Facebook
In 2014 Facebook will be looking at driving revenue and targeting peoples news feeds and posts with more ads. Certainly the place to be and the place for your business to be active. Think about adding posts, specials, things that will ignite peoples interest. Add some product videos for more impact. Overall, Facebook is the king of social media and any business looking to generate followers and increase their reach should be actively participating and marketing their small business here. Because Facebook is such a popular platform for both desktop and mobile users I would recommend speaking to a social media experts before you do anything. Investing now can pay massive dividends in the future.
Twitter
Expect to see the Twitter social platform become much more popular amongst Australian users. This is great for small businesses wanting to make quick tweets about a product or service. Considering you can only write up to 160 characters this is a simple marketing exercise for your small business. Get as many followers as you possibly can and write quick snappy sales driven posts that will get the phone ringing. The beauty for business is the speed at which you can tweet. Think about it. If you are having a sale or a promotion, why not send out a quick tweet to all your followers.
LinkedIn
Personally I like LinkedIn. It’s a great way to connect with businesses and professional people, but I have to admit that for small business owners, this is NOT the best social media platform. In fact, I really would not waste too much time here unless, you are trying to reach out to professionals. If that is the case, then go for it. Ideally, small businesses need to keep marketing and promoting themselves and LinkedIn is not the best place for this.
Google Plus
Whats Google+. No one knows about it, especially small business owners. They all know Google but they are totally unfamiliar with the social aspect of this giant. Well Google in its efforts to rival Facebook, came up with the social platform Google+. Unfortunately, it has fallen flat and its popularity is not as good as it should be. It’s the new kid on the block in an area completely dominated by the established Facebook. However, because every business wants to have a great SEO ranking on Google, and Google is now placing a high ranking value on social media, small businesses better start getting active on Google+ if they want to improve their overall online position. Yes, it may seem like a hassle, but the reality of Google+ is very clear. Either you get on board or your website rankings will suffer.
Instagram
I absolutely love this platform. Not only is it incredibly easy to use, but it is a combination of Facebook and Twitter. If there is one social media platform that businesses should be on, its Instagram. Post photos quickly with a small statement and watch people start following you. It is an App so users will be getting images from you each time you post one. Keep them interesting and you will see how quickly people start following you. All the big names are on there and there is no reason why you can’t be there as well.
A word of warning….Instagram is highly addictive so just be careful about how much time you spend on it. Try it out and see how you go.
If you need some help or advice about establishing and maintaining your presence on these social media networks, give us a call on 02 9360 8514.