1 Less is More with Social Media Marketing

A common mistake is overdoing your social marketing. Don’t overload your page with content, this is a sure way to make people unfollow or unlike. Instead, be consistent about posting daily and make sure the content you do write is quality. This will earn you so much more of a following than if you spam your audience with too many posts they don’t want to see.

2 Know Your Target Audience

Understanding your audience is key, then you will know how to talk to them and what they want to see. Study the data you get from Facebooks metrics to see who your audience is. Try different methods of interacting and different content and see what gets the best results with your specific following.

3 Post for Your Target Audience

Now you understand your audience, focus your content on what they would want to see. Rather than reposting graphics or clickbait content found on the web somewhere, which is what so many pages do. This type of content isn’t personal to your brand and doesn’t represent your business. Your audience won’t engage with this type of content. Find a good balance between promoting products and posting interesting content.

4 Prioritise

If you get more interaction and interest on Facebook than on Twitter for example, then focus on Facebook more. Many people make the mistake of putting more time into a platform that is underperforming. But the main thing is to focus on the places where you are engaging with customers, and then developing this engagement into fans, or purchases, by building a loyal following.

5 DO NOT Buy Likes

We all know how tempting this is! But don’t, this ruins your demographics data, the likes are not from real people but bots, who definitely won’t be interested in your content or products. Your engagement rate will be terrible, as these bots don’t interact, and Facebook has an algorithm that looks at your engagement rates and is less likely to show your post if it’s bad. Instead spend the money on buying ads so that you can reach real people, real people that may just be looking for a page like yours.

6 Promoting a Post

Knowing which posts to promote can be tricky, you can’t choose just any post to boost. Choosing a promotion post of a popular item or a competition for free products is always great, as it not only introduces new people to your brand it gives them an introductory offer on your products. The main things to consider are what would someone seeing this for the first time think about your brand; how do you come across, and will this post appeal to people who have never heard of you.

7 Listen to Feedback

Finally, listen to comments and feedback from followers, see if they have any suggestions for improvements and what’s not working or hear if they are enjoying your content. Interact with customers on social media and build up relationships.

The post 7 Top Marketing Tips to take your Social Media Marketing to the Next Level appeared first on Eventure Internet.

We have helped to develop an eCommerce site which accommodates individuals to browse and purchase items with ease. Our design and development team worked closely with the Fun:Bikes team to provide a bespoke platform tailor made to suit their needs, with Eventure advising on how to improve sales.

Creating a bespoke eCommerce site, Fun:Bikes stands out amongst its competitors showcasing a modern and simple to use responsive design.

We look forward to what the future brings with working with Fun:Bikes.

The post New Website Launch – Fun:Bikes appeared first on Eventure Internet.

We’ll be taking a look at:

• Instagram – What is it?
• Why will Instagram be good for your marketing?
• No nonsense advertising
• How Instagram will work for your business

Instagram – What is it?

Instagram sells itself as:

“… a simple way to capture and share the world’s moments. Transform your everyday photos and videos into works of art and share them with your family and friends.”

Available on all devices, this app is quick and easy to use. Setting up an account can take as little as 60 seconds, with inbuilt features that can access your camera and gallery with a few simple clicks.

Why will Instagram be good for your marketing?

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

Remember that bit where I mentioned the selfie generation? A picture of a celebrity holding a product, a blogger snapping an outfit, an image of some new stock; these picture have at least one thing in common, they are likeable. Visual marketing is something that people will never lose interest in, images and videos are instant and can provoke emotions far quicker than words.

Here is a good example how the same post can have two very different results when uploaded to Instagram and Facebook.

Case A is Instagram and B is Facebook, there are many differences between the two posts including one displaying text below and the other above. Instagram has received the better social result in this example, you can clearly see what the picture is of and the caption polishes off the post nicely with a very soft selling message. The exact same post is used on Facebook but it’s just not enough to stand out, an Instagram timeline is full of imagery whereas Facebook is a mixed bag, making it harder to stand out meaning you need to have a calculated approach when it comes to marketing.

Attracting interaction couldn’t be simpler on Instagram, this is all thanks to #Hashtags and tagging. Yes, Facebook has incorporated the same functionality but using it on Instagram just feels smoother without feeling like a spammer. Starting your own trend, dropping into other people’s feeds, and using up to 30 tags means there’s plenty of opportunity to target an audience equalling a better chance of getting interactions.

