June 24, 2013
For new businesses social media can appear a very daunting task but to be fair most companies give it a go, to a certain degree. Some have a better idea of what to do and others write content with no business purpose. My last two blogs have discussed that social media should slot nicely into a marketing strategy. After questioning five start-up companies I found that the problem lies in not allowing enough time to write great content or knowing what great content looks like.
To solve this I would suggest focusing on just a couple of platforms. Trying to dabble in all social media is very time consuming and often the company loses sight of what they are trying to achieve. The recruitment company, in typical recruitment fashion, said they were maximising the benefits that social media had to offer them. To be fair to them their single platform, LinkedIn, has been successful. They have used it well to build vital business connections and to find the best candidates to fill the positions they have to offer.
Whereas the carpentry business used six different platforms and complained that there was no time to run them, but the business owner also notably struggles to understand the purpose of them. I would suggest focusing on Facebook. He will be able to post pictures of his work and create small stories around each project. This shows potential customers a visual of the quality of his work. If he wanted to be a social media leader within carpentry I would suggest allowing clients to view live updates of his work so they can see the project stage by stage. This has its risks as it would put pressure on him to hit deadlines but it makes his work more transparent, and if he is able to do this consistently it will build his reputation as a highly skilled and reliable carpenter.
One bit of advice I’d give to all new businesses is to engage viewers through pictures or videos. Visuals save you time explaining what you are doing, allowing you to stand apart from others and, most importantly, helping you to be creative! You could use a multi-platform strategy with Instagram and another to find the right balance of fantastic visuals and great content, which should engage the reader and add a nice personal touch to your page.
If you agree that social media is important to your company but do not know where to start, there is no shame in asking for help. Building your new business with social media has to be the way forward. Sit down and think about what you want to achieve from social media, never lose focus of this goal and you will reap the huge benefits it has to offer.
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