Social media is a valuable tool that is often misunderstood and underutilized by diverse businesses. In a recent survey conducted by MBEConnect, over 30% of respondents indicated that they did not use social media for their diverse business, and 15% had created accounts, but didn’t actively use them. Companies not actively engaging in social media are missing a huge advertising opportunity, and may be unintentionally sending a message to consumers that they are unwilling to engage them and unfamiliar with technology. With a little guidance, business owners can learn basic social media strategies and quickly benefit as a result.
What is Social Media?
Social media is an interactive form of communication that uses the internet to share content with users in a constantly evolving manner. The connections made through social media create powerful networks with rapid-fire response rates. Popular websites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn are all a part of social media, but by no means the end of the spectrum. With these sites you can share a thought, picture, video, blog post, link or other item with the single click of a mouse, allowing your content to go viral instantaneously.
Why Should I Use Social Media for My Business?
Social media goes far beyond connecting with friends and other existing contacts. For businesses, it serves as a free and easy-to-use tool to share news, acquire customers, offer promotions and improve search engine listings. Simply put, social media is a better way to get your business name and ideas out on the internet than a website alone.
Having a business website is no longer enough to stand out among competitors in search engines. Social media improves your search engine placement by building more links to your website. Top social media sites are trusted, generate a lot of traffic and are indexed by top search engines within an hour. A strong social media presence leads to higher visibility and traffic to your website or blog, which results in more customers and business opportunities.
Social media also enables you to talk directly to your customers in a public way, building brand loyalty. People get to know you and see you as a trusted brand or industry expert. This is especially valuable to diverse businesses, which are often looking for partners to complete large contracts and proposals.
Essentially, social media makes your business look smart, savvy and connected, all while taking advantage of higher search engine placement.
How Can I Use Social Media for My Business?
Identify the social media outlet or combination of outlets that you want to use based on the existing presence of your target audience. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are the most common social networks used by for professional interests. Each site has a different functionality and offers your business unique ways to communicate.
Here is how your business can best utilize each social network:
- Create a Fan Page for your business rather than a personal profile so that the content will be open and easy to access.
- Use a personal account on to create a listing for your business.
- Participate in LinkedIn Groups within your industry and area of expertise.
- Use a personal account on to create a listing for your business.
- Deliver the latest news about your business to your followers in short, engaging messages.
- Follow hashtags and key phrases for your industry.
YouTube
- Use lots of keywords to optimize your search results (it helps that Google owns YouTube).
Take the time to thoroughly complete your profile by providing the most relevant keywords, detailed descriptions and helpful links back to your website. Decide what kind of tone you
want to use when you make updates. Most people who use social media are there to interact with friends, so a light and casual tone is usually preferred. Be sure to use correct spelling and grammar regardless of tone, and always treat social media users as you would a client.
Post unique and interactive content on a regular basis in order to attract more attention to your profiles. Engaging content that asks questions of users will tend to get more responses and more new customers. Publish links to your blog and specific web site pages to maximize exposure and search engine results for these items.
Who Will Follow My Business on Social Media?
Be sure to tell your friends, family and existing customers about your new social media presence before anyone else. Share your page, add links to your web site and email signatures to inform contacts of your presence. Reach out to new business contacts through social media to firm up connections.
[...] can read more about social media for diverse businesses in the Social Media 101: An Introduction for Diverse Businesses article in the Summer Issue of MBEConnect Profiles [...]