The phrase “plugged-in” has become an ever-expansive and all-inclusive mantra for many businesses today due to the rapid growth of social media in general. While we’ve all heard of Facebook, Yelp, and most recently Google+, there are many other social media platforms that, when utilized effectively, can leverage your business to a whole new level and help you grow as a brand.

Where to Get Started?

Being “online” simply isn’t enough these days; businesses need to establish an active and unified brand across a variety of channels that often cater to a spectrum of consumers. The first thing you can do is explore all of your options and lay claim to your corner of the internet. Let’s look at those options:

Aside from the obvious Facebook, Twitter and Google+ options there is also Yelp, LinkedIn, Google Places, You Tube, Tumblr (the list goes on and on).

Head spinning yet? Let’s start by taking a look at a few things our most successful DemandForce customers do and see if we can break this down:

1. Understand the platform you are using. Many times we feel the urge to dive into social media because it’s popular and our competitors are using it. But if we don’t understand it and don’t use it properly, it just becomes a waste of our precious time. Want a viral video campaign to get millions of views? Go with YouTube. Want to provide a minute-by-minute update of a live event? Announce those with Twitter. Eager to be known all across your city? Build your reputation on Yelp. Be sure to mix and match the ones you know you will use to strengthen your business.
2. Understand your audience. Every social media platform has a different audience, so you have to understand who is on what in order to target customers effectively. Everyone is on Facebook, most people are on Yelp and some people use Twitter. Talk to your customers, think about their demographics and give it a try. Here is a good article from Mashable that breaks down different sites.
3. Stick with ONE consistent and UNIQUE business name. Inconsistency with your business name and info will confuse your customers and lose business. Be sure that all your vital information (business name, address, e-mail, phone, and external links) is identical across what’s in your D3 Portal, website, and Google Places Page.
4. Make it easy to find! Put your links to Facebook, Google Places, photo/video galleries, and whatever else you have available in one area. Here’s an example from my own website.

Get Comfortable

Unfortunately, many businesses only choose to do the bare minimum, setting up skeletal profiles and half-functional platforms that are left to rust. Choose what is comfortable to you and your staff that you can maintain regularly (even if it’s only one thing). Demandforce offers an abundance of resources and support regarding these features, like Timely, so there should be little preventing your business from getting up and running!

So don’t sweat it and have fun – isn’t that what social media should be about anyway? While it can seem daunting for some, a little research and familiarization of what’s out there can really do wonders for your business. We have a great team ready to help answer your questions. Find out more in the Help Center or leave a comment below.

Related posts:

1. How to Maximize your Social Media: Connecting Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube
2. Customer Spotlight: Mortenson Family Dental on “What Social Media has accomplished for our practice”
3. Top 5 Holiday Tips and Ideas for Facebook
4. Customer Spotlight – Michigan Dentist Gets Creative with Facebook
5. Customer Spotlight: Mortenson Family Dental on “Social Media Tips for Your Business””

Tags: social media strategy

This entry was posted on January 17, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Customer Care, Demandforce Product, Small Businesses, Social Media Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.