Employees, inventory, vendors, maintenance, displays, new menus – how do we find time to do it all? Marketing can land last on our priority list, but getting customers through the door is so critical! In this time of making resolutions for the new year, we have put together a short (I promise) list of easy things to do in the next couple months to get set up for future success. Building an online audience and managing your brand reputation is super important now that 87% of American adults own a smartphone and your business appearing on their screen either encourages them to stop in to YOUR business – or go somewhere else.
Small Move #5
Claim an EASY Username for your Facebook Page
This is super important because once another business claims your username, it is dead to you and you have to select another. The easier your business username is, the easier you’ll be found in online searches and by facebook users where they can see a description of your business, your photos, website link and any posts you care to share. Each business “page” can only have one username - make it obvious and as short as is practical for your business. Choose a logical, easy to remember name . . . carefully because you can only change it once. Here is the link . . . really, if you haven’t done this yet, DO IT NOW. https://www.facebook.com/help/409473442437047/ And if you haven’t created or claimed your facebook page, definitely do that. There are still some long standing Summit County businesses with no facebook page, and it’s so easy and free to createeven if you only post once a month. There are 1.3 BILLION facebook users MONTHLY. It’s a huge, robust, free audience.
Small Move #4
Web address link on Facebook
If you have a webpage, include your web address (link) in the short description “About” section of your Facebook page immediately under your logo box. Just click on “About” and then “Edit” from the Admin Page and add it early enough in the short description that it shows up on the regular business page (be sure and double check that it displays). SO easy and SO effective. When a visitor is looking for more information about you from your facebook posts or runs across you when a friend comments on one of your posts, they’ll easily be able to locate your webpage. Instant traffic. Instant, INTERESTED free traffic, better yet.
Small Move #3
Create a Google+ page
I find Google+ a bit of a “me too” social media site, however Google IS the largest, most influential search engine and having a Google+ page is very likely going to improve your search engine rankings through virtually no work or expense on your part. A quick upload of a logo, a short description of your business which you can copy from your facebook page and you are all set. Of course, include your website link. Take a look at it once a quarter just to be sure it’s updated and you are good to go. Or better yet, leverage hootsuite to post on Google+ at the same time you post to facebook and other social media sites and you get more leverage of your time.
Small Move #2
Include your social media links and/or logos in your advertising
Leverage what you are already paying for – Summit Daily ads, radio ads, brochures, menus, receipts, outbound emails, business cards, your email signature. Put your social media links or icon as a reminder you have a facebook page, twitter feed, Pinterest boards, etc. by including the free icons (search “facebook icon” online for a huge choice of styles) on virtually EVERYTHING you create that remotely looks like marketing to remind your guests, shoppers, diners that you are in social media and would love them to follow you. Start the ball rolling with little changes to your materials when you place a new ad or reprint your marketing materials and you’ll be amazed at the result. I went through the Summit Daily this morning and of the 35 ads, only 5 – a mere 14% include their social media presence in the ad. 25 included their website in their print ads, which is great – but why leave off the conversational part of the relationship when it costs you nothing more? Red Mountain Grill has a red facebook icon in their ad (402 likes), and Breckenridge Cannabis Club mentions both facebook (955 likes) and instagram (373 followers) for specials. Smart, modern, forward-thinking. Free – or at least no EXTRA cost.
Small Move #1
Commit to posting on Social Media 1 time per week
That’s really not much, is it? My favorite trick is to take photos on my iPhone when I am out and about in the county of anything interesting – a sunset, a group of party revelers, the snow at Breckenridge, a happy hour margarita – and use the facebook “pages” app, instagram app, or hootsuite app (where you can make ONE post to go to all your social media sites at once for the ultimate in efficiency) to post a quick photo or comment. We post at least once a day – more depending on what is happening – and promote the most interesting posts to be sure they reach a wider audience. Why you ask? Why spend your valuable time making small talk with your followers? Because they want to see and hear from you, it offers a great opportunity to personalize your business with the “voice” of your company, and it builds your audience for that time when you have something moreimportant to share. Perhaps you are hosting an event, launching new products, made clearance markdowns, or are relocating. Then you really want to have the ear of your customers and they expect to be kept in the know as your followers. But if you haven’t built your audience or nurtured those relationships, you haven’t really earned the right to get practical about your business. And facebook in particular won’t include your posts in your followers feeds unless you have engagement (post likes, comments, shares) so they won’t see it anyway.
For iResort App, I follow about every facebook page and Twitter feed of every business in the county. We live and work in one of the most beautiful and fun packed parts of the world, and it would be awesome to see more people having fun in our collective social media posts. We will re-post your great content when we pick up on it – email me if there is something you don’t want to be missed and we will promote it.
Here’s to your success in 2014!
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