Considering using social media to market your business? A few important lessons to keep in mind

If you’re like me, you’ve been curious about this whole social media thing and what use it has other than teenagers and twenty-somethings looking for their next date. Does it really have an meaningful purpose for business? And if so, how do I take advantage of it?

I set out to get some answers and was lucky enough to have a friend of mine that is a social media expert give our team at Everon a lunch-and-learn about the pros, cons, and uses of social media at business.

My high level take-away from the presentation is that social media marketing definitely has some usefulness for small business, but you’ve got to have a strategy, and you have to play by the rules. Here were some key lessons that I took from the presentation that anybody considering social media should keep in mind:

There are three key uses of social media to business:

1. To observe the marketplace
2. To converse with the marketplace
3. To market your products or services

It’s highly recommended that you start with a period of observation before you do anything in terms of conversation and marketing. Take the time to learn where your audience “hangs out” on the web, and what kind of conversations they engage in. This will give you a much better chance of success once you move on to conversation and marketing.

When you do move on to establishing conversations and marketing, there are some rules of engagement when using social media that you MUST be aware of. Tripping up here can mean a lot of bad word-of-mouth for your business.

1. Don’t start out marketing. Give your audience time to hear from you without hearing a pitch; this will build trust.
2. Show personality. Social media is about engaging with people. Pick an employee or two at your company that really represents your company’s values and personality and let them represent your business online.
3. Add value. If you are going to participate, do it consistently and give your audience reason to listen to you.

I think the most important takeaway is that social media is all about people and relationships. Just as your friends and family don’t want to feel like your are giving them a hard sell about your products and services each day, neither do your “friends and family” on your social media networks. Keep that in mind, employ an effective and consistent strategy, and you’ll be in good shape.

Mike Cooch
CEO
Everon Technology Services, LLC

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