As a Westchester business owner, you know that social media is one of the most powerful, cost-effective marketing vehicles available today to help grow your small business. The fact that social media is free and appears to be easy leads many small business owners to try to establish as large a social media platform as possible. You can find them everywhere: on Facebook, on Twitter, on Pinterest, on LinkedIn – and if a new social media platform emerges tomorrow morning, you can rest assured they’ll have an account established before the day is done.
This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. Organizations that have the internal depth to handle or the resources to outsource the job of establishing and maintaining multiple social media sites can realize tremendous value from their efforts. However, it’s essential that there’s a clear sense of a consistent brand identity displayed everywhere where the customer may encounter your Westchester business. That means a customer who visits your website should recognize what they see on your Facebook page and in your Twitter stream, and vice versa.
This consistency takes many forms. Color and imagery choices are important, as is the language you use in your messaging. The copy you have on your website should be similar in tone and feel as the language you use when you post to Facebook or Twitter. The mechanics of moving from your website to a social media site, or from the social media site to your website, should be seamless and well integrated.
Effective social media marketing requires a commitment of time and resources. Maintaining your social media presence involves regularly posting content your audience finds both relevant and engaging, responding to any messages your customers send to you via social media, and strengthening relationships with fans and followers. Performing these tasks properly can help you to grow your small business and establish a solid following. It is better to do this well on one platform than poorly across multiple social media sites. For this reason, we encourage entrepreneurs and Westchester business owners to be selective about social media marketing, establishing presences only on those sites most relevant to their customer base.
Learn more about social media marketing by attending one of SCORE Westchester’s informative workshops. Upcoming social media workshops include Search and Social Media: Marketing Your Business Online on November 21st and Grow Your Business in 2013: Social Media Marketing Made Simple on December 5th.