Ultimate business guide for using social media in 2017

Ultimate business guide for using social media in 2017

CEOs and businesses need to be on social media because social media is no longer a thing that some people have and some people don't, it's now how we communicate. 

With 2.3bn active users, social media has immense power. It wasn't made for businesses and marketers but we've highjacked it and are capitalising from it. It's called "social" media, i.e. we're not supposed to be "at work". It's supposed to operate outside the world of work, but the truth is, it's not "social" media anymore, it's real life and in real life, we work! Blogging has also become the norm, so when you write a blog now, you're simply updating your website. 

Businesses that aren't adapting to the digital world will go bust - that's the reality. 

In 2017 it's going to be all about high impact and live interactions - start a meaningful conversation on social media. 

To kick-off, here are a few tips to having a social business 

Social media can hugely improve the success of your business when used correctly. Take Donald Trump; he used social media very successfully in his campaign i.e. #makeamericagreatagain

  • Artificial intelligence will replace millions of jobs. 
  • Infographics - people look at stats now and don't read long, wordy content (excuse irony of reading this). 
  • Gamification: if you know your audience will engage with it, make it into a game. 

Ask yourself, "who owns your brand"? 

  • Incentivise your brand - reward your people for coming up with content for your brand 
  • Work out how to communicate with your millennials, internally - they will then connect to those externally. 
  • Establish who controls your company's digital footprint. Social media is actually about digital change. 'Social' now affects every aspect of your company. 
  • Do you have a social media strategy? You need a short term and long term strategy. Who are your customers in 20 years? Think about it. 
  • Be agile, be willing to change the culture of your organisation to revolve around social media. This needs to go from the CEO right across the company (note I don't say 'down through' the company).
  • How are you measuring your customers? Measure, engage, listen, analyse. Plan what channels you are going to use and who your customers are. 
  • Social media is expensive in terms of time, so if you don't have a means of measuring the results of your efforts, there is little point in carrying on. Track your results! 
  • Big data needs to be a business goal - money does achieve results. Every social media offers a paid-for version. You still need strategy and content, though. Everything is built on data: who is your customer and where are they? Get the data from a hashtag because it's completely free. This data then needs to inform your strategy. 

 

  1. Create high-profile, targeted clients by helping people:

Being helpful is the way for a business to be social. You've got the solutions, so offer people help! It's called "helpful marketing". It's not general help, it's personal help for THEIR problem, right now. It's live. You are an expert in your field. Stop comparing yourself to others on social media and trust your expertise. 

Be the new, helpful you, in 2017.

What to do:

Set up a geographical search on Twitter, find relevant conversations through hashtags and then offer help and advice accordingly. Don't pitch your product but send them to your calendar. Equally, using live streaming or video to record your answers to people's problems means you're killing two birds with one stone.

#ifthisthenthat - free 

#zappia - free 


2. Snapchat for business? How do you do it and is it worth it? 

  • There are 1 million new mobile users added to snapchat per day. It's an app where you can still grab people's attention - attention currently is limited because people don't have the time to go through tonnes of blog content. You'll have people's attention for about 10 seconds. Forget about age demographic, older people are using it now. 
  • It's also a great communication tool and it's often overlooked. Relationships can be nurtured and trust can be built, it's one of the most personable apps ever. 
  • If you have a business that's difficult to describe in words, snapchat allows people to understand what you're doing in the day-to-day. 

What is it? 

Publicly, you're uploading photos and videos to a 'story' that is live for 24 hours and then it will be gone forever.

Privately, it's a relationship building tool that adds an element of fun to everyday updates and conversations. 

How to use it 

Use geo filters (like the hashtags of snapchat, or the way to get connected to an event). They're the equivalent of sharing where you are. Anyone can submit one and you want to have it for brand awareness. It's an overlay that puts you in a specific location, maybe with your company logo. They're also super cheap for the reach you can get). It's a way to make your snaps more creative and fun and geo filters are a way to do this. Set the geo filter for your location so you're creating content from a particular event but the filter can be used again and again. You create continuity between events and really build up a following/brand around the event. 

