What is the definition of social media? Social media is a pre-sales communication tool to connect to customers & prospective clients. Social media takes many forms such as networking sites like Facebook, blogs such as WordPress and Blogger, videos on YouTube and Vimeo, images on Pinterest and Instagram, social bookmarking such as Tumblr, forums and podcasts. There are many different networking platforms, but the most popular I choose to be active on are (click the link for more information on each site):
These social networks all work differently and have different audiences, but the concept is the same. They are used to reach out and connect to people. When used effectively, social media can remind people that you are there when they have a need for your service or product. Your goal should be to develop relationships and trust with your following. Social media should not be used for hard sales and to push advertising in posts (you can buy advertising for that).
If you shouldn’t push your following to buy from you then what content should you be posting? Social media has an 80/20 rule, where 80% of your posts should be more personal or informational, and 20% business content. There is no hard and fast rule, but you should use a similar guideline and try and strike a balance. You want to share your expertise or knowledge in a helpful way and subtly promote what you are selling. If you know your targeted audience then you will be able to talk about common interests in your niche.
- Images
- News & Facts
- Updates
- Quotes
- Hobbies
- Pets
- Volunteering
- Sports & Entertainment
- Events
- Blog posts
- Specials & Coupons
- Contests (3rd party s/w)
