Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs., etc., there are lots of different social networking and blogging sites and your business will get nowhere unless you have presence on these and links from your website. Right?
WRONG!
You don't have to be on any of them, in fact it is better to not be on any if you don't have the time to commit to them, you will do more damage to your reputation than good.
I have seen a number of sites who have the link saying "Follow me on Twitter/Facebook/etc..." and I have thought, yes I will. Then I've checked their Twitter account, and they last posted a message (tweet) over a year ago. Or their Facebook page hasn't had an update in six months. It shows they want people to follow them but they haven't the time (or the want) to keep up with their followers.
I am a big fan of Facebook and even more of Twitter. Much to my surprise I have some big names in business who follow me(!) on Twitter. Why? Well, I guess because I tweet a lot and I keep the messages light, fun and informative. My tweets are not full of rubbish, junk or just self-promotion. I try to help people as well as keeping them entertained, tips, advice, guidance, etc. In fact I have picked up three clients recently thanks to my efforts on Twitter.
The BananaOffice Facebook page is updated usually at least once or twice a day with similar information as the Twitter posts.
It is this constant updating that keeps us in people's minds and means that when they need a service like ours they remember BananaOffice.
So, remember if you find yourself being told you must be on Twitter, Facebook, etc., ask yourself do you really have the time to commit to being on these sites? If not then it's best to leave alone. Don't give potential clients a false impression.
If you start them but at a later date you find you cannot keep up, then perhaps it's best to remove the links from your website. You don't want to still be sending people to your Twitter or Facebook accounts only to see you've not done posts for months (they may even wonder if your business is still going).
If you do decide you have the time to put into these social networks then remember to be careful what you post. Like I've said above, I always try to keep my updates light, entertaining and positive. If you were a current or prospective client following me on Twitter, then what would you think if you read "Having a crap day today, nothing is going right!"? Doesn't exactly inspire confidence does it? However, I might put something like: "Had a heavy day today, but thanks to our excellent team for handling it all so professionally". How can you not be impressed?
WRONG!
You don't have to be on any of them, in fact it is better to not be on any if you don't have the time to commit to them, you will do more damage to your reputation than good.
I have seen a number of sites who have the link saying "Follow me on Twitter/Facebook/etc..." and I have thought, yes I will. Then I've checked their Twitter account, and they last posted a message (tweet) over a year ago. Or their Facebook page hasn't had an update in six months. It shows they want people to follow them but they haven't the time (or the want) to keep up with their followers.
I am a big fan of Facebook and even more of Twitter. Much to my surprise I have some big names in business who follow me(!) on Twitter. Why? Well, I guess because I tweet a lot and I keep the messages light, fun and informative. My tweets are not full of rubbish, junk or just self-promotion. I try to help people as well as keeping them entertained, tips, advice, guidance, etc. In fact I have picked up three clients recently thanks to my efforts on Twitter.
The BananaOffice Facebook page is updated usually at least once or twice a day with similar information as the Twitter posts.
It is this constant updating that keeps us in people's minds and means that when they need a service like ours they remember BananaOffice.
So, remember if you find yourself being told you must be on Twitter, Facebook, etc., ask yourself do you really have the time to commit to being on these sites? If not then it's best to leave alone. Don't give potential clients a false impression.
If you start them but at a later date you find you cannot keep up, then perhaps it's best to remove the links from your website. You don't want to still be sending people to your Twitter or Facebook accounts only to see you've not done posts for months (they may even wonder if your business is still going).
If you do decide you have the time to put into these social networks then remember to be careful what you post. Like I've said above, I always try to keep my updates light, entertaining and positive. If you were a current or prospective client following me on Twitter, then what would you think if you read "Having a crap day today, nothing is going right!"? Doesn't exactly inspire confidence does it? However, I might put something like: "Had a heavy day today, but thanks to our excellent team for handling it all so professionally". How can you not be impressed?
I couldn't agree more; social media isn't for everyone and as long as you're getting customers in, it doesn't matter which medium you use.
ReplyDeleteYou are also correct in saying that not using social media correctly can damage your image as well - I've often seen Twitter accounts that haven't been updated for months and I've wondered: why bother at all then?