Small Business and
Social Media in 2015
The Champagne corks have all been popped, we've celebrated the New Year and its time to think about what's hot in social media for small businesses in 2015.
1) Video - it's growing as a medium, it's very popular amongst audiences and it gets high click rates. However, it's hard to do authentically well, and can paralyse many people with fear at the thought of appearing in front of a camera. Think about how you could use it - are there opportunities coming up to showcase what you do? More and more people have easy access to tablets and smart phones, so accessing videos becomes easier and more desirable. Could you do a 'how to' video? or a meet the team? Schedule video into your plan and give yourself some time to think about how you can create video this year.
2) £££ - social media has always been talked about as a free medium and it is, but increasingly you are going to need to pay to reach your audience. Facebook has already notified business page users that they will be penalised for selling via a post, and they are encouraging everyone to buy their reach with their audience - even the ones that already 'like' them. To get round this, you are going to need to work hard with your audience, create great content that they want to see and is helpful. Work with your loyal supporters - if they like a lot of your posts then email them a thank you discount or a freebie offer.
3. LinkedIn is still the place for business to business, however it's not been very exciting for a while, look to 2015 as the time this will change. Think about how you can use it to share with others about your business. Think about your content, and your skills how can you add something to the on-line conversation?
4. Google+ - it's still there, it's still good for search engine rankings, and the groups can be useful, so it' worth ensuring that you are visible on there. However the social side of it is still lacking and it doesn't appear to be growing.
5. Finally, but most importantly - content is still King. Think about what your message is and who you are trying to reach and then how you can help them and the community around them. Do not just sell, that will drive people away from you but think about how you can help people? It doesn't have to be your content it can be from other sources, as long as you reference them then that is fine. Here's an example of how Datamills have used different content to help their audience:
Datamills have signposted the Microsoft quick start guides, as a useful tool that other businesses might want to use.