Social Media – now those are two words which pose a great question of what is it and what do you need to do?
Well I get asked this a lot when people ask me what I do and I reply Social Media, the comments are normally, ‘oh I don’t get that’, ‘why do I want people to know what I am doing’ etc…. So, I have started a serious of blogs to show and tell you about my views on Social Media, many may or may not agree but these are my thoughts and views on what you should consider or do, plus also, some insights on the wider picture of where you should consider how your business needs to look at Social Media.
Like with anything in your life, I would have to say that you need to establish and recognise that Social Media is like you do with your life, ‘is it Personal’ or ‘is it Business’?
This is big mistake people make, they don’t seem to understand about separating the two and how easy this can be converge the two together. Remember you are not famous, and depending how you want to use Social Media, separation needs to be key in my opinion.
Whilst yes, people buy from people, there is life outside of where you live and people/companies don’t know you like your local friends do and may take the exception to some of your posts or tweets which may affect your interaction with them.
With this in mind you need to consider a few points:-
- When using Social Media – who are you wanting to speak to or interact with? Just think of your audience and what platforms the audience you want to communicate, are they using the platforms that you are sending your message to?
- With regards to your audience, it tends to split in to a various types:-
- Personal or family sharing of information
- The young generation who want some way of sharing something quick and finding things fast as they need them
- Selling your business or services to your clients and potential clients
- Promoting and engaging with your audience to create brand awareness
- When you are communicating via Social Media – make sure what you are communicating is sharable or private
- Following the written rules and unwritten rules as this will make you message more clear when delivered to your audience
- When communicating, make your message is what you would actually say “Face to Face” in the street to someone
- Social Media is not just around you but worldwide, so if you are wanting to promote yourself and your work, then you need to consider how you promote your message
Actually, sit back and whilst you may be mad at something, think before you send as even though you delete it afterwards, it has already has been captured by the Digital Footprint and is there as a record. Too many people post things via Social Media but in the future, this has come back to haunt them and in some cases has affected their career and sometimes lead to legal investigations.
Whatever your views are on Social Media, actually it is something that you can’t hide from, as it is embracing your daily life, even though you may not realise it. Take for example, many companies and are now putting their services out via Social Media, whether it is instruction/user guides on-line via their websites, customer services on-line again via their websites, Twitter and Facebook and more common place, placing demonstration and “how to guides” on Social Media channels such their websites, Facebook and YouTube.
Furthermore, recent developments have led companies to offering discounts and vouchers via their on-line Social Media presence as well as companies like Google and Facebook to track what you are doing to enable you to receive adverts and promotions to match what you have viewing.
The one last thing I will leave you with, the internet is all around and not just on your doorstep. So, whilst you have a local market for you, your work or your company, the internet can actually really benefit you, the internet can be there to bring you another window of opportunity…..
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