With new updates being added regularly you can now post quick snippet videos making video marketing a hot trend. Do you have to be arty? No, but it does help. A video of your products coming off the distribution line can be just as hypnotizing as a cleverly edited clip.

There may be many benefits to Instagram but one of the most notable points is that they listen to their users. Recently they have just rolled out their feed to web users meaning you can use the app through your desktop, a massive result for marketers!

In short:
• Easy to use, both desktop and mobile friendly
• Quick to set up
• Functionality to access your camera and gallery with multichannel sharing available
• Simple to attract users with various tags
• Upload either pictures or short videos

No nonsense advertising Instagram

is a scroll and go kind of app, you don’t even need to click into the picture to give it a like, all you need to do it double tap. With this in mind, as you’re scrolling through your feed you may notice the odd sponsored ad, however they’re a little bit sneaky you may not even notice the image you’re looking at is an ad (the sponsored message in the right hand side corner may give it away!) Their audience targeting is so good that sometimes you don’t spot these adverts because you expect to see that product or mention in your feed anyway.

You can target a customer demographic beyond just your current Instagram followers based on the demographic you choose and with their advertising platform exactly like Facebook (thanks to them purchasing the app) you don’t have to spend time learning the new Advert Manager. Using your Business Manager account on Facebook you can create and track your advert easily, this is ideal if you have a web based agency looking after your accounts because they can track and monitor the success of setting up adverts on Instagram.

In short:
• Your adverts slip in subtly to people’s feeds
• Easy to set up using Facebook Business Manager
• Simple to track

How Instagram will work for your business

Businesses big and small are now using Instagram successfully to advertise their business. The common thought is that this platform is for all things pretty: Fashion, beauty and models. However, you couldn’t be more wrong! From traders to gardeners, you’ll find their businesses on Instagram especially if they have something to sell. Snapping a picture or a video of your product or service allows people to see behind the scenes of a brand, they’re getting an experience that they can’t get whilst browsing your website.

Whether you want to create images from your phone or your happy to take a few snaps and send it over to your marketing team, it only requires a simple thought and a click of a button to start building a new audience for your brand.

The new trend for brands is to create a theme on their Instagram page which means that all their images have the same element whether that’s a white border, the same filter or are all shot from the same angle. This is a great element for businesses to build their brand visually.

In short:
• Suitable for all businesses
• Easy to take photos or to send photos to your marketing department
• Great for visually building your brand

Conclusion

It pays to market your business on Instagram if you want to build your audience, drive your products and keep up to date with the latest social media platform. Using Instagram isn’t time consuming, especially if you have an eCommerce & SEO agency looking after your marketing, so download the app and get on board.

The post Why It Pays To Market Your Business On Instagram appeared first on Eventure Internet.

We all know that having a Facebook business page goes hand in hand with every marketing plan, but there is a lot more to it than just updating your status. You can help achieve key business goals through paid advertising. Whether you want to find new customers, boost your sales or generate activity on your page, Facebook has developed an easy to use advertising service which can help you meet your business goals online.

Firstly, let’s take a quick look at advertising on Facebook. With over a billion monthly users it has created a service where you can easily generate adverts to target individuals based on location, age, interests and other specific qualities.

So, what’s special about Facebook advertising? As reported on Facebook’s business page, most online advertising reaches only 27% of its intended audience. Facebook go above and beyond these figures by stating that the average reach is 91% therefore your business gets more value from every ad.

Still a bit unsure about advertising on Facebook? To put you at ease Facebook have complied a list of success stories showcasing real businesses getting real results from advertising using their platform. Success stories come from the likes of Cadbury Creme Egg, Pepsi Max and Volvo. If they can do it then you can, right?

Getting Started

First of all you need to make sure you are logged in to your Facebook account where you manage your businesses page. Go to Facebook.com/business and click “Create an Ad”, next you’ll be asked the question “What kind of results do you want for you adverts?” Hovering over each category will bring up a little explanation box summarising each advertising tactic.

