What works for MY business?

At a recent networking meeting the room was met with a thought-provoking question, ‘when promoting your business what do you find works for you?’ It certainly got us all thinking, what do we do that really makes a difference and do we actually measure the return on our investment?

All too often businesses throw their budget at every form of promotion in the hope that the fish will take the bait, so to speak, without taking the time to test, measure and adjust the approach. What a way to pour your budget down the drain!

Having worked for a specialist direct mail agency, I’ve seen first-hand how simply tweaking the copy, changing the layout or adding an incentive can affect the response rates. By taking a small sample of data and testing, you run less of a risk of failure and wasting your prized database that you have worked so hard to establish.

I’m definitely not saying that direct mail is the bee all and end all (although I do predict a growth in its popularity) - there are so many other things you can look at. Start monitoring and looking back at as many stats as possible, web analytics, facebook insights, etc, how do they alter when you’re actively marketing? Just take it step by step, record your findings, adjust your approach depending on your results, until you find the right mix.

What’s in a bio?

This small piece of information (160 characters on twitter) about you or your company can make a big difference to your profile and the number of your followers.

If you are looking to increase your followers they need to know who you are and what your tweets will be about. If your bio is not descriptive it will put people off following you. Focus on the key words relating to your industry and incorporate these into your bio, this will also help with the SEO angle of your profile.

Personally I want to know what you do, your area of expertise and where you are based. Make sure that you have your web address on there too, as many people using twitter are looking for a service and the more information that is available at their finger tips, the better your chances are at securing a new client.

Why not test this theory and let me know how you get on, there are many statistics out there that demonstrate that having a complete bio will help to increase your following.

Where’s the map?

Would you set out on a new journey without checking the map?

How would you know where you are going?

If you want to establish yourself in the world of social media you really need to have a plan.

Who are your target market? Will you find them on social media? Do you need to use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube? What do you want to say to them? How often do you plan to post?

So many questions, you really need a plan. A simple document, outlining a few details will help you stay on track and raise your profile.

Monday – Look for new people to follow. Comment on posts and respond.

Tuesday – Upload an image/video linking to business activity. Comment on posts and respond.

Wednesday – Look for questions to answer. Comment on posts.

Thursday – Comment on posts. Link to topical articles on the web.

Friday – #FF one or two trusted connections. Comment on posts. Close the week with a link to a blog post or to your website, this way if anyone looks you up over the weekend they are directed back to your own material for more information.

It really can be that simple. Give it a try you might just find you are much more productive once you have a plan to stick to.

Let us know how you get on and if you don't have the time then contact us and we can do it for you. @mooddesign

Are you an egg?

Do I really want to work with people who can’t be bothered to represent themselves properly?

Would you go to a networking event and wear a paper bag on your head?

Why do so many twitter users still use an egg as their avatar?

Your logo is slightly better but really I want to see who I’m talking to, this way when I get to meet you I have some idea of who I am talking to.

A photograph makes people more willing to communicate with you and it makes your communication more personal. Give it a go, you will find it easier to get more followers and to get others to join in your conversations.

It can also be an ice-breaker at networking events when you meet a follower or connection in person.

We look forward to seeing you.

Do you automate?

The thing about social media is that it is social. It’s about people communicating with other people, and for that reason alone you should not automate your communications.

I understand that you may want to thank people for following you and not have the time due to quantities, and in this instance it can be acceptable. However, if you schedule all of your updates, and then you are not online to respond to feedback, people will stop responding.

If I post a question I usually need an answer, those who respond in a timely manner with correct information are valuable connections to have, and those who don’t become less valuable to my network.

I always thank people who respond to my requests, an acknowledgement can go a long way, a timely acknowledgement goes a bit further.

It is impossible to automate your accounts completely, if you don’t have time to manage them then you need to employ a social media account manager, otherwise you may find that you are doing more damage than good to your online reputation.

For more information on social media account management call one of our team on 01925 752500.

Do you really want your post to be retweeted...

To ensure that others can retweet your post easily it needs to be a maximum of 110 characters. This allows others to acknowledge you as the originator.

Any tweets that are longer than this will be cut short in your followers timelines and they will need to click through to read the complete message.

Sometimes less is really more!

If you would like to follow my tweets you can @mooddesign.

So what is there to unlike?

Unlike or unfollow, what does it mean?

It usually means that you are doing something wrong. It may not be your content, it could be frequency (too little as well as too much). Each of your followers will have different reasons for following you and it’s hard to keep them all happy.

It is OK to unfollow people. Those who list all of the accounts that unfollow them will soon find that they have very few followers left, this is a bit like shouting at someone in the street - rude and unnecessary.

My main reasons for unfollowing accounts are – too many posts that are irrelevant to my interests, too much shouting about a product or service and not joining in the conversation.  Only 30% of your tweets should be sales related, the remaining should be conversational or informative

Twitter is about building a network, I follow clients, peers, competitors, experts etc. I like to see how people respond to my posts and I try and respond to everyone who communicates with me. I thank those who retweet my messages, I reply to those who ask me questions, I give my opinions when I feel  they are relevant.

I do not try and sell my services in a direct manner, I will talk about work related skills in blog posts (just like this one) but what I am doing is trying to share some of my knowledge to help others gain some trust in my skills. At some point in the future if they need some social media training or a design campaign running then hopefully they will remember the pearls of wisdom that I have shared and pick up the phone and call me.