> BlogIf you have been advised that a Social Media Marketing campaign is important as part of your overall Search Engine Marketing strategy, firstly well done to the person/company that advised you of this, secondly if you answer yes to any of these questions, you need to read on:
Now we are going to revisit each of these ‘fears’ one by one at the end of each comment there is a question, which we encourage you to answer:
I don’t have time to put into Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn
This is one of the most common fears that I have heard from people talking about Social Media and whilst it is a fair comment, the most time consuming part of Social Media is simply ‘getting the hang of it’. As with any of your other daily tasks the more time you spend getting used to it the sooner it will just become part of your daily routine.
No one said that you have to stay glued to your screen for 24 hours of the day 7 days a week. It’s about participating when you can and making the most of your efforts. Make some goals and stick to them.
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn all offer something different it terms of what you need to do to participate. So it depends on which one is the better option for you. You don’t have to do them all.
Baby steps!
Question: Do you have time to answer your customers’ emails or that phone call?
I don’t know what to say or do in any of the Social Media platforms
Like walking into a conference and not knowing what to say or who to talk to right? Yes, I fully understand that feeling. It is exactly how I felt when I started to use Twitter. Numerous things were running through my head – “Who cares what I have to say?” “Can I Tweet with that person, or will they not like me talking to them?” “Can I interrupt conversations and say my piece, or is that rude?”
All of these questions and many more are valid, but the thing is that if you don’t engage in conversation, no one will care what you have to say, nor will they follow or friend you and they likely will feel that you are rude if you constantly just post promotional information all the time.
My advice, start small and friendly; Jump in on some general chit-chat conversations, offer advice and don’t be afraid to share information that you have learnt.
Question: Do you believe that you and/or your company/business have something to offer your customers/clientele?
I don’t see the benefit of using Social Media
If you can listen to your customers/clients you can learn more about your business and what it is that they want. Social Media allows you to listen. It is a communication tool – much like email, phone, radio etc but it is in real-time. What is being said has been said today and therefore you are reading the most up to date communication.
Question: Do you want to listen to your customers/clientele and find out what they think?
It’s not free like everyone says, so what’s the point?
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are all free user platforms, but like most things in business time = money and you want to know what you are getting out of that investment.
It is fair to say that Social Media isn’t necessarily free to your company in terms of time however by determining something to measure you can figure out what it is that you can achieve by using it.
For example, let’s say that you are looking for ways to get more traffic to your site. You start using Twitter and via Google Analytics you see that traffic via this Social Media platform has increased 20% - you have achieved what you wanted to achieve. Now you just need to figure out how much effort and time it took to get this far.
Question: Do you know what it is that you want to measure?
I’m worried about the feedback we might get about our company/business
Fair enough, but feedback whether it is good or bad about your company/business is happening already whether you like it or not. Wouldn’t it be better to be a part of those conversations and show your exceptional customer service by tending to people’s concerns and such like?
Imagine if your competitor was on, let’s say, Twitter, and saw someone ‘bad-mouthing’ your company. If you’re not there to moderate the conversation, they are going to be the first ones to encourage that your customer go to them and use their product/services for a better experience.
Your customers are waiting for you to use Social Media to show that you care about what they think. Remember they are the ones using your products/services.
Question: Are you willing to lose customers to your competitors?
I don’t feel that I can trust my employees to do or say the right thing about us
Firstly, consider establishing some sort of ‘guidelines’ for instance you might have points such as:
Your guidelines will be up to you and what it is that you are worried about. If your staff don’t have guidelines they may assume that you are ok with any sort or postings.
You could go further too - perhaps provide some training to your staff in your weekly staff meeting for example.
The main thing to remember though is that your staff are talking to your clients every day whether it’s face to face or via email. Social Media just provides real time conversation online.
Question: Do you trust your staff to talk to your clients in the offline world or via email?
Our customers/clientele don’t use Social Media platforms
That’s a huge assumption to make these days. Many people consider certain age groups to not use Social Media. Whilst the truth is that many people no matter what their age are using Social Media, but not everyone is using the same platform.
For instance your son might be using Facebook, whilst your daughter is using Twitter, then you find out that your Mum is on LinkedIn for work. Of course this is just a scenario, but don’t think about Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn as being for any specific age group. Certainly don’t assume that your clients aren’t using Social Media.
According to Social Bakers Facebook Statistics a combined 53% of users in New Zealand are aged 18- 34 years of age.
The other thing to consider is that if your competitor company is on Facebook – why are they there?
Ask your marketing agency to do some research on your target markets and their Social Media use.
Question: Do your competitors actively use Social Media?
Like any human fear, fear of Social Media can be controlled – don’t let fears stand in the way of moving forward with the times. Give Social Media Marketing a try you will likely surprise yourself with what you can achieve and how rewarding it is to be engaged with your potential customers/clientele. You may achieve everything you want to or you may fail – either way learn from what you have done and constantly ask yourself how you could do it better.
Google is using Social Media as part of their Search Engine algorithms and if you want to make the most of your Search Engine Marketing efforts you can no longer ignore Social Media.
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