Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google+… Who has the time for all of these? We do, if you don’t. Champlain Marketing can manage your social media presence for you, to free up your time so you can stay focused on moving your business forward. Even if you’re the do-it-yourself type, we can advise you on what social media channels are right for your business, and which ones are a waste of your time and effort. And that’s the key to social media; Time and Effort.
You’ve probably at least wondered how your business can take advantage of social media. If you also wondered where you’d find the time to learn the mediums and use them, you’re closer to being ready than you might think. Many people don’t think about the time involved in keeping a consistent level of engagement on any given social media platform.
Know your limitations
Consistency is one key to building a meaningful social media presence. When considering Facebook or Twitter, take the time to write out a few posts or tweets before you get started. Ones that are not seasonal or event oriented and ones that can be reused or easily reworded. Having spare material will help you stay consistent even when your schedule says otherwise. Start slow and build as you go. This isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. If you go to fast and burn yourself out, you risk losing the followers you gained along the way. Getting others involved (employees, friends, etc…) to help with the work load is an option, but it can make the style or ‘voice’ of your business inconsistent.
Be nice
Unless it goes against your style or your brand’s message, be nice when you’re representing your business. That doesn’t mean you can’t be funny or risk being offensive. Humor without risk isn’t usually funny. Think before you post and if you can, ask a friend if they think it’s over the line. Be prepared to apologize, but also be ready for ‘trolls’ who are just out to cause grief. Check the profile of the person complaining to help determine their influence and credibility before responding.
Begin to grow
Once you’ve mastered the basics, come up with a plan to incrementally increase your presence and engagement. Depending on your followers, you could try one or two methods of increasing your social media reach. Interact more with your existing base and hope word of mouth and social sharing expand your reach within a tight knit community. You could also target a slightly different demographic that has enough overlap with your existing community to avoid fracturing and diluting your message.
We’ll show you the tools to use and teach you how to use them for yourself, or we can simply do it for you. It’s your time and your money. Champlain Marketing can help you balance the two in a way that will grow your business.