I think that everyone can be of one mind with the idea that using social media for marketing has been rapidly growing into the primary channel of advertising for a variety of firms, from big corporationsto small mom and pop-type businesses and with good reason. It’s an excellent method of quickly delivering the message you want to send to your network of influence and networking and making new connections and, eventually, customers. There are a myriad of websites to choose from, including Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and, most lately, Pinterest (I’m still trying to find out how to utilize this! ) it can get somewhat overwhelming. Many business owners recognize this, and then decide that they don’t have time to handle all of the accounts and manage their business.
This can’t be further away from the truth!
I’ll show you three methods to efficiently as efficiently run your social media marketing to get excellent results for your business in a matter of minutes:
1. Set a goal to dedicate 60 minutes each working on your accounts for social media. It shouldn’t be a huge task to achieve.
It’s possible to do this when you’re at home viewing the match on television in the evening, or at your computer during the day while you’re sipping your morning coffee. Within that time, commit to posting a post on every one account on your social networks (you can share an article you’ve have read, an announcement that your business is running or even an unrelated idea that you’re thinking of). Make it interesting. Be engaging. Remember, you’re marketing yourself!. Also, you should seek at least three new contacts to include in your database each day. If you’ve got at least a Google+, Facebook, Twitter along with a LinkedIn account, that’s more than 500 monthly new contacts! It can all be completed within less than an hour.
2. OUTSOURCE IT!
If you’re not able to find the time or desire for managing your accounts, get someone else to manage this for you! I personally outsource my projects and I get top-quality work completed at affordable rates. I would recommend Elance.com as well as Odesk.com. These are the two sites I prefer to use the most. Place an advertisement, engage a contractor, and tell them what you’d like to have done, and they’ll handle all the work!
3. Let someone from your staff handle it on your behalf:
A different method of doing this is to assign one of your employees the responsibility of managing it for you. There are a lot of people who are adept at the art of social media. What could be a chore for you might be enjoyable for them and will not cost you a penny. Additionally, they are familiar with your business, since they’re employed there, and their posts may be more revealing from personal insight. The bottom line is that no matter how you choose to utilize these tools to your advantage, simply make sure you do it! If you don’t be doing it, your competitors will and your customers will start “liking” or “following” them, not you! —
Oliver Chamberlain is President and the Founder of EZ Merchant Capital, LLC, Philadelphia, PA based company that is specialized in financing small – to medium-sized businesses. He is also enthusiastic about helping businesses promote their business to maximize profit.