For Page Post Engagement

1.    Select your business page that you want to boost.
2.    Select which post you want to boost (If you want to boost a specific post make sure you have written and published it first).
3.    Next you’ll be taken to a page asking “What kind of results do you want for you adverts?” Here you will run through a list of tick boxes and fields where you can narrow down your target audience and select your budget for the promotion.

For Page Likes

1.    Select your business page that you want to boost.
2.    Select an image to use in your adverts, image sizes can be found here.
3.    Choose your ad’s title, make sure it’s concise and eye-catching.
4.    Create ad copy for the body, make sure it’s compelling to ensure a good click-through rate.
5.    Target your audience, here you will set your audience preferences, try to narrow down your results for better targeting.
6.    Finally set your budget.

For Click to Website

1.    Enter your URL.
2.    Select an image to use in your adverts.
3.    Next section is called Text and Links, make sure you have a business profile to represent the URL you have entered as you will need to select it at this stage. You will need to a pick a call to action and you will need to create ad copy for your advert.
4.    Select your target audience.
5.    Finish off by setting a budget.

For App Installations

1.    Enter the URL of your app.
2.    Customise your app with a title, ad copy, icon image and a large image to be displayed under the copy.
3.    Choose your audience, here you can select your platform (Android or iOS), select the specific OS versions and add the specifics of location, age gender, interests and assign target categories.
4.    Round off your advert by assigning a budget.

For App Engagement

1.    Select your app.
2.    Tailor your ad by adding an image or images for your advert.
3.    Next edit your text and links, here you’ll have the option to add a deep link, call to action, app name and copy.
4.    Choose your audience, here you can select your platform (Android or iOS), select the specific OS versions and add the specifics of location, age gender, interested and assigned target categories.
5.    Finish off by assigning a budget to your ad.

For Event Responses

1.    Enter your app’s URL.
2.    Select an image to use in your adverts.
3.    Provide interesting and concise ad copy to accompany your advert.
4.    Next, select your target audience, here you can target a specific demographic which will benefit your event.
5.    Finally you will need to set a budget.

For Offer Claims

1.    Select your Page
2.    Create a new offer by adding a title, description of the offer and image.
3.    Pick when the offer expires, add optional terms and conditions if necessary.
4.    Target your audience, here you will get the chance to narrow down your audience to the people who will most likely take advantage of your offer.
5.    Select your budget, make sure to pick a sensible budget which will last for the duration of your offer. You can always add more to your budget at a later date using the Adverts Manager which appears on the left hand side under “favourites” on your Facebook News Feed.

Keep An Eye On Your Ads

As mentioned above you can revisit and keep an eye on your adverts via the Adverts Manager link which appears on the left hand side under “favourites” on your Facebook News Feed. Here you will get the opportunity to view all your campaigns which includes notifications of your daily spend, your campaign and budget report. If you wish you can download a full report which gives you a full break down of your campaign.

The post A Guide On How To Advertise On Facebook appeared first on Eventure Internet.

Thanks to a few revolutionary apps, your Facebook can be turned from a mere part of your marketing operations to the hub of all your content, linked with all your other social media platforms. And best of all, if you choose to, you can mix and match the best apps together to create a style that suits your company best. In fact, you can turn your Facebook page into a strengthened marketing platform entirely free of charge.

Pagemodo

Pagemodo, previously known as fanbuilders, was founded in 2010 as a tool for designing fan pages on Facebook. It now incorporates a number of other useful features which in some ways make it essential to any business interested in expanding their social media presence.

Their main feature is the ability to add custom tabs to your page, from a plethora of different templates and designs. This allows you to place photographs, videos, and information about your business on to a tab, or a number of different tabs.

In many ways, it can perform the functions of an actual website, mostly apart from ecommerce. The ease of management is strikingly apparent, especially so for small business, making a Facebook page a hidden gem. An effective social marketing strategy will draw customers to your page where they can explore what you have to offer.

There’s also the option to create and set your posts for the week, much as you can with Tweetdeck for Twitter. This allows you to put in as little or as much time as you want into your marketing, and lets the apps do the rest.

Read more about Tweet Deck by viewing our guide “What Is TweetDeck And How To Use It”

However, the free version can be quite limiting in some aspects, so we recommend trying out a few others, too.

