Karen Gingerich is the Operations Supervisor for Just Marry!, Inc. and its sister companies, Just Mitzvah! and Just Right! Destination Management. She has also been a freelance editor and writer for more than fifteen years, and co-authored The Susan Southerland Secret: Personality Marketing to Today’s Bride with entrepreneur Susan Southerland. When she isn’t managing three big event companies, Karen writes young adult fiction novels under the pen name Raine Thomas.
A show of hands: how many of you use some form of social media in the course of your business?
Okay, so I can’t really see you. (Seriously…you can put your hand down). Regardless, I’m confident that the majority of you use at least Facebook or Twitter, two of the most popular social media sites. Others of you may use LinkedIn, Pinterest, MySpace, Google+, Foursquare…well, I’m sure you get the idea.
There are hundreds of available social media sites, with many more cropping up every day. Which one(s) work best to help promote a business varies by industry and user. This post isn’t dedicated to analyzing which social media site you should use. Instead, I’d like to share some tips on etiquette and the effective uses of social media in general.
I’ll preface this by stating that I started actively using social media in the course of my fiction writing career. It was an awkward beginning, at best. It took some floundering to find my way, but I quickly built a strong following on both Twitter and Facebook, and I’m making headway on Pinterest and Google+. Fortunately, what I’ve learned can be modeled across multiple industries and social media avenues.
Here are some of the tips I’ve picked up along the way.
It’s not about you. I can hear you asking, “How am I supposed to promote my business without talking about my business?” (Okay, I can’t really hear you. You’re talking to your computer). Let me put it a different way. How much do you enjoy conversing with someone when everything they say is about them? Exactly. Think of social media sites as avenues to converse with the world. Be subtle in how you promote yourself and your business.
Do unto others. Are you trying to gain quality followers? Are you succeeding? If you’re not, ask yourself how much you’re doing for others. How many Facebook posts do you not only “Like,” but “Share?” How many tweets by others to you retweet, and how many of your tweets mention other companies or peers in your industry? Even more importantly, how often do you thank people for following you and/or promoting your posts? These kinds of questions extend to all social media sites. You’d be amazed how quickly your following can increase just by being polite and helping promote others. Who wouldn’t want to follow someone who supports them?
Less can be more. There is such a thing as oversaturation. If your Twitter stream is filled with constant posts, for example, how is a follower going to weed out the really valuable stuff? It’s important not to overdo it in your enthusiasm for getting your message out there. In my experience, varying the platform used to release information is the most helpful. It can even allow you to draw out an announcement over a few days. Send a couple of tweets (no more than that) one day, then Facebook it the next. A pin on Pinterest might be your next stop, and so on. By posting with care, you’ll draw more attention than by sliding your message in among many less useful ones.
Welcome your guests. One of the primary ways that writers increase their exposure is by crafting guest posts and participating in interviews on the websites of other writers and/or readers. This can and should extend into the business world! Welcome other experts in your industry to write up guest blogs that you can post on your site. That person and many of their contacts will promote their guest post through a variety of social media platforms, in turn drawing more traffic to your website and business. Just be sure to promote the post to return the favor!
Are you seeing a trend among the above tips? You’re right. The bottom line is that if you want to make the most of your social media platform, you have to conduct yourself in a way that might seem counterintuitive. Rather than constantly promoting yourself and your business, focus on helping promote others. In the equivalent of social media karma, your efforts will definitely return to you two-fold.
What tips do you have for entrepreneurs trying to make the most of their social media platforms? Speak your mind below in our comments section and don’t forget to share the knowledge with your social media followers!
