Originally published in the January 2013
Sweeping: The Journal of Chimney and Venting Technology
"In the long history of humankind those who learned to collaborate
and improvise most effectively have prevailed." -Charles Darwin
Resolution, sticking point, determination, zeal, ardor,
earnestness, resolve, drive, vigor, iron will, tenacity, perseverance,
fortitude, commitment, devotion, compulsion, firmness, dedication…Pick a word,
but they all represent a conscious act; a decision to do something. Sometime
over the past month or so, most of us have likely at least thought about making
our New Year’s resolution. The mere idea of a resolution to kick off the year
as a fresh start is a multi- billion dollar industry. For most people, making the resolution is the easy part;
making the resolution happen tends to
be a little easier said than done.
If 2013 started for you without some resolve to change something
up in your life, I have an idea you are welcome to steal. If you haven’t done so
already, resolve to figure out what the social media buzz is all about and what
it might mean to your business plan this year.
While there are all sorts of different views and stories about
social media out there, clearly it is not a fad that is going to eventually
give way to the good ole days. Last year, consumer giant Proctor & Gamble
announced they were significantly scaling back on their multi-billion dollar
annual ad budget to take advantage of free impressions in the form of “Likes”
and status updates offered by Facebook. Just this past month even the Pope
finally succumbed and jumped into the scene by sending out his first Twitter
message. Since September, CSIA has picked up over 200 new followers on Twitter
and more than 250 new fans on their Facebook page.
Now no one is suggesting that we all abandon the art of the
handshake and face-to-face relationship building in exchange for virtual
networking, but any successful business needs to be prepared to go where the
customer are, and the customers are online in increasing record numbers.
According to Nielsen’s 2012 Social Media Report, total minutes of
mobile app usage have increased 120%. The greatest growth, while still dwarfed
by social medial giants Facebook and Twitter, has been with Pinterest, Tumblr
and Google+. Pinterest saw a 1047 percent (yes, that’s thousand) increase in
unique visitors in 2012. PC users spent more than two billion minutes on
Tumblr, growing that network by 55 percent. Google+ enjoyed an 80 percent
increase in unique visitors as they reached 500 million users.
This past October, email marketing firm Vertical Response
conducted a survey of small businesses across the country and found that 43% of
them spend at least six hours a week on social media, with seven percent
spending over 21 hours a week on Facebook and Twitter alone. According to that
same survey two-thirds of small businesses report spending more time on social
media than they did the previous year having realized the need and value of
social media marketing.
For many, while they don’t argue the impact of this ever growing
virtual marketing monolith, the breadth of it all is overwhelming. Believe me,
there may be a number of things that NCSG has done over the past couple of
years to get us and keep us active in this space, but there are still countless
additional steps that could be taken…many of which we see from our association
counterparts. So knowing we are all in this together, and that we will all
likely be faced with even more social media decisions in 2013, I scoped out
some advice from a variety of sources to see what I could put together for
those wanting to figure all of this out for their business.
Mandy Arnold, president of Gavin Advertising, published a simple,
straight forward list of do’s and don’ts for those trying to determine how to
best reach their real customers in the virtual world. She advises to think
realistically. Don’t expect a windfall immediately, but be sure you’re getting
a decent return on the amount of time you are investing in learning and using a
new marketing and technological platform.
Be visual. When posting information about your
business and services, include pictures and even video to add depth to the
information you are sharing. Photos and video get attention, but remember to
ensure that the images you post are consistent with your business image.
Be authentic. Provide an experience for the
customer that delivers a message they can trust about the personality of your
company rather than just propaganda. You want your social media presence to
build an atmosphere that customers respect and trust rather than just throwing
out a sales pitch.
Be accessible. Provide an opportunity for easy
feedback and interaction. Always include “Like” and “Follow” buttons wherever
possible, making it easy for people to subscribe to your media. If they can’t
do it easily, they won’t do it at all.
Don’t overpost. I can’t begin to tell you the number
of people I have stopped following on Twitter or removed from my Facebook
because they simply post non-stop and I simply had better things to do with my
time than have to decipher which of their posts were important and which were
not.
Watch your language. Social media is public, and what you
have to say and how you have to say it can speak volumes about you and your
company. Certainly this includes the avoidance of foul language and derogatory
comments, but it also includes proofreading what you post before you send it
out. If spelling and grammar are not your strong suits, then find someone who
can proofread for you. Right or wrong, potential customers will make
assumptions about you and your business based on the way you communicate.
The growing social media scene has given small
business owners yet another way to promote their businesses online for
relatively little investment. In fact, time is the most significant cost when
it comes to social media.
As a small business owner, you are busy
running all aspects of your businesses, so you likely don’t have a lot of extra
time to spend on social media. It’s important to have a plan and set goals for
your social media activity, and learn as much as you can about the various
social networks you plan to venture out into so you can reduce the learning
curve and avoid wasting time.
Alyssa Gregory at About.com
provides seven tips for getting started in social media:
·
Pick One Social Media Site to Start. Most small businesses that are active in social media participate
on more than one site, but trying to do too much too fast is not only
overwhelming but it can also prevent you from learning how to effectively use
each site. Choose one site to start with and focus your attention there first
before moving onto others.
·
Create a
Social Media Time Budget. You could easily spend hours each day getting up to
speed on all the popular sites out there. While that may be a good way to learn
the ropes, you may not have the time, energy or interest in putting so much of
yourself into social media. Instead, create a time budget that limits your
social media time to a daily or weekly total that you can fit into your
schedule relatively easily.
·
Clarify Your
Social Media Goals and Objectives. Once you know how much time you will be
spending on social media sites, you will need to make sure you are clear on
your goals. Know what you want to accomplish and what you truly want to get out
of your efforts. Are you interested in generating jobs, finding others in the
industry to network with, establishing yourself as an expert in your market?
·
Outline Your
Approach. There are all sorts of different ways to use social media sites for
business. One way is not necessarily better than another, and no single way is
the right way for everyone. The key is knowing what your intended approach is
before you start. Will you be a communicator, provide an industry-related news
feed, present a mix of business and personal information? Outline your intended
approach and work it into your goals as you get started.
·
Complete
Your Social Media Profiles Consistently. Each of your social media accounts
will include some kind of profile. Profile fields may include a bio, websites,
blogs, location and a picture. Be sure to completely fill out your profile on
any social media sites you use and keep the information relevant and
professional, as well as consistent from site to site. You you’re your
customers recognize you when they find you on multiple sites.
·
Lurk and
Observe. Sometimes the best way to get started on a new social media site is by
signing up and then watching how the relatively experiences people do it. Each
social media site has a very unique set of nuances, and it’s good advice to
spend some time observing and learning the ins and outs before diving in head
first.
·
Use a Social
Media Dashboard. One of the biggest challenges with social media is time
management. There are social media “dashboards” such as HootSuite, TweetDeck
and others that can help you
manage your social media time more effectively. These tools allow you to set up
alerts and notifications, create groups, skim activity quickly, and schedule
updates so you can automate some of the social media process.
This is a lot to absorb, but it
is the face of business in 2013 and it is likely the launching pad for whatever
is next for us all in 2014 and beyond. Be brave and if nothing else, resolve to
have fun with it.
Until next
time, I wish you and yours an enjoyable and prosperous Happy New Year!
-Mark
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