Woobox

Woobox is slightly less feature-laden than Pagemodo, albeit easier to use. Woobox was also founded in 2010 as a way to engage and grow Facebook fanbases through apps. It costs to use features such as coupons and competitions, but the most relevant features are free of charge.

It provides the option of linking to other social media platforms, or even more interestingly, integrating them directly into your Facebook page. There are a number of platforms that offer this option, the most notable being Pinterest, Twitter, and Youtube.

Although you are unable to update the content of your apps (like posting a tweet) directly from Facebook, it does a great job of providing a ‘one-stop shop’ for visitors, who are able to browse your entire social media following from one page.

It’s easy to see how useful these apps can be. But what else does Facebook have to offer?

TabPress

Tabpress is slightly different from the usual tab applications because it allows users to add their own custom code into the app for ultimate flexibility. Although this requires some knowledge of coding, it also means you can get away from the template feel of many other apps out there.

FaceItPages

FaceItPages is squarely aimed at businesses, which has its pros and cons. It has a DIY approach, and thus offers more flexibility than many tab applications, but involves going through a design wizard to set up all your tabs. Importantly, it also integrates Google analytics, so you can track how effective your Facebook marketing strategies are.

The Eventure approa

Here at Eventure we understand the importance of integrating social platforms together, and wherever possible have at least one tab on every Facebook page linked to another user base.

We also understand that a good social marketing strategy is at the core of any following. At the heart of every good Facebook page is great content which keeps users coming back. You can have the best page in the world with a multitude of different tabs, stuffed with information and media, but without any visitors this is relatively pointless. We try and bring both together to give our clients the best chance possible of achieving success.

The post Making Facebook Your Centre Of Operations appeared first on Eventure Internet.

Guest blogging? What’s that?

After given a brief introduction to the electric atmosphere in the office I was soon given a crash course in to the estranged world of guest blogging and all that it entails. I still can’t say for sure what it’s about, but I can safely say that it’s nothing at all like journalism.

They both involve writing articles, but guest blogging is, in many ways, a more demanding task than journalism. Both mentally and physically. It can boggle the mind sometimes about the depth and breadth of different audiences you can end up writing for. One moment you could be writing a whimsical article on uses for leather jackets, the next moment writing a deadly serious article about how to protect yourself from lightning. And that’s not the kind of information you want to get wrong, lest there be a lawsuit on your hands.

In truth you don’t need to go out and look for stories, all you need is right there in front of you – a trusty Google search bar in front of you and a keyboard at your fingertips. But the ability to switch between personas in an instant requires you to be a schizophrenic or a very talented wordsmith. It’s something I’ve had to build up over the two months I’ve been here and only now does it feel remotely natural.

There’s also the struggle of finding someone who actually wants to publish your article. I get an impression that this is what it’s like to be a freelance journalist – one day you can get five articles published and then the next day potential editors merely do so much as scoff at your title. Admittedly though, these are bloggers, not the editor of the Guardian. It’s a little easier.

Social Media, It’s Not As Simple As You Think

I was also tasked with engaging with social media, which I always assumed took about 10 minutes a day and look! You gained 300 likes. As it turns out, I was pretty off the mark with that, too. You can spend as much or as little time as you want engaging with your followers, but it’s all directly linked to the growth of your audience. Post twice a day about engaging content and you’ll have twice the reach of someone who just posts once a day advertising a new product.

I think the key is balancing the amount of time you want to invest in expanding your social media empire with the running of your business. I think that’s definitely an area where companies like Eventure can step in and put in the time that each individual business needs to in order to see growth.

I also learnt that the audience is just as important when tackling social media as it is when you’re guest blogging. On my second day I was about to send out a Facebook post for a ladies’ makeup brand, suggesting that they try our new deodorant if they have problems with body odour. I was soon told that probably wasn’t the best way to word it. I mean who was going to share that post without alerting all their friends to a severe B.O problem?

All in all, I found my time at Eventure really quite interesting. It’s not often you get to see what goes on behind the closed doors of the internet. But rest assured it’s not as easy as it looks.

The post Eventure Internet: An Outsider’s Perspective appeared first on Eventure Internet.

TweetDeck is a great tool that can generate a lot of traffic for a business, especially if you use it as part of an overall marketing plan. It can however be a bit confusing for first time users.

