Pugliese on PR
How to use social media
By Tina L. Pugliese, APR, Pugliese Public Relations
Small businesses can use social networking for many practical purposes. You can use these tools (which are usually free) to locate experts and find information, pose questions and get answers. Thoughtful use of social networking services can help you move beyond conventional, one-way marketing, such as advertising, and tap into a more interactive marketing approach.
For instance, you can use social networking tools to:
- Research ideas, and learn more about what customers and prospects are saying about their needs and experiences, and about your products and related areas.
- Gain new market and competitive insights to improve your products and services.
- Create and join conversations with customers, prospects, partners and other constituents about key issues and concerns.
- Create positive word-of-mouth about your products and services.
- Grow your company’s reputation as a thought leader.
Navigating through the social media maze can be overwhelming at first. If you are just starting out, I would recommend monitoring relevant online conversations before you tackle writing your own blog or creating an online community. You can start by tuning into online conversations that can provide you with insights for marketing products and services. Google Blog Search and other tools can help you find relevant blogs, and you can set up an RSS reader, like Google Reader, to get content delivered to you automatically.
Join conversations. You do not have to write your own blog—you can comment and respond or answer questions in other blog posts, or on Twitter. Follow the same rules of etiquette you would use in the real world—make your comments relevant, behave ethically and be authentic—and remember to identify yourself and your company.
Use relevant communities for market research. On LinkedIn, for instance, you can join relevant professional communities to discuss what is going on in your industry and ask questions. Or try Facebook Polls to poll targeted Facebook users, based on demographic data. With this tool, you can field a single-question poll in a few minutes, and get responses from hundreds of people in less than an hour.
As you get more involved, you will learn as you go about the different types of social media, how other small businesses use them, and approaches you can use to launch your own online community, blog or YouTube video.
The biggest benefit of social networking for small businesses is cost. Setting up an account on most of the social networking websites is free and easy to do, whereas creating and maintaining a detailed and useful Web site can be an expensive undertaking. The variety of services provided are comparable to what is offered by many professional advertising firms. With a low-cost video camera and a computer, a small business owner can have a significant Web presence.
The Internet has the potential to reach many more customers than traditional forms of advertising. If you do a direct mailing, it will only reach a limited number of customers, but a well-designed profile can attract a wide variety of potential clients. Some social networking Web sites also offer opportunities to advertise using a variety of marketing tools, such as pay per click.
The only real ongoing cost is time but spent wisely, a worthwhile investment. The trick is to choose carefully, plan your strategy, and follow your plan. It is absolutely true that social networking Web sites can be a fun diversion, but there also is nothing wrong with having fun while generating more business.
Tina Pugliese's columns on public relations appear in Palm Beach Business.com every other Monday. Her previous column can be found here.
Tina L. Pugliese, APR is an executive coach and counselor for Pugliese Public Relations, a communications firm in Boynton Beach, Florida. Pugliese is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, and is the author of the book, Public Relations for Pharmacists, and e-books, Marketing Your Business for Success, How To Work With The Media, Public Relations Manual — A Guide for Entrepreneurs, and the PR Survival Kit. She can be reached at (561) 889-3575 and by email at Tina@PugliesePR.com. Her web site is www.PugliesePR.com.
Article excerpted from e-book, PR Survival Kit, by Tina L. Pugliese, APR.
