No matter the size of your company, social media can be a powerful marketing tool if used correctly. Businesses need to start thinking about how they want to get involved but be wary – just doing social media is not the point, you need to have some kind of meaningful objective or clear focus. Whilst social media is an important component of your marketing strategy – it is not ‘free’ and not a magic tool for generating sales – it takes hard work and planning. Here is a brief outline for a Facebook strategy:
- Review what your competitors are doing – here and overseas
- Gather information you think may be useful so you can structure how and when you release it (use other staff, research the internet, what is topical etc for avenues to gather information and helpful tips for your customers)
- Decide a timeframe – when you check and when you post – i.e., don’t bombard your clients with status updates
- When photo opportunities arise make sure you capitalise for example if you sponsor an event - get some photos or footage to upload
- Ensure that the Administrator of your Facebook page is capable – not only able to spell and use good grammar but also how to write in an engaging manner
- Staff need to ‘buy-in’ and support the Facebook page
Facebook Tip - this is a highly visual platform so ensure you use lots of photos and the other bonus of this is that photos often get more attention or engagement from your audience. Remember, photos and videos show up in the Facebook news feed as thumbnail images. Due to their size, users may click on them to make them large enough to see so make sure you add a comment that encourages users to open the photo and add comments of their own.