Social Media offers incredible opportunities for small businesses. With huge numbers of people using social media networks there is no denying the sales potential that social media can give you. The problem for many small businesses is deciding who is best placed in your business to own your Social Media presence.
Social Media is time consuming and it is often the case that whilst many small business owners start out with enthusiasm, their efforts soon fall by the wayside because the time it takes to post messages and answer prospects. In the early stages there is little sign of reward for your efforts. The key is to be patient and persistent.
Social media options
There are almost 100 different types of social media network. Facebook is by far the most popular with almost one billion users, Twitter and Google+ have 500 million and 400 million users respectively. With around 40% of all social media users connected daily on their smartphones, small businesses cannot ignore the social media revolution.
However, business owners are often faced with the dilemma of finding ways to optimize their marketing strategy without using all their resources. Specialist companies offer social media experts to manage your social media accounts on your behalf, but for the majority of small businesses this is not a cost-effective solution.
So who should manage your accounts?
Customer Services? Sales? Marketing? They all offer distinct advantages when it comes to managing your social media. Customer Services offer great customer care but may not be great at the upsell, whilst Sales may get you more money but expand your customer base. The Marketing specialists will more than likely increase your exposure, but it may not look after your current customers as well as other departments.
So why not allow all of the departments to be involved in social media? The simple fact is that, done well, your social media can be your mouth piece for your current and potential customers; therefore you want all three elements involved.
How to do it
Whilst each department should be involved this doesn’t mean that everyone should have their hands in. Try to set up some sort of a schedule when it comes to updating your account. Laying out a content schedule will allow your teams to put forward their best ideas and get them implemented.
When it comes to day to day management, assign one or two people from each department to the everyday social media management. The idea is that if each department keeps an eye on the account, then any opportunities that arise will be taken. However, if you want one team to focus on your account then it all depends on what you want your account for. Use whatever team that your Social Media strategy is more focused around, for example if your Social Media strategy is based around providing quality customer service, then your Customer Service team should take charge.
Whilst finding the right guys to control your Social Media is a high priority, giving your brand life and a personality is far more important. Your accounts should reflect what your company is about. If you are a very professional organization then keep it that way, re-tweet quality blogs and industry news. However, if your brand is more relaxed, more inclusive, then reflect that in a more personable account.
Using social media to drive sales
To drive sales through social media marketing, you need to be posting messages at regular intervals and the only way small businesses can meet these demands is if everybody chips in using their mobile phones, tablets and PC´s. Although there could be issues over password security for medium-sized businesses and above, small businesses shouldn´t encounter the same problems, and passwords can easily be changed when somebody leaves the firm.
Get to know your followers
Not only should small businesses owners be encouraging their staff to get involved, you can also appeal to your followers. Run competitions that relates to your business in some way. If you offer a reward then more people will be willing to join in thus increasing your brand awareness amongst the friends of your followers.
Of course, you do not have to limit yourself to Facebook. Of the dozens of social media networks there are specialized platforms for specific business types. Four square for example is ideal for restaurants whereas travel related businesses should be on TripAdvisor. If you can offers discounts with coupons sign up with Groupon.
There are plenty of opportunities for small businesses to make profits from social media marketing and with a carefully planned strategy and a team mentally using social media networks to help grow your business is manageable.
