SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY: GETTING INTERACTIVE ONLINE
So your company has a fantastic looking website. Now what?
These days it isn’t enough just to be on the Internet. It’s all about engaging and interacting with online audiences. Here’s how:
Blogging 101
They’re the cheapest and easiest way to keep your website fresh and interesting and let your customers know what you’re up to.
Free programs and blogging services like Wordpress and Blogger make it easy to get started.
The hard part is figuring out what to write about.
If your business is built around your expertise and knowledge of a specific product or service, write about that subject. Engage people who want to learn more about this topic. This will build an online community around a shared interest.
Offer advice; links to useful websites; and talk about your ideas and perspective on things. Make your blog a must-read for people who want to stay up-to-date on a specific subject. People will realize how well you know your business, and they’ll hire you or buy your product. Some good examples include Whole Foods, Dr. Sharma, and Top Wedding Sites.
If you fix bikes, give readers advice they can use. Sell shoes? Keep people up to date on the latest styles.
Use your blog to give updates on special offers, changes in the business, new hires, or profile work you’re proud of.
It’s also important to update your blog regularly – experts suggest at least two or three times a week.
And here’s some good advice on what not to do.
Make Facebook your friend
Facebook lets you do more than reconnect with old high school buddies: it lets you make new connections with customers.
You can send group emails about specials, offers and events. Post photos to show off the latest product, or pictures from the last event. And your customers will be able to offer you feedback by posting their thoughts on the Fan page. Biz Books and WestJet are good examples. It’s a great way to find out who’s interested in what you have to offer and what they are most interested in.
Make sure to send updates often enough to keep your company top of mind – but not so often that you’re annoying and they block you. Be sure to link to your blog and website. Invite all your friends to become fans – it will show up in their newsfeeds, and then their friends will join too!
Allfacebook.com is a great place to learn more about Facebook.
You should also consider buying advertisements on Facebook. They’re relatively inexpensive, and let you really target your audience because Facebook sends your ad only to people most likely to be interested in your products. You can buy a Facebook ad for about $100 for one million targeted ads!
Tweet, tweet and tweet some more
Twitter lets people post 140 character messages that show up in ‘feeds’.
People ‘follow’ you, read your feeds, and if they like them they can repost your tweets to their own feed, or reply to offer comments.
People and companies use Twitter to post live from events, break news stories, hold contests offer discounts and deals, give advice, and link to blogs and websites that they find interesting.
Twitter is a great way to connect to customers – and build a real relationship with them. That’s because it’s not just you tweeting about your business. Customers also tweet about their good and bad experiences with companies, so you can find out what people think of you and garner market intelligence.
You can search Twitter to find people talking about topics related to the product or service you offer. People sign their tweets with ‘hashtags’ that begin with a # — like #allstream or #bacon to create a pool of similar feeds.
Just use #yourcompanyname as your regular tag, and people will start using it in their posts, too.
Check out some of the innovative promotions companies have done on Twitter, and you’ll be inspired to come up with ideas of your own. Air Canada Vacations is a good example.
Here are 40 people using Twitter successfully.
A picture says a thousand words
YouTube is the most popular video site on the Internet, the second most used search engine online, and the first place many people turn when they are looking for how-to advice, whether it’s how to paint a cupboard or bake a pie. So make a how-to video related to your company’s area of expertise and post it on YouTube. For example, check out GMC trucks’ trade secrets.
Become a source of good advice, and people will turn to you when they need a job done. These videos don’t need to be fancy – just informative.
Flickr.com is one of the most popular free photo-hosting sites, and it’s a great place to put up pictures of your latest designs and products. Post tags with your pictures (just like on Twitter) and people will be able to search and find them – drawing new potential customers to your offering.
Getting interactive online is all about creativity — so have fun with it!
Cheryl Binning, Vancouver freelance writer
A Vancouver-based business, entertainment, TV and digital media writer.
www.twitter.com/cherylbinning
