10 years ago traditional online marketing techniques, email shots and PR releases ruled the roost, that is, before the advent and complete explosion of social media. Now nearly every corporation, organisation and small to medium sized business has a social media account in one form or another, whether it’s Facebook account, a LinkedIn profile or a Twitter feed.
In a recent editorial published by npower, the UK’s leading gas and electricity supplier, Susan Hallam a well-known marketer and communications guru suggested that although social media may have been just a gimmick at first, it is now a tried and tested marketing technique, with the ability to reach millions of potential customers within minutes.
Some people might argue that the amount of time and effort it takes to coordinate an online social campaign is too much for a SME, but it doesn’t have to be that way - you’re campaign doesn’t have to include an all-singing all-dancing flash animated gimmick, instead all you have to do is communicate!
1) Be open and honest, but remain professional - It may sound simple, but you’ll find that the history of social media is dotted with the odd occurrence of companies being less than honest, or of those trying to take advantage of current situations (re: Habitat). Talk openly on your social space, remain professional at all times and do not mistake rudeness or controversy for being provocative.
2) Make friends – again it seems like a no-brainer, but remember that platforms like Facebook and Twitter weren’t designed so you could sell more of one product, they were designed to connect people together. Make friends and network with people, answer questions, ask questions; in a nutshell be a real interactive person/business not a machine.
3) Be consistently active – using social media is an effective tool, but it take time, it take perseverance and it takes effort. Try to post regularly and be active across your networks. The odd throw away comment here and there won’t be enough to maintain your social space. You need to be consistently active to reap the full benefits.
4) Post other peoples stuff – so you may not want to post information created by your competitors, but that doesn’t mean that you only have to post stuff about yourself or your business. Twenty tweets a day about your company is not the way to make friends or keep people interested. Be diverse, repost work or information from others, as it will help you make contacts and keep things fresh.
5) Keep going – people tend to get obsessed with number of followers, retweets etc. Just because you spend a week or a month at it and get very little, doesn’t mean that you should give up. Rome wasn’t built in a day my friends – stick at it.
Dowload the npower SME Q4 booklet here
