AVOID SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

An Idea Fraught with Peril!

So after a half century success, you’d think that AC Glass would be a household name. Bill tells a different story. “The same people don’t have a need for glass repair or replacement on a predictable schedule. Often, years may go by before the need arises. And we are not always on the tip of the tongue when a need arises so I may be missing out on repeat business.”

Be Visible & Memorable

The problem: How to stay at the top of the vendor list when a buying decision is to be made or a referral opportunity surfaces. One answer (yes, at the risk of sounding self-serving) is regularly scheduled e-newsletters that deliver information perceived as valuable by the reading audience.  Click here to read our PDF about the need for a Monthly Newsletter

Dave is regarded by many as the foremost expert on weaving social media into the marketing fabric of businesses, professional practices and not-for-profits. Here is a summary of our conversation.

The most important media at any point in time is what people are currently paying attention to. Historically, you can point to flyers, posters, newspapers and other print forms of communication. That was followed by, and often replaced by radio and TV. In this digital age, social media is the platform of choice with an emphasis on delivery via mobile devices.

Social media marketing is to engage customers, prospects and referral sources on interactive media platforms, notably LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and others. The payoff is a free flow of media and content that may be a two-way communication vehicle or shared with literally hundreds of people who may find the information valuable. Articles, blogs and curated pieces may be repurposed to a variety of media, e.g. LinkedIn/Facebook groups as well as the publisher’s website.

The objective is to position you and your company as a thought leader and industry expert. Dave refers to this as being accepted as an “influencer”.  Invest 3 minutes to learn more by watching this video.

Those of you that like to quantify the effect of marketing exposure will find a couple of statistics shared by Saunders of interest:

• The average American spends 47.1% of the day on digital devices – increasingly mobile.
• Fortune 2,500 companies now allocate 60% of their marketing and advertising budgets to digital. That’s double their allocation of just 5 years ago. Small and mid-size businesses, take notice!

Dave offers some specifics on determining the ideal media for both B2B and B2C enterprises. He speaks of the 3 key channels for each as the “Holy Trinity” – attention-getting and descriptive.

Business to Business Entities (B2B)

For this category, the “Holy Trinity” is deemed to be LinkedIn (the Father), Facebook (The Son) and Twitter (The Holy Ghost – cause no one understands the concept). In the case of Facebook, the average time spent by visitors is 34 minutes! That surpasses time spent on Google and outpaces the alternatives 10:1.

Business to Consumers Entities (B2C)

In order, the “Holy Trinity” is Facebook, Twitter and fast-gaining traction Instagram. B2C marketers must show visual physical evidence through pictures and videos that demonstrate the use and value of the product or service.

What to Do … and Not

We asked Dave what are the rules of the road in using social media. Not surprisingly, the key is to do what Mom and Dad taught you to do. Be courteous and respectful of your audience. In that sense, online networking runs parallel to what you would do in-person.

Deliver content that is fun, engaging and interesting to the viewers. A good formula is to provide 50% “we content” and 50% “them content”. In other words it’s not all about you and your products or services. Perceived value is the order of the day.

For sure, keep your content to company oriented and not what you might post personally on your individual social media page. And hopefully it goes without saying, no content that refers to sex, drugs, politics or religion.

The Trends

Consider your audience when determining your social media content. It is not a one-size-fits-all judgment. For example, Boomers and Gen Xers will read content that is perceived to be valuable. In contrast, Millennials prefer pictures and videos, in Dave’s words, “As they experienced on their mother’s ‘laptop’.

The major trend is to provide rich media content that includes visuals such as videos, graphics, slide shows and motion. Of course all packaged for mobile access.

So back to Bill Thurston … and how to stay top-of-mind when a need for glass solutions or a referral opportunity surfaces. Hope the above is of help, Bill, and to all of you as well.