Use this guide to help with:

• Understanding what TweetDeck is
• How to set up a TweetDeck account
• How to add twitter accounts to TweetDeck
• How to add columns in TweetDeck
• What you can do on TweetDeck
• How to create custom alerts

Understanding What TweetDeck Is

TweetDeck is an application for a twitter account that is of great benefit to businesses, bloggers and publishers alike. Utilised properly it can allow you to organise, search for and respond to tweets centred on a specific subject or product for multiple accounts at the same time.

How To Set Up A TweetDeck Account

You must create a new account to use TweetDeck as you cannot create an account with any current twitter credentials.

1.    Go to tweetdeck.com
2.    Click on create account
3.    Provide an email address and create a password
4.    You’re ready to go

You can add multiple twitter accounts to your TweetDeck account once it is created by using the settings icon in the top right of the navigation bar.

How To Add Twitter Accounts To TweetDeck

To add twitter accounts to TweetDeck just follow the instructions below:

1.    Open the settings in the top right of the navigation bar, it looks like a little gear
2.    Select settings
3.    Then select add twitter account
4.    Enter the account you wish to add
5.    Easy as that!

How to add columns in TweetDeck

1.    Click add column in the top navigation bar
2.    Select the type of column
3.    Select the account to populate the column

What You Can Do On TweetDeck

One of the most useful features for business owners on TweetDeck is the custom alert tool. With this tool you can set up your own keyword or phrase alerts which will instantly pull up tweets from twitter that are relevant. For Example if you set up an alert for “BMX Bikes” whenever someone tweets about “BMX Bikes” that tweet will show up on your TweetDeck.

How To Create Custom Alerts

To create a custom alert follow the instructions below:

1.    Add a new column
2.    Select search
3.    Enter the keyword or phrase you wish to create an alert for
4.    You’re alert has now been created and all search hits will be pulled up and displayed in that column
5.    It’s as easy as that!

This simple “How to guide” should get you using TweetDeck effectively, there really isn’t much more you need to know. If you have any questions, or if you have any useful tips, please leave them in the comment box below.

The post What Is TweetDeck And How To Use It appeared first on Eventure Internet.

It’s not had a huge fanfare, but Microsoft has branched out by creating its own version of a social network – Welcome to Socl, an online gallery designed to bring visual and textual messages together. Pronounced as “social”, it is powered by the Microsoft search engine Bing to create “rich, visual collages” using the inbuilt search engine to display your interest to your friends as well as people all around the world.

To sum it up, its Pintrest meets Bing presented on a Facebook wall.

The team behind the latest social network describes Socl as being “…an experimental research project with a minimal set of features that combine social networking and search for the purpose of enabling people to express and share ideas through rich visual collages, organized by interests.” To translate, it means they’ve not quite worked out what it’s for (experimental) but it helps people share stuff in a slightly different way.

What we say is that it’s simply another weighty indication that all search engines are relying more and more on social data to determine search positions. Whether it takes off or not (probably not) it’s another chapter on the theme of the past two years (google + anyone) that search without social is dead.

Main Features

•    Doesn’t compete with other social networks
•    Research and learning orientated
•    Open social network
•    Combine video, text and images all in one post
•    Video party feature

So what makes Socl different? Well for starters the social site isn’t in competition with any other popular networking or search sites. Instead, Socl focuses on allowing users to be able to research topics using the built-in search feature as well as letting you post rich in content posts.

Socl is an open social network, this means you can connect to anybody and everybody from around the world through the posts that you and others create. Undoubtedly you will come across your Facebook and Twitter friends but with Socl it’s all about venturing in to the new, this means you have to be prepared to engage with new people as you share topics.

With articles, videos and images becoming more accessible to share online to all your friends, Socl allows you to create posts where you can insert a collage of images, videos and articles around the theme of your topic. Building posts allows you to show your appreciation for the great content you find online – and because so much content is available at your fingertips,  Socl posts permit you to share more of it in one go.

Socl has also included a video party feature where you can create video playlists that lets you watch videos and talk to people in real time allowing you to discuss things as they happen.

Creating An Account

There’s no false advertising when they claim “it only takes seconds” to create an account. Like many social and content sites these days, a little help from one of the big boys is at hand. You can sign in with your Facebook or Microsoft accounts. And if you’ve not got a Facebook account by now, let’s be honest, you’re not going to be using Socl are you!

