If you’re a business owner or leader, I have a few questions for you:
When’s the last time you visited your company’s social media sites? Are you inputting into the content being shared? Who makes the decision around what you share and do you trust them to represent your brand to the public? Is the person responsible for posting and monitoring an integral part of your team or a junior staffer far removed from the heart of your business?
I ask these questions because I’ve found lately that many business leaders aren’t taking their social channels seriously. Frankly some leaders’ views of social are stuck in 2010. They think of Facebook and Instagram as ‘something their kids waste time on,’ Twitter as an American channel irrelevant in New Zealand and LinkedIn as nothing more than an online CV.
If that sounds a bit like you (or your boss), keep reading. Here are just a few business goals social media can help you achieve.
Sales
A prolonged, persistent and strategically honed social media presence should be contributing to your bottom line. If it isn’t, you should be asking questions.
Even if you are a not-for-profit and don’t ‘sell’ a product, your social media actions - adverts and non-paid posts - should still be contributing to your top organisational drivers. If they aren’t, I would tend to say either stop completely, or invest into making them work – why waste time on the middle ground?
My caution here, however, is that you need to be in this for the long-term and get expert advice on how to move people through the online sales funnel. It’s a complex and technical process that requires expert advice, particularly when it comes to reaping a return on paid posts. And you also need to realise that sales rarely flow in from ‘day 1.’ But a long-term, patient approach will pay dividends.
Keep in mind that organic posts – those that are not adverts, non-paid – are still really important as your social channels work hand in hand with your website as an online ‘shop front.’ You need great content for people to find as they do their online research. But also remember that only around 5% of your followers will see your non-paid posts. So, any serious social media strategy needs a small budget for advertising.
Business development offshore
Covid has trapped us all on this beautiful island! While we’re incredibly fortunate in many respects, as a nation of exporters we can’t get in front of customers and prospects offshore.
While social media will never, ever replace a handshake and an in-person meeting, it can help bridge the gap while you wait for the borders to open. We’re helping a client at the moment to target new customers in California and Brazil through Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Thanks to the power of targeting, it’s possible.
Leadership reputation
If you want to be perceived as a leader in your market, you need to demonstrate that leadership in places where your audiences ‘hang out.’
Media publicity still plays a major role in a leadership PR strategy. And what you say and do online is equally important.
Voicing your opinion on industry issues, starting conversations of importance to your audience, offering your perspective on topical news stories and more is a great way to make your social channels work for you to build profile and awareness of yourself and your company.
So, if you haven’t visited your company’s social media sites in a while, go take a look. Does your content reflect your brand in the right way? Or do you think it’s time to hit the reset button, develop a serious strategy and tap into the power of these very important communications channels?
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