Forget Weight Loss…Here's Your Real New Year's Resolution List!

Every January we all tell ourselves, “this year’ll be different!” We make resolutions to turn ourselves around and make things better for the new year. So while you’re promising to give up coffee or spend more time in the gym, don’t forget these 3 resolutions to help improve your social media strategy.

1. I will communicate with my social media manager weekly (ok, maybe monthly)
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times: you get out of social media what you put into it. Your social media manager can only do so much without a little direction. They can post articles, engage with followers, and encourage others to interact, but without direction from you it’s difficult to accurately convey your business’s message.

Do you have upcoming events? Are you offering any seasonal specials? Have you recently joined any new groups? All of this information can help your social media team create a better and more authentic experience for your customers/followers. And that’s something that will drive people to choose you over the next guy.

2. When I network with other small business owners, I will also connect with them via social media
Here’s the scenario: You attend a networking event and meet a bunch of new people, many of whom might be interested in your services. How do you set yourself apart after you’ve all gone home? The easiest way (seriously, I’m not kidding) is to connect via social media. When you exchange business cards with someone, look to see if their Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter names are listed – and if they aren’t, don’t be afraid to ask! If you connect through social media, it allows you to see a little more about this new friend and their business. It also gives them an opportunity to connect with you and learn more about you.

My grandfather used to say: people like doing business with people they like. And as silly as it sounds, social media is a simple way for people to get to know, and hopefully like, you!

3. I will make my business page more personal, but I will not mix my business and personal pages
While it’s true that social media can be an extremely effective marketing tool, you don’t want your pages to be the online equivalent of pizza-shop door hangers. Your business needs to have personality – and your social media pages can give your customers a glimpse into who you really are. Did you close your doors to take a family vacation? Did you take your staff to lunch to celebrate a birthday? Do you have any recent business milestones? Post pictures and comments so your customers can see your business as a collection of living, breathing people, not simply an LLC.

On the flip side, don’t make the mistake of posting something meant for your personal page on your business page (Kitchen-Aid learned this important lesson the hard way). As a general rule, any opinion that might cause a debate at a dinner party is something you should not post on your business page. Or if you think about it from the perspective of a small business owner: if you wouldn’t say it from behind the register to a store full of potential customers, don’t say it online.

Time will tell what new and exciting social media trends we’ll see in the coming year. But no matter what they are, one thing’s for certain. Social media might be changing the way we build business relationships, but the concepts are still the same. Communicate, establish trust, and build authentic personal relationships. If you can do that, the customers will follow.

Happy New Year!

Erika

photo credit: bayasaa