Believe it or not - there are still many businesses that ignore social media completely. They think it is a waste of time and money (no matter how cheap it is) and it can do more bad things than good. Of course, they are wrong. It is simple - if you don't get into the whole social media stuff, your risk falling behind, like people who didn't believe in the Internet or the corporate websites.
If you have decided to embrace social media now - you are late, but it is better than never and you can catch up if you follow the rules. Also, the team of eStreamDesk will help you with some tips, as always. Here they are:
1. It starts slow - when you first dive in the social media waters you will note that things happen kind of slowly - fans don't grow to thousands over day, followers don't retweet your tweets. It's normal and you shouldn't be frustrated. As a matter of fact, the biggest mistake a business can make is to get frustrated quickly with its social media presence and quit it. Don't do it. Social media success is like every other success - it needs time. It is just like any other part of your business when you start to build it up. Just think about it - we are talking about building a loyal and at the same time large amount of people who like your brand. It is a tough thing to do, so be patient.
2. Don't be everywhere - don't try to create profiles and accounts in every social media possible. Social media is something that takes time, so if you have a lot of profiles, there is a chance that you will miss to update some of them, sometimes even crucial ones. Which is a bad thing. Instead, choose your networks wisely, depending on your type of business. We use the major ones - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ and they are perfect for what we do. Remember that it heavily depends on to whom you are trying to sell.
3. Feedback is a nice thing, but don't focus on it - one of the most awesome things about social media is that you can actually create conversation with your customers and they can give you feedback on your work, product, service. Feedback is a nice thing. Most of the time, though, you won't get feedback, no matter how much "Please, rate" or "Tell us your opinion" you write under your posts. It is something that very small amount of people will do. That doesn't mean that your fans don't read your updates. It just means that they need to feel a little more comfortable with your brand to speak up. Encourage conversation, but don't expect it to happen right away.
4. Always help - most of the time, your Facebook page (for example) will be used by the customers as a place where they can share their problems with products. This is cool, if you can respond and help. Think of it as a kind of a helpdesk - always be there and try to respond as soon as possible. On the helpful part - give daily tips on how to use your product properly, answer questions and be nice. This is all it takes.