Every week, I meet Mesa business owners ask me this question.
Should you create Social Media profiles for your business? When I mean by Social Media, I refer to Facebook Fan page, Twitter account, etc.
Conversations About Your Business Are Already Taking Place
You might be too busy to create a Facebook page for your business. But the fact of the matter is whether you like it or not, conversations about your business is already taking place.
If you Google your business name and find people talking about your organization, hey, congratulations, at least you’re worth talking about.
The danger is when nobody is talking about your organization. It probably means your business is good, but not great to the point worth spreading.
I think it’s a reality check here.
When to Create Facebook Page or Twitter Account
It’s not necessary to create Social Media profiles to spread stories about your organization, but if you have zero web presence, it’s a good place to start. Ask yourself this question – what’s the purpose of creating your profiles? Is it to provide customer service? To create fan pages to support your fans? To communicate better with your customers and clients?
A good way to assess the need is whether or not your target population isalready using Social Media to communicate with others. If many of your clients are already Facebook users, it’ll provide another channel for your business to connect with the people who matter to your business.
However, let’s say you’re creating a Twitter account just to communicate with your employees. If none of your employees tweet, it’s probably not necessary at this time.
Social Media, if used successfully, keep your conversations fluid. If your primary communication is email, it’s not always necessary to create a Facebook profile. Likewise, if your business mostly deals with telephone calls, creating a Twitter may not better your current communication.
Social Media Connects You to Outside World
One thing Social Media makes possible is you can reach people outside your current and immediate influence. So, for marketing purposes, if you’re looking for ways to reach more people, you should create Social Media profiles.
Start showing up to Mesa Chamber of Commerce meetings with your business cards and ask if anyone is using Social Media successfully to approach people in your industry. If you meet other business owners who can point you to the right direction, start connecting with them and exchanging methods that help each other.
Currently, my web traffic comes about 8-9% from Twitter and %15-20% Facebook. While my Twitter happens to be connected with local to greater Phoenix folks, my Facebook is deeply connected with people I frequently associate with weekly — they all bring different people to me.
Creating Facebook profiles and Twitter can eventually move you to create YouTube videos and other Social Media profiles. You’ll be amazed at what kind of business relationships you can form with people you only meet over Facebook, Twitter and other Social Media network.
In the meantime, at least you might want to grab your username that represents your business name before anyone else taking it. To see if your username or profile name is taken, visit KnowEm. KnowEm allows you to check for the use of your brand, product, personal name or username instantly on over 350 popular and emerging social media websites.
Don’t get scared, it’s just the Facebook, right? Start reading my past articles I’ve written to find out how other Social Media savvy business owners are utilizing Facebook and Twitter.
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