Creating A post

Once logged in you will be taken to a page similar to your Facebook page feed, on this page you can view recently posed topics by the Socl community which you can interact with.

If you want to create a post yourself, then doing so couldn’t be easier. Simply type in what you would like to create a post on, once you have clicked the “+” you will be taken to another page where the Bing search engine has collected content for you to use. Simply pick what you want to use from the images, video and news tabs and your collage will be created for you, once you’ve finished just click “Post”.

Speak The Socl Lingo

Every time a new social network is introduced we have to get to grips with the new technical terms, the main term you will need to learn for Socl is “riff”. A riff is a visual response to something someone else has posted. To create a riff click on the comment link on a post, this should open a dialogue box which will have a ‘riff on this post’ link on the bottom right corner. Clicking on this link will take you to a separate page where you can respond to the post the same way as you would create a post.

Overall…

Socl feels as if you are constantly creating conversational starters where you can introduce others to interesting facts, videos and articles where you can discuss them in depth. Immediately after creating a post you are accepted into a community which you had no idea about, all it took was a few seconds before I received several notifications where people liked, followed or created a riff due to what I’d posted. If you are looking to create an online presence then Socl is something you should be using; you can even link all your other social accounts to the networking site so you can share your posts easily. Ultimately Socl is an interesting search tool combined with social interaction – let us know how you intend to use this new networking site.

The post Introducing Socl – A Simple Guide To Using The New Social Networking Site From Microsoft appeared first on Eventure Internet.

With the evolvement of web 2.0 social media has become increasingly popular to the point where 62% of the world’s 2billion internet users are using it frequently. Gone is the time where setting up a social profile for your business is optional, it’s now required for two reasons:

• Marketing; Social media helps entice customers to your website. It can also harness the passion of your customers which will help drive purchases and buzz.
• Support/ Customer Service; Social media engages customers directly and deals with any issues in a straightforward and quick manner. This helps drive down the cost of service and will help build a better experience for all of your customers.

Google+ already has over 250 million users proving its latest foray into the world of social networking is here for the long haul. It has some key advantages for businesses over its rivals such as Facebook and Twitter who provide a platform to promote content and interact with customers but not much else. Google+, however is a fully integrated search and social profile that will become central to Google’s future identity and how we find and share information. It has already begun this transition with the integrations of its services such as Gmail, Reader and YouTube.

So how does Google+ help you?

Integration into Search:

Google+ members can search against both the broader web and their own Google+ social graph. This means circles, business pages, posts and pictures will be integrated into the search engine. Members will be able to search information from their network of associates that is private and only shared with them as well as information publically available on the internet.

The popular Google Places profile for businesses has also been integrated into the brand. Now called Google+ local it allows for a simple way to discover and share local information about businesses including a 30-point rating system and recommendations. This is fully integrated into Google search and Maps allowing for all your profiles to be merged and managed on a single page.

The ‘+1’ button:

Google’s share button, the +1 can be embedded on your website and acts as a public recommendation by appearing in search results .They are tied to specific landing pages similar to tweets or likes and are tallied separately for each page. When +1ing a webpage you get the opportunity to share your +1 with your Google+ circles .Interestingly, they affect each page’s Quality Score, which could help you PPC campaigns.

The +1 button also has some SEO impact too. Content recommended by friends and acquaintances is often more relevant that content from strangers. For Instance, a film review from an expert may be useful, but a review from a friend who shares your tastes could be even better. Due to this, +1’s are a useful signal to Google when determining the relevance of your page to a user query.

Additional Functionality:

Even after its rapid growth, Google+ is still significantly smaller than other social networks and a much lower percentage of businesses have a presence there. Subsequently, early uptake can be a distinct competitive advantage as you have the opportunity for a much larger market penetration.

It also had the advantage of monitoring its competitors to see what features work and what did not. This means Google+ is more of a hybrid incorporating functions that worked in Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin and building on them with its own distinct range of functionalities that sets it apart. It has perfected the use of circles to share data with different groups of peoples as well as integrating elements of Skype with Hangouts, Zagat with reviews and ratings with Quora which has the ability to share questions and answers.

