To use social networks for marketing purposes in a company, you must have a clear objective of what you want to achieve or the audience you want to access, so that it does not become only wasted time.
By Julián Arcila*
Are you confused by everything you hear on a daily basis about social media and its application in the field of business and business promotion? Have you established some form of presence in this abundant world for your company, but still fail to grasp the point of doing so? Do you think social media is quite similar to each other? Or worse, they are nothing alike and don't understand the concept of interoperability? Don't worry, you're not the only person who's been through this.
The truth is that everything that is written and said daily about social networks can be confusing and dazing, so to survive the best recommendation is to open your mind and cool the reason in order to select the best information, which is ultimately what you can apply in your personal or business environment.
If it is of any use to you I want to tell you that every day I wonder what social networks are for and on many occasions I do not understand what I see on Twitter, Facebook or Linked In. Again, don't worry: you're not the only one getting confused.
Let's think then that you are starting your business and want to get on the bus of "social media" and as we said at the beginning you do not know how to do it or you do not find the true meaning.
Well, here we are going to talk briefly about Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, the three social networks to which I have dedicated some time and where little by little I have been understanding the way they work. I want to clarify that I will only comment on these services, because each of these pages (www.twitter.com, www.facebook.com, www.linkedin.com) could by itself generate rivers and rivers of information.
Twitter: Conciseness and Exigency
Twitter is a pretty selective social network. It's not that one has to have a special attribute or be spectacularly beautiful (as in www.beautifulpeople.com) to be accepted. It is also not true that you have to be a star or someone famous to tweet (as you say when posting messages through this network), but what I do recommend that you do is that you put your head and offer something if your goal is to gain followers for you or your company.
True, you on Twitter may say that you are bathing or preparing to go to the movies, but what your followers expect on Twitter is that you give them something that will serve them. Those tweets will rip a smile or comment from a friend, but they won't give you followers, unless whoever follows you is an obsessive or bully.
Another detail: if you are opening a Twitter account for your company you can start by inviting your friends and relatives, to expand your message, but if what you want is to have quality followers of something, do not be stingy and this includes not only promotions, but also information, good ideas. Think about who your follower is, who you want to have reading your tweets. There you already have an idea of what you should publish and the resources you should share through this network to start having influence.
For this server, Twitter is the network that best reflects the influence you or your company has over a group of people or potential market. If you want your company to start ringing, start following people of influence, to re-tweet (republish what someone else has already said), to offer current information that can serve someone. This generates fruits. Start expressing opinions, because the words you choose for your tweets reach potential followers and people interested in these topics and this opens the door for them to follow you.
Facebook, the fascination of the masses
Facebook is perhaps one of the most useful PR tools today. It is a tool to connect with influential people that others offer a great advantage: IT IS FREE.
Ordinary people use Facebook to connect with childhood friends or with friends of the moment. However, the fact that you can search for people and ask them to be your friend without the restrictions of Linked In becomes a great opportunity to open your horizon of renowned contacts.
I must be honest and I do not know how much personalities or important people who have a Facebook account use it beyond that to issue a one-way communication, so maybe getting answers when you send a message can be somewhat complicated.
Another complex element of Facebook is getting your friends to comment on your posts. My experience tells me that they will only do it if you are really an influential person in that circle, so you would have to think about how your company, and in this case you, can be influential for the circle you plan to impact. Creativity here is fundamental, but the key is to know their friends, their market, to know what they do and what they may be looking for.
Facebook can be a great tool for implementing a smart PR campaign segmented by audiences of interest. You can segment your friends by city or geographical location and work area (press, politicians, businessmen, opinion makers among others); this way you can make sure you're grabbing the attention of people who can help you replicate your messages, bypassing traditional media.
Another element to keep in mind with Facebook is the difficulty in actually knowing who the person you can add is, but as in everything you can be selective and build a network of really influential people.
Linked In: the great network of opportunities
Linked In is an application that has been on the rise. Since starting to offer jobs in which you could be interested (a) according to your professional profile, the network has been making improvements and today even offers the possibility of microblogging, in the best Twitter style.
From a professional point of view, Linked In allows you to find customers for your product or service, but the complex thing is that you can only establish (in theory) contacts with people with whom you have been related for some reason. Linked In is very interesting when you have participated in fairs and exhibitions, because you can search for people by email and start keeping in touch with them.
As a company, Linked In offers the possibility to create profiles for companies, link employees within the network and advertise it to gain followers. Like everything, you should be careful, because you do not want to affect your personal or professional reputation.
Linked In is an interesting tool to grow within the business. Pay attention to news content. The network analyzes your profile and delivers tailor-made content. Information is never left over.
*Julián Arcila works as Director of Business Development at Signalis Group, a marketing consulting firm for B2B sectors. You can direct your comments to the email [email protected]
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