business use of social media

+

Social Media for Business UseMonday 7th July 2014

+ This Session

Introduction to Social Media for Business Use

Introduction to LinkedIn

Break

Revisiting Twitter

A little more writing today than other sessions, to record your knowledge .

+ Social Media for Business Use Social media is a good way for companies or freelancers to market themselves directly to their customer base or clients. It can be cheaper than traditional methods of marketing.

Businesses or professionals can use it to swap skills, keep up on the latest trends, find out what it is that customers really want, and get their products and services in front of a wider range of people.

LinkedIn, Google +, Twitter and Facebook are all useful forms of social media for business use.

They all allow businesses and freelancers to go where internet users already spend a lot of time.

+ TASK

Create a new blog post.

Write ‘Why a business might use social media’ as a title.

Write a list of bullet points to expand upon this.

Don’t publish just yet, as we’ll be adding to this post later!

+ Social Media for Business Use As already stated, one of the main benefits of social media is that it can be cheaper than traditional methods of marketing.

Due to the pace of social media, businesses can better keep up with what their customers or potential clients might want or need, and posts/statuses can reflect up-to-the-moment trends.

Social media allows businesses to interact differently – they can befriend their customers or clients, and treat them as people, and not just consumers.

Many people already use social media so it’s an inbuilt advertising space.

+ TASK

Go back to your blog post.

Write ‘The benefits of a business using social media’ as a title.

Write a list of bullet points to expand upon this.

Don’t publish just yet, as we’ll be adding to this post later!

+ Social Media for Business Use In week 1 we talked about online communities, and businesses can certainly use these to their advantage, utilising them to; Find customers, and listen to what they want or need. That way businesses or freelancers can develop products or services that have a ready market.

Spread the word on the behalf of the business or freelancer. Word-of-mouth is still a vitally useful part of any marketing strategy.

Support each other; businesses and freelancers might be able to do a ‘skills swap’ where necessary, and promote each other as part of this sort of deal.

Ensure brand loyalty, through giveaways or perks to regular customers, or discounts for regular clients.

+ TASK


Write ‘The advantages of a business building an online community’ as a title.

Write a list of bullet points to expand and explain upon this.

+ Social Media for Business Use Yet social media is not always necessarily positive. Businesses or freelancers should be aware of their online reputation.

It’s a good idea to monitor social media for mentions to ensure that complaints aren’t being made in public before you can address them.

You also want to ensure that you aren’t being mentioned in connection with anything negative that might deter a potential customer or client.

It’s also useful if people ARE posting positive comments – if so, you know what you’re doing right, and you can continue to do that!

+ TASK


Write ‘Why a business should be aware when they are mentioned in social media’ as a title.

Write a short list of bullet points to expand upon this.

+ Social Media for Business Use There are different ways to monitor social media engagement.

If you have a Facebook page, respond to any posts that appear in which you have been tagged by someone else. This also applies to Google +.

Likewise, if someone @ replies you on Twitter, make sure you reply, whether their comment was good or bad.

In addition, you can set up a Google Alert that will email you whenever your name, or business name, is mentioned on a website or in a blog post.

+ TASK


Write ‘Identify ways of monitoring social media engagement’ as a title.

Write a short list of bullet points to expand upon this.

Leave the blog post open for use later.

+ What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is sometimes described as Facebook for professionals. You can use it to: Post your CV online. Find freelance work opportunities. Build your network through making new connections.

People join LinkedIn to build their business networks so; Be professional. Ensure what you post has been proofread and properly checked for spelling, grammar etc.

+ How should I use LinkedIn?

Start by building your online CV. Make sure it is up-to-date and best reflects your skills, and any services you might like to provide.

Keep it current by adding notes to your profile about your current projects.

Use your profile as an extension of your ‘self branding’.

Connect to other users. A good network is key to using LinkedIn to its full potential.

Many users report receiving offers of work once they have a solid network, and have established themselves as a reliable or creative ‘name’ within their field.

+ How should I use LinkedIn?

Complete your profile. Profiles that are 100% complete are 40 times more likely to show up in search results.

There is a progress bar on the ‘edit profile’ page which tells you what else you need to complete.

Be Internet-savvy. Use good keywords for your specialities etc., such as ‘web design’, ‘copywriting’, ‘academic research’ etc.

Claim a personalised URL for your profile – this will be easier for you to circulate among potential clients, and it also adds an air of professionalism to your page.

+ How do I find people to connect with? Start off connecting with people you know.

If your friends and family have accounts, add them. Check through their connections – maybe they know people you’d like to know too. Many people find their connections by adding people that their network know.

Join Special Interest groups. LinkedIn has thousands of groups, and by interacting with other professionals you can expand your network, while also hopefully making friends. It’s a good way to share best practice and ideas.

You can become more visible as someone people want to work with by establishing you have valid opinions.

+ What else can LinkedIn do?

Ask for recommendations. If you’ve done any freelance work, ask your client if they would write a short recommendation for your page.

Even employers for non-related jobs can testify that you’re reliable, responsible, etc.

