You’re a business owner, attempting the proverbial hat trick. You know, the one where you are the founder, manager, HR director, IT technician and on occasion, the janitor. Where does day-to-day social media marketing come into play? It doesn’t.
That’s why I am here to provide eight ways to enhance your business presence online in under five minutes, based on my experience in the industry. Because five minutes is really all you have.
Keep Your Social Media Profiles Consistent
If you are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, it is important to ensure all your channels have a consistent look and feel, as well as messaging.
Your one-line bio on Instagram should match the same one line bio on Twitter so people have a clear understand of what you do. You don’t see Coca-Cola running around with a variety of logos. They spend millions to make sure you can recognize their logo, whether you’re in Nightmute, Arkansas or Placenia, Belize. (Yes, both those places actually exist.)
While you may not have the marketing budget of Coca-Cola, you can look like them by having consistent branding on your website and social media channels.
“Just Keep Posting, Just Keep Posting” -Digital Dory
This is a tricky one, yet very important. When people start following the awesome posts and blogs on your social media pages, they expect to see them on a consistent basis. We really encourage posting on a daily basis, if not weekly. I can already hear you saying, “When does someone have time for this…”
One word: Hootsuite. Platforms like Hootsuite or Sproutsocial allow you to schedule posts ahead of time. Therefore, on Sunday night you can schedule out everything you wish to publish throughout the week. Then continue to check your pages for comments and questions throughout the week.
Publish Content Specific to Your Audience
What should I post on my blog or social media accounts? I get asked that question a lot. My suggestion is to keep it simple.
Start with topics you already know, like frequently asked questions. Do one FAQ each week, whether video or written out. Buzzsumo does a great job of gathering trending articles within any industry you look up. Lastly, check out what is trending on your Facebook news feed and find a way to tie it into your company. For example, we thought it would be a great idea to have Pokémon visit our client, Spine and Orthopedic Center. And the reaction was crazy.
Set Up Google Alerts
This one will take under one minute. Simply go to Google.com/Alerts and type in your business name, name and whatever keywords you deem necessary. Google will send you an email either daily or weekly, based on your preferences, about what is being published using those keywords. Now you can stay on top of your industry and what is being said about your business. For a more extensive search, you can also check out Mention.com.
Ask for Reviews
As a child, when someone gave you a compliment you were told to say thank you. Now, as a business owner, say, “Thank you. Can you share that in a review?” Draft up a “review email” that you can copy and paste to all completed jobs (pending you know they are happy with your product or service) and send to the customer. Include a few options on where they can leave the review and links on how to get there.
Update Your GooglePlus Page
This is huge when someone is looking for your business online. First, you have to create a GooglePlus Page. Make sure your website, address and hours are all up to date. You can also upload pictures of your store, products and employees. The more the better. For directions on how to update your GooglePlus page, click here.
Use Video
The single most important strategy in content marketing today is video. Good news, it doesn’t have to be a big production to be successful. Simply sharing knowledgeable, funny or entertaining information from your cell phone will do the trick.
My company is always on a mission to create fun content that gets people engaged with our clients. Just recently, we created a video on Darth Vader visiting our dentistry client.
Add Your Logo
We suggest placing your logos on everything you post. What if someone shares that awesome photo of your cat during bring-your-cat-to-work day? Good thing you have your logo on that photo for other people to see. By placing your logo on your content, people are becoming more familiar with your brand.
