Word of Mouse

Just last week I was asked again by a client, ‘How can I use social media to promote my business?’ My answer was, ‘It depends on who you want to attract, what image you want to portray, and what kind of publicity you want to generate.’

We hear people talking about the ‘latest’ celebrity tweets; we receive emails from past colleagues requesting to join their network - so how should we use what seems to be a spontaneous minefield?

If you are a new business just starting up or an established business nervous of how your brand values will reflect in the social arenas, you should approach each relevant site in the same way as you would with any other new advertising medium: test, monitor and report.

1. Define your target audience.
2. Create a personal profile on a couple of social media sites and monitor them for a while. Don’t use your company name and don’t post anything that will draw attention to yourself until you understand the community and feel the fit of the network is right for your business.
3. Look at your direct competition in order to learn about what networks they use and how they communicate with their audience.
4. Schedule time to regularly maintain and update your online presence. Remember that the post, tweet or comment may only take a few seconds to type but that you should give careful consideration to what you write and the message it sends.
5. Planning and timing is key - consider all your other marketing activities and create targets and incentives.
6. Monitor the feedback and posts to your profile because recording this information will provide invaluable insight into how your product or company is perceived.
7. Most importantly - think before you upload.

Social media gives your mouse voice. It can strengthen relationships and create opportunities to attract and engage your target audience.