How To Make Your Business EVEN Better: Social Media Tips

FGmarket has had the pleasure of going to PubCon in Dallas, TX.  PubCon is an annual convention that provides the latest trends and technologies available for businesses to be successful on the world wide web! We want to encourage you to try out these tips and get active in your online communities so that you can be known amongst thousands!

I was given the great opportunity to interact with some of the wiz kids of the Social Media & Search Engine Optimization world while at PubCon, and I have brought back a few tips to help our FGmarket wholesale vendors and online businesses become more successful on the internet!

Top 5 Tips From PubCon Dallas 2010!

1. BE CONSISTENT!

• Have a timeline and stick to it! This may seem obvious to some, but this is crucial in building a following on social media platforms. Be sure to consistently feed information to your followers during major intervals during the day and work week. This gives your supporters something to look forward to, and also something to expect!
• Consistent Content! Be sure to narrow your subject down to your expertise.  You definitely want your followers to know what your going to share! Give tips about your industry, your product, and even your background!  Let your followers know you and trust you, and always stick to what you do best, especially if you are working from an account that promotes your business!
• Share your content on several Social Media platforms! Don’t just be active on one social media platform, be sure that you are interacting on a multiple!  You don’t want to go all out by any means, but pick two or three platforms that work for you.  My best recommendation for local businesses would be Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in addition to a daily or weekly blog about your business. These platforms will get your feet wet in the world of social media.

2. CONTENT MATTERS!

• “If your content is bad, it will only look worse on social media platforms.” – Scott Stratten, President of Un-marketing.com. This concept rings true when trying to ‘sell’ your product online. Be sure that your product is worth the trouble, and then get excited about it! One of Scott’s biggest points at PubCon Dallas was to ‘stop marketing, and start engaging.’ Build up your content to make sure it is relevant, and appropriate to your product, and make sure you are providing exciting content that engages your audience and industry!

• Be a trustworthy source of information! Now that you have exciting content, make sure that it is trustworthy! Show your expertise, don’t just tell about it was a topic that Rob Snell, author of Yahoo! Store for DUMMIES, touched on in his presentation.  The key is to be a leader in your industry, and to build a trusting relationship with your clients, let them KNOW you by sharing trustworthy information that is pertinent to your product or trade. Don’t just put content out there just to have something to say, be sure that you are sharing valuable information and links that people would want to know about!
• Share other experts ideas, and give them credit! That’s right, you know you are watching to see what others are doing in your industry! So when you see someone doing a really neat thing, let them know you like it!  This builds rapport amongst your fellow experts, and also shows that while competition is out there, you still know a good thing when you see it!  Not only that you are more likely to get some credit in return for your great ideas!

3. BE ACTIVE IN YOUR INDUSTRY!

• Seek out other experts and pick their brains! Get to know your peers in your industry or trade.  Learn what they are doing to be successful, and share your ideas in return.  Let’s face it, we are all in this together, and while competition can be brutal, it doesn’t have to be! There’s no reason to undercut each other!  I wouldn’t recommend sharing your family’s secret recipe to success, but you definitely give tips freely to others who are starting up fresh in the industry!
• Give A Shout-Out! Don’t be selfish, people who only share their own content tend to have less weight online.  Maybe you want to share a product that isn’t necessarily like yours but could work really well with your trade or business–tell people about it! This makes you a valuable source online because you aren’t just self-promoting yourself, but you truly want to HELP people know more about your business, and trade!
• Be the leader! If you are noticing that you are one of the only sources of GOOD information on the web in your industry right now, then go with it!  Don’t give up, eventually people will begin utilizing the internet more and you will already be a seasoned veteran! What does this do for you? It lets you set the standard and par for the industry online, you will become a valuable source not only to your audience but also to fellow business in your industry!

4. BE THE ANSWER!

• Searchers are looking for answers. Search trends are showing that people today are seeking answers more than specifics.  Be sure that your website, blog and interactions of social media platforms are providing answers to solutions concerning your product or trade.  Because people are actively searching everyday for answers to questions, think about your product from your audience’s point of view. Make sure the information you are providing is not only easy to access, but easy to understand!
• What’s the basic question? Determine what the basic question(s) would be for your industry.  Create content via blog, social media, or video to provide quick solutions to these questions.  After creating the data be sure to share it on every platform possible.  Submit your information to large informational platforms like Digg, Youtube, and of course your basic social media platforms!

• Meet your audience needs–both intellectually & emotionally. Be sure you know your audience. Determine the demographic, and background of the people who are using and buying your product or who are interested in your trade.  Once you know this information, be sure to design your website, and structure your content to be geared to this audience. People today are looking for to be impressed, so know what your audience finds impressive, and then give it to them 100%.

5. DON’T BE AFRAID!

• Whether you like it or not, your target audience IS online. Perhaps your company has resisted the social media frenzy because you just didn’t “get it.” If you are one of these businesses, I would truly encourage you to resist the resistance and get out there!  There are millions and millions of users online daily, and if your business is not online, they may be wondering why. Don’t view social media as the enemy, embrace it because it can truly do wonders for your business, and reputation!
• You need to care. Building relationships is something that businesses today are cashing in on.  Be sure that you are authentic and trustworthy online.  Use these free tools to provide an open conversation to people who may not be able to access you in person because of location or time. It’s really okay to share your information, it builds success, just make sure you are being appropriate and are practicing ethical business rapport online!

At FGmarket, we hope this helps all of you loyal vendors and retailers get social on the web!  If you have any questions or need more information feel free to contact your representative or shoot us an e-mail at social@fgmarket.com!

Also be sure to let us know if you are on these social media platforms: Do you LIKE FGmarket on Facebook? Let us know! Want to Follow FGmarket on Twitter? We’d love to have you!  We look forward to hearing from you!

Special Thanks to Lyndon Reid for providing great photos of PubCon Dallas 2010, check out more great pictures from PubCon Dallas 2010!