The explosion in popularity of social media websites has created many new ways to advertise your business, but it cannot be easy working out how to take advantage. Here are a few tips to get you started.
Understand the different types of social media websites
Here’s a summary of what the different types of social media websites do.
Social networks: These are social media websites that work around building communities. They allow you to create or join groups, make contacts and communicate with others in your network. Some of these sites are specifically targeted at specific groups of people. For example, LinkedIn focuses purely on business networking, whereas Facebook can be for personal and business use.
Social media: YouTube and Flickr, are two famous examples. They allow you to create a page or “channel” of videos or images. Other users can “follow” your channel, and contributions are often ranked by popularity.
Blogs: In its simplest form, a blog (short for weblog) is a journal. Blogs traditionally have one small article or “post” per day, archived as time progresses. The social aspect of blogging is the comment function, which allows a visitor to write a response to any of the posts in the blog.
Microblogs: Twitter is the best example of this medium. Twitter lets you post short text messages, “tweets”, telling your friends or family what you are doing. For example, “Just had a great coffee..” or “In an interesting conference.” Twitter lets you follow other people’s tweets and manage your tweets from your mobile phone or handheld device.
Forums: These have been around for a long time. They are websites that allow discussion on particular topics. The small business forum at flyingsolo.com.au/forums/ is a great example.
Social bookmarking: A social bookmarking site allows you to add your favourite websites so friends and other users can see and comment. Delicious and Digg are two examples.
Do some research!
Have a look around at some of the different social media websites. Read what other people are saying and see how they are contributing. It would be best to consider which ones might be suitable for your business. Are the participants likely to become your customers? Might they be potential suppliers, or perhaps they could offer you advice?
A great way to promote yourself and your business as an expert is to join a forum related to your business. For example, a landscape architect might start participating in a gardening forum by answering questions and helping people with helpful advice. This situation puts the landscape architect in direct contact with people considering improving their gardens.
Don’t forget to set up your forum profile and signature so people can contact you quickly.
Blogs are probably the next port of call. Commenting on blogs is another way to build your online reputation and generate interest in your business. Again, ensuring people can find a link to your site from your comment is very important.
Where should I start?
Create a list of social media websites you will participate in. Start with two or three, and ensure you give them genuine attention. Set aside at least an hour two or three times per week to network in your new world of social media.
You’ll be surprised at the results.
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