Social Media and Your Business

Now don’t get all defensive and antsy about it. It looks like social media is here to stay in one form or another so you may as well get on board and embrace all it has to offer. The opportunities on a personal level are endless but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. How can social media help build your business?

Firstly, let’s get a handle on the extent to which these sites are saturating the marketplace. We hear about them everyday in the media itself, amongst friends, family or just general water cooler talk but did you know that Facebook currently has in excess of 500 million active users worldwide and approximately 90 million tweets are registered every day? What a captive marketplace!

Is it right for your business?

Yes agreed, social media may not be right for every business. The local denture replacement firm may not benefit from Facebook or Twitter posts. But businesses that target tech savvy market segments can certainly gain valuable exposure.

Benefits

The likes of Facebook and Twitter provide you with an unique opportunity to enter into a new level of relationships with your existing clients and reach and develop new relationships with your client’s friends, family, work mates etc. Ensure your posts are engaging and interesting and let the domino effect begin. It’s amazing how far a ‘Like’ can take you. Consumers love a personal recommendation and none more so that when it comes from someone they have already developed a trusting relationship with.

How do I measure success?

The success of social media sites is difficult to measure in terms of sales conversions. However, what can be measured is popularity and it is common sense that you would only ‘friend’ or ‘follow’ something if you had an interest in it . And who knows what that interest may develop into.

Search Engine Optimisation

The other, more tangible benefit is that social media posts are recognised by search engines such as Google. Search engine algorithms love fresh content and evidence of link building and when found these contribute to your overall search engine optimisation strategy and ultimately your search engine ranking.

Cost?
And you know what, it’s free! Yes you will need to throw resources at it to build your following but beyond that, there is no outlay or ongoing costs.

Some Content Writing Tips

Good content is essential to the success of a website from both a reader and optimisation perspective.

Spot on grammar and spelling is essential in order to instil an air of confidence and professionalism in your client’s business. Poor spelling and grammar, including the notorious misuse of apostrophes, can indicate perhaps a lack of attention to detail. In this age of automated spelling and grammar checks, there really is no reason why such errors should exist. When in doubt, get someone to proofread!

The content itself should be clear, concise and in laymen’s terms wherever possible. A good content writer can take a technical specification and accurately translate it into something that can be comprehended by your average Joe.

Care should be taken to ensure that concepts are explained succinctly and the amount of content per page should be limited as today’ technology savvy readers will very quickly move on. Bullet points are an effective means of communicating content without the need for the associated waffle.

Of course a fine balance needs to be found between straight up content and optimised content. For a search engine optimisation strategy to be effective, key words and phrases must be strategically inserted and a good search engine optimisation specialist will be able to do so without compromising the integrity of the message.

The team at Infinite IT Solutions have a wealth of content writing experience and either can write or rewrite existing content to better communicate your message and/or optimise your website for improved search engine ranking results.

Consumer Behaviour

Think about your own behaviour as you surf the net. What does it take to make you stop and investigate further? What are the features that fill you with confidence about a business and conversely what makes you think a website is dodgy. Chances are these are the same factors your prospective clients will take into account when searching for your products or services.

Search Engine Optimisation can get you the ranking you are looking for and the associated website hits but a lot is inferred about your business from first impressions. We’re a fickle lot and first impressions really are everything.

The key attention grabber when you browse a website is the design; the colours, the layout, the pictures so it is integral that you have a good designer on board who can produce eye catching results. Conversely some of the turn offs include dated websites or logos. If your web site or logo is dated it sends messages that perhaps your technologies or practices and products are dated. Likewise if the functionality of your website is limited (e.g. you are product based but have no means by which to purchase online) and does not provide all the expected options you tend to think that the provider does not understand their client’s needs. One of the worst offenders is poor grammar and spelling which rightly or wrongly spells unprofessionalism and lack of attention to detail. Usability is also essential if you want to capture and retain your audience and make their journey an easy one.

Remember, your competitors are only clicks away.