Google+ is more than a social network; it’s a social extension of Google’s search engine. If your business wants to develop both search and social strategies, Google+ is becoming a vital tool that should be seriously considered by all businesses.

The post Why your business should utilize Google+ appeared first on Eventure Internet.

In the social media world, there is a third group trapped between the plugged-in “Twitterati” and the shrinking group that remain unaware of it even existing.

This middle group know social media is important: They see it permeating popular culture and recognise the impact it’s having on society, as well as businesses. But without facebook friends, knowing what to say in 160 characters or what it means to hashtag something, for all intents and purposes they are in the group who don’t.

So what are the practical social media uses and how can business owners or those with no friends fans or followers really get anything meaningful out of it.

Networking

Let me reminisce…It’s 2005, it’s a damp Tuesday afternoon in Derby and I’m stood next to some sad looking sandwiches in a corner of the room listening politely to a guy talking about health and safety training workshops he runs. In 5 minutes he’ll ask me what I do, we’ll exchange business cards and then I’ll move onto the next guy whose probably an accountant and just as irrelevant.

Oh the fond memories I have of networking.

Fast forward to today and I can pretty much contact anyone in the world direct to their inbox with just a few minutes of searching. Furthermore, all this can all be achieved from the comfort of the sofa, sat in my pants if I so wished.

It’s not quite that simple of course but what the social web has done is place the opportunity for everyone in the world to be connected to everyone else. You don’t need to be a social media expert to appreciate that this has huge potential for businesses looking to make key contacts.

Even if you’d rather stick to face-to-face introductions, social media allows you to do your homework on the person you want to build a real relationship with. Get that attendee list before the seminar and do your homework! Or give the whole of that conference you’re attending a shout out on Twitter and let them do their homework on you instead.

As a case in point, whilst writing this post, I happened to look up who the CEO of Coca-Cola is on Linked In to use them as a potential example. Only turns out we went to the same University – If I ever get to meet Muhtar Kent I already know how I’ll break the ice.

Keeping Relevant

It’s not just big news stories that get reported first on-line. Any development within any niche is likely to be reported first via social media.

But it’s not just the speed at which you can discover news and information which is important. With so much content on the web, a social network can be used to filter information down to the best stuff from the best sources. Imagine every newspaper magazine and TV show in the world edited down to what you like and presented to you for consumption at your leisure.

It’s this mix of speed and pertinence that means within a few minutes it’s possible to get the latest oversight of any topic – even if it hasn’t been reported yet through “traditional” channels.

Which leads me neatly onto the following point  – if you you’d find it useful to have great online marketing resources, you should be following us @eventureteam, or you can make sure you don’t miss our latest blogs (like this one) by liking us on Facebook.

Listening

There is a subtle clue in the title which is often ignored. Social media should be…social! It’s all well and good living in our own worlds, finding out what we want to know and saying what we want to say. But great things can happen when you listen to your customers.

Engaging with people is an important part of what makes social media so powerful. When someone talks about your brand, you should know about it. When a customer tells their own followers about your products, you should know about it. And when someone declares their disappointment in your company, you should react to it.

Even if you do nothing else, you should at least be passively “listening to the internet” to maintain your brands image and join in with the conversation whenever possible. Even people who don’t care about social media should care about what others are saying on it about them.

Staff

How well do you know your staff and how well do they know each other. Second to a few hours in the pub, social media is the next best thing for helping create genuine real-world relationships amongst staff. Because we share so much of our lives online, it takes very little time for people to discover hitherto unknown shared interests between staff members.

A lesser appreciated advantage is the fact that no company database is likely to have up to date contact details, for every member of staff, past and present, which can be accessed from any PC or smartphone anywhere in the world at any time.

Final Notes

Social Media is an incredibly powerful tool and it’s certainly not necessary to have lot’s of connection already before it becomes of use (though it does become even more useful once you do). Best of all, it’s free – there isn’t much else out there which offers that kind of value for money.

And whilst it isn’t strictly necessary to have any social profiles yet, the next decade will see a normalisation of social media to the extent that those who aren’t plugged in will become quaint exceptions – perhaps it’s time to choose which group you want to be in?

Your comments are welcome encouraged below we are social after all! There is also a simple guide to setting up social media profiles you can read by following the link.

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