  • Download your snapcode and upload it to other social media networks to build up your following and engagement on social media. 
  • Feel like you're wasting your time on snapchat because content disappears? You can download your story. Even though it disappears in 24 hours, you can save it to your phone beforehand and share it on other social media platforms. 
  • Involve people. People want more vicarious experiences - when they feel that they're a part of the experience, they'll also feel like ambassadors of your brand. 
  • Google - find top influencers in your niche. So, we would find top bloggers who blog about CEOs, for example, and then connect to these influencers. Build the relationship. 

Use Followerwonk - helps to find most influential people in different topics and you can be really specific in your search. 

3. Live streaming 

Use @periscope (live streaming platform and a must for 2017) or @facebooklive 

Facebook is pumping millions of dollars into telling you about Facebook live, that there's a way of creating immediate content. Use this - it's the future. 

  • It's great for product placement. Send a live streamer your product and ask them to review it 
  • Use shoutouts - huge on Instagram particularly, pulls attraction to your pages 
  • Event amplification: ask a live streamer to come to your events 
  • Followers don't equal engagement. Reach out to people, ask questions and get people liking and commenting. You also need to do this in return. 


4. Get onto YouTube 

YouTube is owned by Google: try to find a subject that no one's made a film on. Just try it. It's impossible! This demonstrates how many people are using it and how many people can see your stuff when you post it.


These are the keys for YouTube

  • Content 
  • Consistency 
  • Promotion 
  • Engagement 
  • Ask what the most common questions are that potential clients could ask you, and answer these questions through a YouTube video. 

Make video testimonials

  • Go behind the scenes videos of your office or a tour of your office. If you work from home, you can be honest and show people your desk, show people what you're doing - for some reason, people are always interested! 
  • Footage of events - post videos to Facebook 
  • Interview series - raise your profile through sharing best practice with those in your industry 
  • Use YouTube live - it's coming soon and will be another great option for creating content at events
  • Make videos as responses to negative feedback - it's more personal and makes your customer feel listened to and cared about 
  • Batch-make your videos - put a day aside to make all your videos for the month to save time


5. Facebook Ads 

Facebook wipes the floor with other social media platforms in terms of coverage and reach. It takes a long time to build up relationships and following organically, so use ads to get ahead. 

  • Create a piece of free content that your audience will find helpful, i.e. would you like to know 10 questions to ask a web developer before hiring them? The audience will love you for helping them for free and they will follow and engage with your content. You're not selling, you're starting your relationship by offering a free gift 
  • Be carefule with the 'boost post' button - you're usually buying on a whim if you use this, you're running a Facebook ad with no planning and no strategy. If you actually run adds properly, Facebook will ask you what you want to achieve through your add, and go out and find people who will take up on your ad. If you actually want people to like your page and watch your page, the boost button is doing you a huge disservice and wasting you a lot of money. 
  • Pay attention to post analytics to target your audience more specifically next time 


6. Twitter: how to do it right 

Twitter can change your life and your business. It's a wonderful platform for building and nurturing relationships and then taking these relationships offline. 

Tips

  • Humanise everything on Twitter. Ask yourself, "would I follow me/this business"? 
  • Be polite, organise connections into lists, use shortened links and ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE
  • Talk to people- busiest time on Twitter is between 9pm and 11pm. 
  • Tweet positive stuff and take people on a journey with you. Be real. 
  • Use polls to get data 
  • Negative feeback/unhappy customers: be quick to acknowledge the comment, take it offline and to direct message, understand where they're coming from. Trolls = just block!
  • don't link Facebook to Twitter, don't over use hashtags 


7. Instagram for business 

Instagram is great for business because when you upload a new photo you can automatically share it to all of your other platforms (less work for you). However, there are a few watch outs / businesses often get these things wrong:

  • Using irrelevant hashtags 
  • Not having clear goals - don't post irrelevant posts that could come across as unprofessional 
  • Following randomers - instead, follow people who you're targeting, who will follow you back 
  • Don't selfie overload - your face isn't that interesting!


