I’ve helped set up social media channels for a Bauer Media brand and a few smaller companies, including an estate agent and wedding dress designer. The difference between communicating as a smaller company and a large one is a blog for another day; what I’m interested in exploring today is how a small-to-medium size business can use social media channels to best effect.

A ‘social media strategy’? Seriously?

You need to ask yourself a few questions before you head on into that there social media circus. Start with the following:

• What is our aim of using social media?
• What will we measure?
• Who will we target?
• What are our key messages?
• How much time will we allow?

Answering these questions means that you’ll have to think about why you’ll use social media. Although it’s free to use in terms of money, there is a huge time investment before there is a tangible payoff. But done right, this payoff could be huge; increasing your customer base, influence and reputation.

Got any tips you can share on doing it right?

Using my experience of using social both as a small business and for other small businesses, I’ve picked up a few things along the way. I’ve also been generously helped out by several people via Twitter. I’d love to hear your tips too – send via the form at the bottom of the post.

• Interaction is more important than how many ‘friends’ you have

Do people follow you back? Are you responding to what people say? Social media is perfect for responding to comments – go on, don’t be shy! Make friends first – you’re building a network of connections, not giving it the hard sell. So listen and join in when you’re ready.

• Choose your platform

Sue Keogh recommends you pick your platform wisely: “Are you more suited to a chatty Twitter feed, a Facebook page with lots of images and competitions or a Foursquare campaign getting people to check in to your coffee shop?”

• Don’t just talk about what you’re doing

One of the great things about social media is that you can talk to people about different subjects. Twitter’s a great place to make a comment on a story you saw in the news, or respond to someone else’s thoughts on a book they read. As long as you keep your tone consistent, you can vary your updates to include more friendly or personal thoughts.

• Give back more than you take

Sarah Pettegree says: “It isn’t a one-way street, to be effective on Twitter you need followers (and to follow people) and, as I often say, it isn’t The Yellow Pages. If you just use it as a medium for advertising your wares then no one will be interested, or impressed, and they won’t follow. It’s about being interested in other people’s lives and businesses, talking to them and wanting to help them as much as they help you.”

• Be open and honest, but don’t share your whole life

• Watch the clock

Once you start connecting with people, it’s easy to spend hours and hours doing it. Beware of spending too much time on social media, at the expense of your other activities. Make it part of your marketing activity, not all of it. Noreen suggests having allocated times to check your accounts, remember to consider what your intended audience might be doing at that time. No point sending special offers out at midnight on Saturday, for example.

• Learn from mistakes and successes

I’m a copywriter but occasionally the odd typo creeps through. It happens when I’m rushing so I try to take my time when tweeting and avoid doing it from my phone (damn autocorrect). Sue advises you check out the competition and learn by their mistakes, as well as your own. Whose tweets do you enjoy? Could you be more like them? What’s been your most replied-to tweet? Do more of those.

• Measure what’s working

If you know what you need social media to do for you (e.g. referrals, exposure, sales, increased engagement), you need to make sure you have ways of measuring that success. If nothing’s happening think about what advice you could take from this list, or maybe you need to give it a bit more time.

How do I calculate my return on investment?

There’s a great post here with loads of information on how to calculate the ROI from social media marketing.

Huge thanks to the following contributors:

Sarah Pettegree @brays_cottage
Sue Keogh @sookio
Annette Naudin @annettenaudin
Hollie-Anne Brooks @HollieAnneB
Noreen Blanluet @beamazingtoday
Jorgen Sundberg @JorgenSundberg

Glass of bubbly on arrival – check. Organiser introducing themself – absent. Talk at the start – absent. Focus to the evening – absent.

So far, so disappointing. Things didn’t improve.

I spoke to one woman who, after a minute or two, seemed to think I was her friend. Within five minutes I knew how much money she’d earned in the past year, how much she had in her business account and what her friends thought of her press release writing skills.

My point, dear reader, is that if you’re going to be in business – act like a professional. Don’t tell me what you earn, don’t waffle on and for god’s sake – do tell me what you do!

Networking should be a routine procedure – open up the company, quick glance round to see if there’s anything in common, then stitch it back up with a business card if need be.

I suppose you have to try these things to see if they work for you and your company. For now, networking events and Crocstar are not friends. It’s going to take more than the promise of a glass of fizz and a goody bag to tempt me out again any time soon. Unless it’s a really big glass.

This post was originally published by Christine on Wed, 07/09/2008

I also use Linkedin to look for contacts and to see who I could work with. So far, so normal.

What I don’t understand is why whoever responsible came up with the label “social networking”. Since when has networking been a solitary activity?

A quick definition of networking:

“An extended group of people with similar interests or concerns who
interact and remain in informal contact for mutual assistance or
support.”

Even if you don’t like the people you’re networking with – be it for business or pleasure, you still have to engage in social activity with them.

So please, less of the tautology… and more of the status updates.

(In case you’ve been trapped under something heavy in your home for the last couple of years, this cute vid explains social networking in plain English)

My Linkedin profile

This post was originally published by Christine on Wed, 02/20/2008