Will Social Media Work For Us?

This is a great question that I get asked all the time. I’ve worked in the social media “game” for nearly 10 years, working with businesses across a ream of sectors and every so often we are approached by a business from a sector that we have no previous experience of working with.

Now, as a businessman, I am happy to take on work from anyone willing to pay us and being honest, I get more of a buzz from this situation than taking on a client from a previously cracked sector ( I definitely need to check the thesaurus for an alternative to sector!!)

There are certain elements within all platforms that will follow suit for all businesses but in the main, each client has to be handled completely differently, even if they are from the same business community (see I looked for an alternative!!).

Social Media followers are looking for different kinds of content and the key is to find out what floats their boat. This is time consuming but is the only way to find out. Testing testing testing is the only way. What works for a competitor of your may not work for you and vice versa.

Tone of voice is a big factor. Do you create content as you speak or do you write as though you have a plum in your cheek!

Most websites are written as though they are for chartered accountants or a legal firm etc. Very rarely are the shackles shook off, providing wording that is both understandable to all and with a touch of humour.

Anyway, I am digressing from the blog title as usual!!

In my mind, social media DOES work for all businesses, but at massively varying degrees. The likes of fashion, food, beauty and lifestyle businesses, tend to fare much better than say commercial, construction and financial businesses in terms of interactions (likes and comments), but as the saying goes…..Likes and Shares Don’t Pay The Bills.

For B2B (business to business) a Facebook advertising campaign, married up with educational content tends to work really well at delivering highly targeted leads, whereas great imagery and carefully chosen hashtags work better for lifestyle accounts.

Lifestyle companies are going to have a far easier ride in obtaining followers than many other sectors, so B2B’s have to work way harder to pile up the numbers.

Careful planning and as said before, testing is paramount to the successes achieved, so if you haven’t had much success, keep persevering and your successes are bound to change. If corporate, let your hair down and post humourous stuff. People may engage with your brand more and find you more approachable. Fashion companies, take a break from posting products and share team or customer pics or images of you at buying events etc.

As another saying goes “Build it, and they will come” only works in the movies. Social Media is a “build it, nurture it, engage them, and they may come and stay.”
Seth Godin, sethgodin.com