strategy. What works on Twitter does not necessarily work for LinkedIn or …
Now, don’t worry if your friends are not high flying merchant bankers or stock brokers, in fact, this experiment is better on someone who has a craft business or similar. In fact, it’s dynamite for small business marketing. Write down what you see. So, when you rock up the pub or the café at the weekend for your weekly natter, take a look at who greets you when you see them. Do they shape up or dull themselves down face to face or over the net? It is surprising how many you will know who, to be honest, you probably wouldn’t recognise if come across them unknowingly on line.
Now, this is far from saying that everyone in business on the net is a liar liar – far from it! All this is doing is pointing out the way we portray ourselves over the net, is usually very different from the person we are in real life.
Six Facebook Marketing Tips from the Pros via @smexaminer http://t.co/F9qrAubQAr
It is easy to do, trust me, I have had plenty of people stop me at vintage fairs and say, ‘oh my goodness! You are not what I expected!’ Once you get one of those lines, you will begin to wonder who you really are! If it’s getting you recognition as a successful small business then great, read no further, however, if it’s not what you want people to see, then think again and look a bit deeper into the posts that you post on the net. That’s what comes with a lack of good Facebook marketing.
Sites like Etsy, Amazon and eBay have made it easier than ever to open an online store and jump on the e-commerce bandwagon. This is both a blessing and a curse for aspiring entrepreneurs.
So what do you do? Apart from think like your customer, try to imagine their language. It sounds odd, but if you are marketing to 17-25 year olds, being your niche market, you are going to curb your ‘speech’ to a clear language they understand. A good place to start is by watching how your market talk to each other on Twitter. As Twitter is open to the world, many people have open conversations with each other on such places. As far as digital trends go Tumblr is another good place to go too and see how people interact with each other. The same is said again if your market is older, or even old still. Your language to these groups is going to be very different again. Please don’t think about ‘street talk’ if your market is middle aged! They probably won’t know what you’re talking about!
Final Word:
Over all, people love you to do your market research. People are flattered when they can see you have gone to the trouble of learning about your customer. They are more likely to buy from you, and to top that – they are more likely to like you! And we all know about customers liking you – they buy from you! A big small business tick!