Questions are everywhere concerning social media. Below are just a few of the key insights gained from conversations with experts:
Q. Should every business have a Facebook page.
A. Yes. With 80 million people on Facebook every hour, how can a business not participate?
Q. Is social media all about content generated by an organization?
A. No. Social media is all about creating content through conversation and engagement with communities of people.
Q. How can my company reach out through social media without being too commercial?
A. Give away valuable information that people can use in their everyday lives and you will dampen the feeling of commercialism. For example, if you are a cosmetics company, give away beauty tips.
Q. Do we have to promote our social media presence with advertising?
A. You can begin your social media presence without advertising and other promotions and watch it grow organically. To grow rapidly in social media, however, you will need to consider traditional tools such as advertising and public relations. Integrate social media with all other communications strategies for the greatest benefit.
Q. How do I measure success in social media?
A. One of the measures that is most popular is the number of fans from Facebook. But, you don’t have to stop there. For example, Papa Johns Pizza has 300,000 Facebook fans who receive discount coupons on a regular basis with a 5-6 percent redemption rate. New metrics are being created constantly for social media monitoring and measurement.
Q. Can small businesses use social media successfully?
A. Absolutely. In fact, social media is a way that small businesses can level the playing field with larger companies. Tons of information on how to use social media, including how to blog, are free on the Internet. The cost of entry to social media is small and with creativity and humor, small businesses can see their messages go viral.
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