If you have a company, set up a Company Page. Company pages allow you to engage followers with company news, updates, events and relevant content.

Your search engine rankings will improve as LinkedIn pages often perform well in company searches.

Research shows that 50% of LinkedIn members are more likely to purchase from companies when they engage with them on LinkedIn.

+ I’m set up…now what?

Look at the available applications. LinkedIn works with various applications, so you can link your Wordpress blog and Twitter account to your profile.

Take advantage of LinkedIn’s features to make your profile stand out and ‘sell’ you and your work.

Check out the work opportunities. LinkedIn has a dedicated Job area, and you can either browse, or enter specific search terms.

LinkedIn also has an area specifically for students and recent graduates, so make sure you check out what they have to offer.

+ Passive LinkedIn Techniques Create a LinkedIn profile.

Build your connections.

Keep your account up to date.

The passive approach can pay off by: Giving you exposure to people hunting for products or services. LinkedIn's search features allow others to find you.

Getting you introductions from your business connections. Displaying your recommendations from others. These are word-of-mouth testimonials to you and your business. They provide credibility that encourages people to do business with you.

+ Active User LinkedIn Techniques Post regular status updates. Talk about what you're working on and who you're working for. Include updates that would be of interest to your target customers and clients.

Participate in groups. Discussion participation can help establish you as an expert in your field.

Send messages and invitations to those in your network and to other group members. Don't be a spammer or a pest.

Link your LinkedIn to your commercial Twitter, Facebook etc.

Solicit recommendations and endorsements from your network to build your credibility.

+ Getting Started

Go to http://www.linkedin.com.

Enter your full name, your email address and a password, and click ‘Sign Me Up.

Creating your account is relatively straightforward and LinkedIn will guide you through the process. You can skip steps at any stage.

http://www.linkedin.com/

+ Edit your profile

Click on the ‘Profile’ tab in the main menu bar.

Scroll down the list and click ‘Edit Profile’.

You can now edit individual sections, adding more content to your summary, or including skills.

You can add a user photo, which makes your profile look more ‘human’.

You can add publications, work experience, education, and specific skills that you have which you can offer to other people.

+ TASK

Spend some time familiarising yourself with LinkedIn.

You can edit your profile, join groups, and find connections.

If you’ve had any work published, add these.

Make sure you have a summary of what you can do to entice future clients!

Take a screenshot and post it to your blog.

+ Twitter for Business Use

LinkedIn is often viewed as the main business platform, but Twitter can certainly have its place.

We’ve already set up Twitter accounts for personal use; if you’re promoting yourself as a freelancer or creative professional then you can use the same account for business use.

Twitter will let you get to know other contacts in your field as well as people with similar interests.

However Twitter can also be useful in a more commercial sense.


Some Twitter users utilize the social media site to build their company brand or generate leads.

There are bloggers who use the platform to share ideas and articles and to see what others are writing about.

As we discussed at the beginning, using Twitter allows businesses or freelancers to go directly to their customers and clients, to find out what they can do to offer useful products or services.

Twitter allows marketing to become more of a conversation between clients and freelancers, and less of a sales pitch.


Businesses or freelancers can benefit by tweeting useful information about their industry or area of expertise; tweeting links to good content, tutorials, or freebies are a good way to build up a following.

Bear in mind that most users either tweet to communicate, or to listen. If your goal is to influence, promote or sell, your usage should be communication based. You’ll need to tweet, direct message, engage with other users and focus on getting information out.

If your goal is to listen, then you need to keep up on news, learn, provide customer service or perform market analysis. You’ll need to decide who will provide the content you’re interested in and follow them.


Edit your profile with keywords for search and fun facts for people. This will help you to show up in searches. Include keywords in your Twitter profile.

Reply to messages from clients or potential customers. If people see that you’re approachable and easy to contact, they will feel more positive about you than someone elusive.

As an example, search for a well-known brand on Twitter. It could be your mobile provider, a favourite food brand, or a TV channel.

What kind of tweets appear on their profile?


In general, you want to find the halfway point between what your target audience wants to hear and things that promote your business.

For many businesses or freelancers, the answer is to focus on how your products and services benefit your customers. Make them feel like you’re offering something that will be useful, rather than trying to sell something.

Give people useful information and answer their questions.

Use Twitter to share your content, either from a website or your blog.


Remember that a successful use of social media for business doesn’t just rely on one platform. A mix of platforms for differing media audio, visual and written word.

Some users will be active on all platforms, some will only be active on a handful. The best way to reach everyone is to use them all.

The central part of a good strategy is to provide useful content on your blog, which you then share through other social media channels.

Add a Twitter widget to your blog, which embeds your tweets in the blog sidebar, and add Twitter sharing buttons so visitors can share your posts easily.

+TASKResearch business use & Blog results Spend some time looking for businesses that you might want to use yourself, or businesses that you already use.

Look at their profiles, consider following them, and interact with them – it’s the best way to gauge how their social media presence works.

Once you have tweeted three businesses, take a screenshot of your profile (showing these tweets) and upload the picture it to your blog and add a few paragraphs of descriptive text.

Publish the post!

Education

business use of social media