SOCIAL MEDIA ADVICE LOCAL CHARITIES
who are you connected with? Who are you connected with in Social Media? If there is one thing that has always been at the core of running a successful business, it’s networking. Reaching out to new clients, suppliers, and industry contacts is vital for any company. Now that the internet has revolutionised the way we do business, networking has moved to a whole new level. The advent of social networking means that we can now reach countless individuals all across the globe in seconds. And it only takes a trip to our social media accounts to see how many people are using these networks to connect with others. But how do you know which of these people offer valuable business insights? Who are the ones who are going to waste our precious time?
Don’t be too follow-happy We’ve all had occasions when someone has followed us on Twitter and we’ve simply followed them back no questions asked. It’s almost an automatic response… but it’s not always a good idea. To continue using Twitter as an example, there are many people who follow of people at once, and expect a follow back, they rely on it. They will then blast our newsfeeds or Direct Messages with spammy posts. Why let your news feed or Twitter feed be diluted, when it could be populated by the thoughts and advice of real professionals and real individuals? Don’t follow someone unless you are sure they will add real value to your newsfeed.
How to find the ‘cream of the crop’ So how do you know who is going to be a valuable person to follow and who isn’t? The first thing you should do before connecting with someone is to check out the individual’s or business’s profile. Have they completed it? Do they have a professional image? Do they sound genuine? Are they of genuine interest to you? Take a glance at their most recent posts as these will give you a good idea of the kind of thing they usually publish, which will put you in a good position to decide whether or not you want to follow or like them. Something I tend to do, if I am not sure, is to add them to a list for a while and watch them (You do not have to follow someone on Twitter to add them to a list)
The power of social media and keywords Don’t forget that your social media news feeds aren’t just an ever-moving list of random musings. If you connect with the right accounts the posts can be packed with useful business tips – and can be a great source of new clients or connections. Just a simple keyword search can be really helpful in locating profiles that could be your next best customer or someone you can collaborate with. So the next time you’re on Twitter or Facebook, make sure you do a little detective work before you repay the favour. And remember to think about your own keywords in your bio to allow yourself to be found by others…. You don’t have a bio? Then make that a to-do for today!
Tracey Bartlett
Facebook: businesshelpers Twitter: _businesshelper LinkedIn: traceybartlett #bexhillianmag