Tips for instagram

  • Story telling is essential
  • There are analytics - use them! 
  • Add a call to action in your bio: outline your product, add emojis (this can be done in a sophisticated way). Make clear the value you're offering 
  • Choose an editing app: snapseed, VS co, Aviary. Basic Instagram editing isn't good enough
  • Think of 10 key words for your industry and do an Instagram search on each of these using a # 
  • Join an Instagram pod (group message) and make each comment only three words long. Everyone starts engaging with each other properly. 
  • Follow 50 relevant accounts (this will take you 5 minutes and is so worth it) 


8. Video 

If you're not using video, you're going to be overtaken. Sometimes called the "king of content", it can absolutely transform your business. 

Tips for video

  • Use your central sales point - website
  • Use sales funnel (CRM)
  • You'll need a video hosting platform i.e. vimeo/youtube
  • Videos need to be connected to all of your social media platforms 
  • Video content production: use both a professional and yourself


Strategy to use for the above: 

1. Website = how people engage with your product 

2. Engage CRM function to funnel out relevant sales prospects 

3. Have an intro video to your website - people do business with people - share your mission, values and your background 

4. Put videos on YouTube/streaming platform and post links to this on your social media platforms 

5. Film live videos 

Video tips: 

  • Know your audience 
  • Be relevant 
  • Be engaging 
  • Be consistent 
  • Have a sustainable strategy


I really hope the above can help you with maximising your impact via social media in 2017. CEOs often don't see the relevance of being on social media if their companies are doing well and often, they don't have time. However, I can't express enough how social media can take your company from good to great. For CEOs, it's often wise to get someone to do most of your social media for you, and plug content as and when you feel inspired. 

Your customers will feel cared for and your mission will reach millions more people. 

LIKE: Give this a like if you've found it helpful

COMMENT: Are you maximising you or your company's impact through social media? What social media are you on, and are there any platforms that you don't like?

 FOLLOW:

Do follow me here on LinkedIn as I bring to life what’s happening in the world of CEOs on a weekly basis, along with regular leadership, social media, career, hiring and productivity insights.

By Steve Tappin

Chief Executive, Xinfu, Host BBC CEO Guru

www.xinfu.com

www.twitter.com/SteveTappin

www.bbc.co.uk/ceoguru

Steve is a personal confidant to many of the world’s top CEOs. He is the host of the award winning BBC ‘CEO Guru’, which features in-depth, on-the-record interviews with the CEOs of the biggest and fastest-growing companies. Steve is the author of ‘The Secrets Of CEOs’, which interviews 200 CEOs on business life and leadership.



Jari Becker

HomeVision Solutions

6y

Very well written, glad to read it

Like
Reply
ADHIKARI SANGAM

anzac Web Technologies PVT.Ltd

6y

Steve Tappin I really wanted to take a good look at your post. It's challenging out there in the give and take of the business world and there's a lot to say for us clubbing together to share ideas and experiences in order to get an edge, speaking of which I signed up for this amazing book which is a big hit in over 40 countries. It's got brilliant advice to get an advantage in sales, time management and productivity. It's actually still available free but I have no idea for how long http://bit.ly/2sMASAZ sorry if it's taken down already by the time you see this - worth a shot!

Like
Reply
GLOCOM SOFT

Director at GLOCOM SOFT Private Limited

7y

Excellent thoughts! Everything is going digital and it can be overwhelming.

Arun Gautam

Founder & CEO @Scramblo

7y

great read ! engage your customers

To view or add a comment, sign in

Insights from the community

Explore topics