Facebook | Business Bulldog

Are you using social media wrong?

I have been educating myself more and more on the use of social media to grow brand image. It seems that many of us, Business Bulldog included, are using the platforms completely wrong. Yes, there is a wrong way of using something free. And, yes, we are wildly throwing away our brand name to get recognized.

First, let me say that I am recovering from my own poor use of this new media. Is it really “new”? It is since we are still getting new and creative platforms every week that portend to give us the ability to reach anyone anywhere.

Your website is your home base. It is where you have complete control and can give your audience, which sought you out, a clear vision of your company. Everything on your website should relate back to why someone should spend money on your products or services. A clean design that is colorful and has a “Call to Action” will leave your audience with a sense of purpose. Without those elements, you will lose them as soon as the log off. Understand that your website is the final stop and the point where you should be closing the deal. All other media should point to your website.

Facebook is a great example of how you could throw away a chance to make a good impression. I constantly see weird pictures posted to business Facebook pages that have nothing to do with getting to visit your website. Worse yet, I see things that make me want to close my computer and sanitize it. I won’t point you to any of those Facebook pages out of respect to those companies. Often, they hire someone who thinks that any post that they think is funny, intriguing, etc. will bring visitors. They measure success by likes. Likes on Facebook do not necessarily turn into visits to your website. Measure the links to your website for accurate KPIs.

Twitter, as far as I can tell, is useless for businesses. No one is going to Twitter to find a business. Also, no one is going to transition from Twitter to a business website. Twitter users stay on Twitter. Grab your brand name but don’t worry about it as a driving force to bring visitors to you.

LinkedIn works well for developing who you are a pushing people to your website. It is the BEST place on social media to grab customers. Make sure the voice on LinkedIn for your business matches the voice you have on your website. Turning your LinkedIn business page over to someone looking for likes is a recipe for disaster. Again, if you measure the number of times someone found you through LinkedIn instead of likes on LinkedIn, you will have a accurate measurement. Don’t’ get spun around by online marketing that tells you that you need to have followers on LinkedIn. You need paying customers. That happens when you direct them to your call to action.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for social media but it gives you a great idea of what to look for in working on your online presence. Be prepared for slumps. People are looking for distractions until they start looking for resources. I’m sure there is a cycle there. Someone smarter than me can figure that out.

Take a good look at how you look on the web. Let me know what you changed and how it affected your bottom line.

Bob Griffin

Chief Bulldog-in-Charge
Business Bulldog, LLC.
Bgriffin@businessbulldog.com

"Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net"

WiFi stands for “What I Find Interesting”

The internet revolution is over. The internet won. Of all the things that we thought would take over the world of business, the internet was not high on my list of things to make or break a business, but here we are. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the strategy ends at the wi-fi connection.

Your reputation on the internet, your webpage, your likeability, and your “tweetiness” will all show what kind of brand you are and whether people will spend money with you. Not once in my business classes in college did any professor explain that we needed to have a virtual presence and it needed to look really, really good.

But, here we are and all of us need to have a business plan for being seen by customers.

There are as many SEO Experts as there are websites and they all say the same thing – “You need to create a brand and announce it everywhere online.” That, my friends, is not going to happen unless you have a team dedicated to watching everything that anyone says about you and responds as well as adds great stories about your company every day.

I can save you time and money. The key to online success is to just be friendly. Earth-shattering isn’t it?

There are times when you should be talkative and there is the rest of the time. Those talkative times are when you have something great about your business that you want to announce to everyone. It adds value to your company to be new and fresh. Just adding noise to be seen every day is numbing and you will soon find your customers tuning you out.

If there is a new product, a place to find your coupon, or even an employee of the month, announce it and be proud. Business owners forget to bring something interesting to show and tell…yes, that is what the internet is. It’s a world-wide show and tell. The kid who brings a rock he found outside and doesn’t care more than to get talking to the class over with is forgettable. The kid who talks about getting a new puppy is excited and happy and someone to watch. Be the kid with the new puppy.

Also, find the right spot to talk. Facebook is not a great place to announce things any more. LinkedIn is only good for business to business. Twitter is even less great when you don’t have a lot of followers. So, what is the spot that your customers visit most? Ask them. A simple question to find out how they would like to hear from you. It could be an email, text, or mail. Whatever they want is what you use. Being everywhere is a waste of time and energy when your customers only listen is one spot.

Sorry to disappoint all the new marketing people who think they can make or break a business with their skills in using 140 characters or less. The key is being real and honest. When you don’t have something to talk about, it is OK to be quiet. When you are excited about your business, talk and show it. Simple.

Let me know what you are excited about in your business.

Bob Griffin
CEO and Chief-Bulldog-in-Charge

Tag Archives: Facebook

Free Wi-fi