SOCIAL MEDIA: Getting Rid of the Fears

For people who use social media every day this might all feel very simplistic and straightforward. if that’s you, this blog isn’t for you. (though it might be worth you reading it to remind yourself of how a large part of our population thinks – these are common questions!)

This blog is for any of you that have been told, or know, you need to use social media to help your business but you don’t know really what that means and you think your questions and concerns are just going to sound stupid. Or you are using it and think it’s a waste of time.

First – we’ve all be there in one form or another. I picked up fishing a few years back. I’m an old hand it it now, but I asked some very stupid questions when I first started! That, and some trial and error is how you learn.

To keep this as relevant as possible I’ve given you real questions I get asked all the time.

1. Help, I’ve set up my Facebook page and people I don’t know are liking it. I only want xxxx type of person or people I know to see my posts!

The cool thing about social media is that it is SOCIAL. People get to choose what they interact with, what they follow, what they read. You don’t get to choose who you have liking your page. If they aren’t liking you to abuse you, let them stay. They might have a connection you don’t know about. They might share a future post with someone else who needs your product or service.

If they made a mistake and didn’t mean to click you, they’ll leave of their own accord. So relax. Let people on the internet choose you if they want to.

If you placed an advertisement in a paper targeted for 65 year olds and a 22 year old person reads it, and you see them doing it, will you snatch it off them and tell them they are not allowed? NO. Let people engage, relax and trust the process.

2. I only want to post about my business – why do I have to post about other things?

You need to think about your customer or client. Yes – you want them to be interested in you, but even if you are awesome, that gets old pretty fast. And it’s likely people who know about you will be the only ones interested. You need images and ideas that evoke the feelings your product and service gives or attracts the same target market.

We call it the “give, give. get”mentality. You are marketing not selling. There is a difference

Yes, in a perfect world you’d write all the content yourself, place it on a pile of blogs and other spots, add some great images and then share – but you don’t have to!. Use other people’s blogs and articles and videos to get people engaged with your page. They come for the post, like your page if they like the other things they see and now you’ve got a new contact you can market to.

Also – don’t stress if it’s not the sort of image you’d use or exactly the words you’d use. Go for the 80/20 rule here – if it doesn’t fit your brand you’ll find out pretty fast when your regulars mention it. You have a lot of stretch with posts on social accounts. Unless it’s obscene or hurtful to someone…

3. Won’t people get sick of me?

Yeah they can. We do watch that still – the awesome thing about social media is there are plenty of measuring tools that help us measure interactions and who is actively choosing NOT to interact. You can’t gauge frequency on what you like if you hate social media. The way Facebook works, the more someone visits your page, the more they see your posts. If your engagement is dropping, you are posting too much, if it’s rising you are doing ok for now.

Global standard is 10-12 posts a week. About eight of the pages we manage have between 12-15 posts and are highly engaged, whereas I’ve just dropped two to seven a week. But once a week is not enough. I’ve had far more engagement from pages where I have seriously upped the ante, in a niche that is appealing to a large number of facebook users, than in ones where we barely post. Every client has different needs, but engagement, and leads from your accounts show they are not sick of you.

4. What happens if someone says something bad about our business online?

This is such a common concern. First-  the vast majority of people will talk to your face, or call you before they complain online. Online complaining often comes from you having a poor process for your customers. So look at your current processes, and check – can your customers be heard?

Then, you need to be thankful they care about you enough to complain directly on your page. You can do something about it. You can respond to them with grace, and show how awesome you are to other people at the same time. If they are going to complain, they will. Isn’t it better they do it on your page than to a bunch of other people without you knowing?

5. Why do I need to pay for Facebook advertising?

I like to look at this this way. Last week, for $50 USD I boosted a video that was targeted to a specific audience in the education and parenting market. In seven days my post was viewed over thirty thousand times and the video (active engagement) was 2500, and there is still more coming. Plus I’ve had in person and phone call feedback, and work come out of it. I reckon that is VERY good return for $50 USD.

For all the reasons people hate Facebook from a privacy perspective, makes Facebook awesome from a business perspective. Lose the idea it’s meant to be free and start treating you page like a serious part of your marketing plan.

6. What can’t I do on social media?

I’ve got two very simple rules – one: always speak positively, and two: never slam your competition. Everything else is about you being as real as possible with your audience.

7. Don’t I need huge numbers?

The number of people who follow or like you is NOT the important part. The number of people who are engaged, interact and want to know more about you is the most important part.

I’ll give you an example. I now have over 5 thousand follows on twitter. Yet the most effective time, and period where I had the most effectiveness and engagement was when I only had 330 followers.

You might have a small list, but if it’s with the top thirty clients you need to succeed you are doing very very well.

8. LinkedIN/Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/xxxx IS A WASTE OF TIME

Look – for some businesses some platforms will never be right for them. I was speaking to an engineering firm this morning and they will never need a Facebook page. They don’t need twitter. They do need LinkedIn.

Don’t listen to someone who makes you think you need to be everywhere – because you most likely don’t

However if you should be there, and you think it’s a waste of time, it’s likely you are using it wrong. You need help creating a strategy and then follow it. (um, we help with that 😉 )

I am currently getting clients off Facebook, Linked in AND Twitter every month. I’ve yet to get one from Instagram, but to be honest, all I’m doing it using it to post pics of my puppy. Probably doesn’t help!

It’s not a waste of time. Unless you are using it badly.

If you know you need it and you still are confused, talk to us.