Why & How Your Brand Should Be On Social Media

“Social media is here and it is not going anywhere,” is what I find myself telling many small business owners I know who have little to no online presence. I was once asked, “What is 130 characters going to do to help my business?” I replied with, “Well, first of all it is 140 characters, and secondly tons of things!” I then started explaining how great of a site Twitter is to connect with others and stay current.

I have run into many business owners out there who don’t understand but know some of the benefits of tweeting throughout the day, creating a daily Facebook post or snapping a picture and sharing it with those who follow them. Business people are often social people, and what better way to reach a new demographic of millennials than social media?

The biggest caution I give to brands starting out in digital marketing is not to dive into all of the sites at once. Start small, and then expand. If there is a Facebook page, make sure it has a good content calendar or that posts are in line with some type of social media strategy. If there is no Facebook page, create one asap. It is simple and easy to do. While on the topic of Facebook, be sure to create a Google+ page as well and post the things you post to your Facebook page. Google likes Google products, so of course Google search results are going to highlight a well optimized Google+ page over a less optimized website.

Next, head for Twitter and begin following people and organizations your brand would want to retweet and/or engage with. I suggest tweeting for a couple weeks and having somewhat of a Twitter presence before telling Facebook fans to follow you on Twitter. Experiment with it a bit and make sure you know the basics of the site.

Then, depending on what type of business you are running, you can easily create an Instagram to share pictures of your products, use your already existing YouTube channel (through Google+ Business page) to make tutorials, create a blog to share ideas, create a Pinterest to show customers the possibilities of your product and last but not least, make sure your brand is on LinkedIn. LinkedIn doesn’t require daily or even weekly posting at all times, but it is definitely a necessity because they are easily optimized as well.

What social media sites do you use for your brand? Comment below!

The Best Advice I Have Ever Received

 

Being a student at the University of Missouri—St. Louis, I have had tremendous opportunities to network. I love that my school is in the great city of St. Louis because there are numerous possibilities to familiarize yourself with successful business people in your industry of interest. Boeing is a huge company in the greater St. Louis area and I was honored when I received a scholarship from the company.

Last week several influential employees from Boeing and several scholarship recipients came together to have lunch. I met two men who were preparing for retirement after their long careers at the company. They were extremely nice and told me about their experiences, challenges and we shared the fact that we all come from the same alma mater.

After our meal was done and it was almost time to leave, one of the gentlemen (who happened to be the person that made Boeing’s scholarship program through my university possible) shared some advice with me that I do not want to just keep to myself.

He told me that every day he has several meetings he attends, sometimes there are three meetings being held at once and he has to somehow figure which one is best for him to attend. In short, work gets busy and it is easy to let it take over your life. He told me that the most important thing he has learned in his career is to maintain a good work-life balance. It makes work much easier when you feel that your time is balanced between your kids, spouse, hobbies, work and more. This may seem simple, but when work begins to consume your life, you do not end up being the best worker you can be.

In the industry I am interested in, digital marketing, one cannot be stuck to their desk chairs. Marketing requires interaction, inspiration, innovation and more “i” words. A marketer cannot meet those requirements without stepping away from their work for a bit in order to experience new things. So, my fellow businessmen and women, make sure you give yourself some time in order to be the best employee you can be.

When to Post to Social Media

After completing a Digital Marketing Strategies course and starting a social media internship, I have learned a lot about when to post. If you are first starting out, you have to be experimental and post at various times of the day on various social media outlets. Also, try playing with the frequency at which you post on each site.

A rule of thumb is, you can almost never post too much on Twitter. Try to space out your tweets a bit if you are trying to post a high amount at first, but Twitter is a never ending feed of information and your followers are most likely not only going to see your tweets. When posting to Pinterest, remember that it is highly used on Saturdays and that you shouldn’t post too much to overcrowd your follower’s feed. On your Google+ page, posting weekdays before noon is usually best. Google+ is also extremely good from an SEO perspective, so even if you do not have a large following on Google+, post everything and use hashtags (2-3 max per post). Facebook posting can be tricky to figure out. Keep in mind that engagement grows higher on the weekends. The “new” feature of promoting posts for your Facebook page that started in late 2013 has really changed the game when it comes to posting. I have learned to not be afraid to post multiple times a day. It will not annoy your followers because those following you will likely not see every post you make. When it comes to boosting your posts pick a post that you feel is going to be shared and liked a lot. Also, boost posts that you would like to promote the most. Not every post needs to be promoted, just be strategic and think of which posts you want to make sure almost all of your followers and more will see.

After doing this for a month or so, check out the analytics provided for your page. They should show steady statistics after a while and thankfully, almost all social media sites provide those analytics. Especially when starting out, note when you get the most response and feedback from your posts, that is what will overall tell you when the best time is to post for your audience.

The Move to St. Louis!

This article  makes me so happy to read! I am a St. Louis native and I love my city. I decided to stay here for school because I wanted to take advantage of the internship and job opportunities businesses in this city offer. St. Louis is booming with startups and the cost of living here is one of the lowest in the country. Who wouldn’t want to start a business here? If you are looking for a place to start a new advertising or marketing firm, I suggest the great city of St. Louis, MO!