Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

More businesses are turning to social media like Facebook and Twitter for free, quick and easy promotion.  Rather than pay a lot of money for traditional advertising, small businesses can benefit from their own Facebook page and Twitter feed to get their message out there.  Using social media for advertising can be sticky, though, since social media creates a far different relationship than the standard "advertiser/viewer" exchange.  Here are some tips to navigate the choppy waters of social media advertising to get the most out of your business' social media presence.

Be a Friend

Social media like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ create a relationship with your audience.  Always remember that using social media means your customers interact with family and friends on the same platform they interact with you.  Like it or not, this blurs the lines between categories like "friend," "customer" and "company."  What this means to you is that you must be genuine and conduct yourself on social media according to its own mores and practices.  In other words, be a friend and don't communicate like a company, which leads us to our next point.

Don't Shill

This is the biggest social media marketing mistake I see, usually because marketers are stuck in the old ways of advertising.  They think the tried and true communication methods proven in print and electronic media advertising will also work in social media.  They're wrong about that.

It's tempting to approach social media like any other advertising and just plug away, shilling everything under the sun to drive business.  Trust me when I say that constant huckstering is the best way to get customers to unfriend you.  Think about it.  Would you want what amounts to commercials showing up constantly in your feed?  This is not to say you should never promote your products.  Come on, that's why you're on social media in the first place!  Just be mindful of your posts and temper the flow of selling with non-commercial messages like links to articles, helpful hints or just a simple greeting.  Customers will be more receptive to sales messages if you come across as a friend first and a company second.

Make it Worth their While

Along with your shills and friendly notes, give customers a reason to follow you and give existing friends a reason to stick around.  One way is to publish content relevant to their interest.  Another way that might be better to both parties is to announce deals and special offers.  Discounts and promotions are a great way to get new friends and inspire social media loyalty.  This gives something to your friends (a deal) and give you something as well (more business).

Network

Networking is just as important in social media as it is in the real world.  Use your account to follow the accounts of other local businesses.  Their fans might notice you and start following you, adding to your audience and spreading your promotional message.

I'll wrap up this article with my own shill if you don't mind.  If you live in or around Mt. Airy or Frederick, Maryland, or know someone who does, and need computer repair help, give me a call.  Here's my website, email, Facebook page and Twitter feed.   I offer a wide range of computer services at great prices for both home computer users and small businesses.  Thanks for reading and good luck with your social networking!

"This Girl will Never Forget to Turn Her Webcam off Again" and other Facebook spam

It seems that every day, I check my personal Facebook page and see at least one friend or family member posting a link to possible Internet porn. Just today, a distant relative old enough to be my mother posted a webcam voyeur video complete with a screenshot of female anatomy, and I don't mean an arm. Did these friends or family members suddenly get really uninhibited?

Nope, it's spam caused by questionable apps on Facebook. It looks like this (blurred for sensitive viewers):




Everybody loves Facebook apps. I play Scramble pretty frequently to pass the time and Farmville's user base is growing every day. But spammers, malware writers and any number of other Internet baddies can also write apps. Friends pass apps around indiscriminately, allowing these applications full access to their personal information and even granting posting rights, clicking that ALLOW button without a second thought in their quest to "send a hug," support a cause, or some other well-intentioned action.

Then the app uses the rights you have handed over to post porn spam to your profile as you. Your friends see you posting a link to provocative video called "This Girl will Never Forget to Turn Her Webcam off Again," "Girl's Father Walks in on Her," or something like that and believes it's actually you posting it. Their guard lowered, they click the link and get all matter of malware, viruses, etc.

Everybody needs to be more careful with apps. When a friend sends an application request, really think about it. Do you really NEED another "send a heart" or "hugs" application to clutter your feed? While you're at it, now's a good time to clean up your applications. To do so:

In the upper-right corner, click "Account," then click on "Privacy Settings"

Under "Apps and websites," click the "Edit Your settings" link.

Next to the "Apps you use" list, click "Edit Settings"

Find any apps that sound questionable, and ALL apps you really don't need, and click the X on the far right next to each app. This is the "Remove" button.

While you're removing apps, here's one to add: search for "Defensio Social Web Security" on Facebook. It's a Facebook app created by Websense, one of the big names in web security. It will prevent spam from going up on your wall, guard your profile from questionable apps, and more.

Thanks for reading, good luck deleting apps, and be safe!

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