Should my company be on Facebook? Should we be on Twitter? Do we need to have a blog? What about Instagram?
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: We often hear these questions in our line of work, and our first response is to listen and determine where your customers are interacting. But in the end, the answer is yes – you should be “on” Facebook, Twitter, etc. if for no other reason than to monitor conversations.
Why Should You Join?
An oft-repeated mantra in the social media world is that people are talking about you, your company, your product or your service whether you are “on” social media or not, so you should join the conversation. Start by monitoring conversations to determine where your audience is and what they are saying, and then decide which platform makes the most sense for your company or brand to use.
What Do We Say?
Don’t just add to the noise – social media isn’t about cramming as much information as possible about your company down the throats of your potential customers; no one cares about what you think is important – they want their needs met.
Jay Baer of Convince and Convert and Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing Institute preach the content brands create should be about helping people achieve their goals by educating and providing answers, and being of service to their customers.
How Can Social Media Help Us?
Maybe the question should be “how could WE help people through social media?”
I recently heard Mari Smith speak at the Social Media Marketing World Conference and her answer to the “should I be on Facebook” question was simple – yes – if for no other reason than for SEO. I love that answer because it ties to how people find you – when they are searching for an answer to a question.
Whether someone is complaining, needs help or has a question about your product, if you’re on social media, you can help. And if you are providing answers to questions through social media or your website, that’s searchable content. People can find you when searching for answers to their questions – because you’ve provided the answer.
And once you understand that social media can provide a platform for your company to help solve people’s problems – it will help guide your content creation. Pulizzi says “Good content marketing is about providing helpful, educational information so that people get to know, like and trust you enough to buy from you.” Where you put that content (e.g. a blog, email newsletter, Facebook) is up to you.
But How Can It Help My Company?
OK, OK – we understand that you need to show ROI – whether that’s in sales, brand awareness or engagement. In his YouTility book, Jay Baer says that once you’ve helped someone – fixed a complaint or provided an answer (even if it has nothing to do with your brand) – you create positive feelings, brand advocates, and, hopefully, loyal customers.
Where should you start? Which social platforms should you be on? Should you start a company blog? How should you plan your content strategy? What kind of KPIs should you set for engagement? Yes – this blog post is just the starting point, but at NST we can help with these questions so pick up the phone and give us a call.
Tell us on Facebook, how are you providing the information and answers on social media your audience is looking for?
