May Service of the Month

Social media is one of those things that small business owners know they need to do, but they are not quite sure how to find the time to do it. In fact, social media continues to grow! As of April 2013 there were 1 billion active monthly Facebook users, 500 million Twitter users, 200 million LinkedIn profiles, and YouTube just announced its 1 billionth user as well.

Here are ten quick tips to get you started.

1)  Plan Your Work & Work Your Plan – Find out where your customers and prospects are having conversations and where your business can add value. Google Alerts can be used effectively for this purpose.

2)  No Need to be Perfect – Start by listening and learning from others. Humility is something that is always exhibited on social media. Don’t be afraid to be a newbie!

3)  One at a Time – It is much better to be effective using one social media tool than to use five of them poorly. Choose the tool based on where most of your customers and prospects are.

4)  Be Consistent – If you can only spend one hour a week on social media sites, be there consistently for that period of time. This is a much better strategy than spending three hours one day and then 15 minutes the next week.

5)  Your Voice Counts – Your social media voice should reflect you and your company brand. All consumers now value the human voice.

6)  Your Time is Valuable – Every marketing activity needs to have a time limit. It is easy to get distracted, especially with social media. Get on and get off your social media tools according to your plan. 

7)  Schedule Your Posts – Start by scheduling posts every Monday for the coming week. This will help you to be consistent and will save you time.

8)  Analyze Analytics – Every marketing activity needs to have a result. Social media marketing is no different. Google Analytics is a free tool that helps you to see what kind of results you are getting.

9)  What’s Your ROI? – What does your business hope to gain from social media, and over what period of time? What tools or strategies do you use to save time with social media?

10)  Do Something – Start by letting VirtualOffiCenters help! During the month of May we offer 20% off all social media help and planning for you and your small business. Remember…Something is Always Better than Nothing!