Guest Post by Katy Lynch :: As a mom, and business owner, things can get pretty hectic. I have heard from a lot of entrepreneurs and startups that social media is overwhelming, and it can be. Managing content across multiple platforms can be a full-time job (take it from me)!
The important thing to remember is that social media should help, not take away from your business – so I have put together five tips to help mom entrepreneurs prioritize, connect and communicate on social networks. By doing this right, you can increase your fans and followers and raise awareness of your personal brand or company.
- With limited time, don’t join every social network out there. Find two or three you think are best and focus your social media efforts there. For example, if you are a retailer or restaurant owner, you might consider joining Pinterest. The visual nature of this social platform allows you to promote through photos and easily link back to your website, which can lead to point-of-purchase sales. However, if your company targets other businesses, you might consider LinkedIn, where you can network with other entrepreneurs and business people.
- Get to know your target audience. You can gain valuable insight by paying attention to who is commenting, following and engaging with your brand over social networks. If you have a Facebook page for your business, you can use the built-in analytics tool to see the exact demographics of your fans. Consider who is visiting your page and what they are saying and respond accordingly.
- Provide good content. Create your own content instead of always sharing, re-tweeting and re-posting what others are already saying. Providing content that is interesting, relevant and useful to your audience helps to position you as a go-to resource for the people you interact with over your social networks and gives them a reason to visit again.
- Show the many sides of your brand. In many cases, people are more likely to visit your social media pages than they are your website. Therefore, whichever platform you choose to engage with your customers on should be well-kept, up-to-date and visually appealing (if the social platform lends well to that,) to represent your company and brand in the best way possible.
- Time is money, and you can streamline with social media tools. There are a number of tools, such as HootSuite, TweetDeck and SproutSocial that can help you save time by allowing you to schedule, categorize and monitor your social media activity in one easy place. These tools can help manage your accounts, but you don’t want to use them exclusively because fans will quickly be able to tell your level of engagement.
The power of social media and the benefit to reach new audiences with your brand and message can be invaluable.
Founded in August 2010, SocialKaty is a Chicago-based social media marketing company that leverages technology to manage online communities for small to mid-size businesses. They’re a team of highly skilled Community Managers that execute and maintain campaigns to spread awareness through conversation to targeted audiences and ultimately accelerate business growth. SocialKaty’s services include day-to-day management of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn and blogs for brands as well as social advertising, social contests, design and development. For more information, visit SocialKaty | Twitter: @socialkaty | Facebook: Facebook.com/socialkaty
Good article. I’m dealing with many of these issues as well..