This message is for those of you out there who would rather spend time on almost any aspect of your business except for your social media feeds and online presence. It is perfectly understandable that you already feel you have put a lot of time in, after creating your website and listing your business on websites like Yelp and Google, because you have put a lot of time in! But in order to turn your online presence into a marketing machine, you have to grease the wheels on a regular basis. Here are six strategies to keep in mind when you are maintaining your internet image:
1. Schedule Your Posts In Batches
It’s important to provide fresh content (in the form of messages, photos, videos, anything you can post in order to promote yourself as an expert and your business as a whole) on a regular basis. But sitting down on a regular basis (every other day, let’s say) can seem like too much, especially if you sit down to create a post and you don’t know what to say. Put all of that creative thinking time into one session every other week or so, creating several unique messages or posts during each session, and then sign on to an application like HootSuite or Buffer, where you can log the posts and schedule them to be posted on various social media sites (like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) at specific times.
2. Love The Haters
If you’re the recipient of any negative comments on any of your online media outlets, take a moment to cool down and then respond to the message with courtesy and kindness, offering an individual solution to the problem. Mention that it is your goal to provide excellent customer service and encourage the customer to contact you directly. Your response may be visible for a long time after the initial dispute, so remember that future customers will have access to this information. Demonstrate sincerity in your attempts to make the situation better and let your words show your respect for the customer, so that others know you are respectful. Take the high road!
3. Don’t Be Camera Shy
The best person to speak about your business or area of expertise is YOU. And it is so easy to make good-quality videos with your smartphone that you might be surprised how fast and fun it is to create a video message and post it on YouTube. (And then it’s a great idea to post on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to give everyone the link and let them know about the video!)
4. Honesty Is The Best Policy
Integrity resonates and everyone recognizes it when they experience it. Be honest about yourself, your company, and your products. The old standby is still the best rule: underpromise and overdeliver and your customers will always have glowing things to say about you!
5. ‘Done’ Is Better Than ‘Perfect’
Go for completion, not perfection. Resist the urge to nit-pick every message you send out – don’t kill the spontaneity by dithering over your wording until you don’t even know what you’re trying to say anymore. If you send the message around your whole office, waiting to get everyone’s approval, it may never get done and be posted. Just make sure your message is respectful and be yourself, and then put it out there!
6. Hack The Attention
Use hashtags in your posts to creatively attract attention from people who are a little outside your target audience, because you’re trying to bring more people in. Think of the groups of people who might benefit from your information or use your products and include those hashtags with your messages. Think way outside the box – include hashtags for any group or interest who could benefit from your services.
The goal of your social media and internet activity is to create a big niche for your business on the internet and then to keep that niche filled with new and interesting information, to keep driving new customers to your door. Keep putting yourself out there and you will receive the attention you are looking for!
