Have you ever thought to
yourself - how sociable is my business?
Is he the life of the
party, working the room with a drink in hand, igniting eruptions of laughter in
every group he joins. Or is she the conversationalist, giving undivided attention
to a few people making them feel heard and appreciated. Is my business the
quirky one with the bizarre facts and left field anecdotes? Or does he hide in
the kitchen, washing up and helping backstage?
Do you remember the Mac
versus PC ad from a while ago? Two men, dressed very differently, introducing
themselves as "Hi, I'm a Mac" and "I'm a PC". The idea for this
ad was to represent their brand as a person - how would this brand dress, act,
speak etc. Obviously, it was done to promote one brand over the other, but it
stands as a good example of brand personification.
In the past, some
companies - usually with a marketing team and ample resources - would work hard
at defining their brand's personality and ensuring everything worked in line with
this. It's good practice, but for many people who are busting their gut running
their own small business, spending time doing this sort of task would seem
pointless. Especially, when you're already working 12 hour days to ensure you
can put food on the table and keep afloat.
But times have changed -
we are told by everyone around us that we need to have a Facebook page, a blog,
a twitter account, hang out in Pinterest, post to Instagram and update our
Linked In profile. This is the new normal! I was looking at a food's label the
other day to get recipe information, and of course, I see the 'Like us on
Facebook' link. They are everywhere!
So the question about
your company's social life and personality is actually more relevant now than
ever before because when you start a Facebook page or a Twitter account under
the guise of your brand, you are essentially giving your business a voice. So
it's a really important question to ask - who is my business? What sort of
conversations will I be having in this social media world?
It's important that you
don't end up being a salesperson who crashes a birthday party. All the guests
have come to let their hair down, have fun, relax and take their mind off
things. You really don't want to be the one that brings up the topic of 'work',
or tries to sell them something. Grab a drink, change into your party clothes
and join in on the conversations that are happening around you.
Practically, this means
that when you set up a business page on Facebook or open an Instagram account
under your company's brand, you need to consider who you'll be and therefore
what sort of posts will work well for you.
If you want to provide
people with entertainment, post funny images, memes, quotes and jokes.
If you want to inform,
find relevant articles, give away free tips, offer to answer people's questions.
If you want to help
others, share from other people's pages, profile your clients, promote good
causes.
To decide on who you'll
be, start by asking yourself the following questions:
- What does my business
already do?
- Who are my clients and
typically, why would they be on social media? If you can answer this, WHAT
social media are my clients and potential clients on?
- Who am I - what sort
of posts do I like, share, re-tweet and re-gram naturally?
- Other than more sales,
why would/should I use social media for my business?
From here you should be
able to get an idea of the 'person' your business is and therefore, how you'll
socialise online. Use this then as the framework to decide which social media
platforms you'll use, how frequently you'll post, what you'll post and how you
will engage with people.
Grab a drink and enjoy
the party!