From Small Business to Government Agencies in Santa Fe, Everyone is Online and Onboard with Social Media Marketing. It’s Your Move

In searching some of the most popular social media sites, it would seem that nearly everyone in Santa Fe is online. 

For example, Hello Santa Fe is an informational site that encourages social networking and interaction, attracting both local residents and tourists alike.

On Facebook and Twitter, there are all types of businesses – from swimming pool contractors and gardeners to restaurants, clubs, government agencies, and schools. A search on YouTube uncovers Santa Fe realtors marketing homes for sale and documentary filmmakers seeking attention. If you are a small business in Santa Fe and you are not using one of these sites, what are you waiting for? 

The Statistics Say it All

Maybe these statistics will move you:

• Nielsen reported that the world spends approximately 110 billion million minutes on social networking and blog sites like Wikipedia, Facebook, and YouTube, spending more time in 2010 than the year previously and accounting for about 22% of all time spent online.
• TechCrunch found that LinkedIn now has 60 million users with many people expanding their professional contacts and networks, marketing their companies and themselves, and finding new career paths here.
• CNN Money discovered that sites like Yelp are catching on fast and providing a great avenue for small businesses to gain big clientele through the social networking and online advice and forums offered on the site.

What This Means for You

If you are not participating in these sites, you could be losing out on getting in front of a large portion of your target audience that your competition may now be wooing with their savvy online social media presence.

There are innumerable benefits that a local Santa Fe business can quickly garner through social media:

• Spend less on marketing but reach more potential customers. Traditional marketing channels cost more and often do not target as well as social media does.
• Use more than one channel at one time. Because social media is often so low cost, there are ways to use multiple channels at one time to quickly expand your reach.
• Learn and interact with local customers in a new and more meaningful way, including learning more about their needs and wants.
• Reach out to potential customers beyond local residents. As a popular tourist destination, many visitors to Santa Fe are looking online for restaurants, attractions, and small businesses to visit when they are in town. They are using their Smartphones and tablets during their trips and want to find businesses like yours.

 

Getting Started

Getting started is something that you should have essentially done yesterday. Never mind as there is no time like the present. Whether you utilize in-house resources to create a blog, LinkedIn profile, and Facebook fan page or you reach out to a social media marketing agency that can create a strategy for you, it is important to get on board now before your target audience takes a different turn and bypasses you completely. Contact Flyline Search Marketing and start making connections now!

                 

The Political Perspective on the Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media

The political realm becomes a good example of thinking about the do’s and don’ts of using social media when working to build your brand for your company. You don’t have to be in politics to appreciate this comparison. 

Let’s use the strategic and proactive do example of President Barack Obama versus the incredibly inappropriate version of what not to do by Rep. Anthony Weiner.

Tips to Follow

While two years old, an article in the New Mexico Independent (“Tips for Politicians Using Social Media”) seems apropos for thinking about how no matter what realm you play and work in and want to use social media, you need to think strategically and be careful – after all, what you do and say on the Internet travels fast and furiously and rarely ever disappears. 

Consider these tips below and think about the Do’s and Don’ts that should be followed:

·        Be respectful of those you follow. People you follow are looking for interesting conversation and refreshing tweets or posts. If they follow you, we recommend that you follow them back. People appreciate that show of respect. They are often frustrated and leave your site when they follow, but, can't seem to make your follow list.

·      Be yourself and be authentic. Those who follow you really want to hear about what is going on in your world. If they didn't want to know you, they likely wouldn't have requested to follow you. If you are in a position that requires professional assistance in managing your Social Media sites, we encourage you to utilize a firm like Flyline Search Marketing. Clearly, President Obama most likely has someone doing the job for him. Even when Flyline Search Marketing handles a program for someone, we always encourage the person to participate as often as possible.

·       Interact but think about what you do. This is one of those Do’s that Rep. Weiner might have wanted to think a bit more about before he decided to interact with some of his followers in inappropriate ways, especially since he is already a public figure. Engaging in conversation and sending pictures needs to be really thought out before you make the wrong move and say the wrong thing only to realize that RSS feeds and Google Alerts have shared it with the rest of the world.

·       Use multimedia tools responsibly. President Obama’s staff understands that social media most definitely helped his presidential campaign. In fact, there a many who believe that he would not have been elected without it. He and his staff continue to value the idea that social media tools can help reach constituents and get feedback on what the American people are thinking about and what they are feeling. This means that President Obama not only uses Twitter and Facebook, but his strategies of going to the people also involve YouTube videos and regular blogs and content that shares his ideas, policies, and programs.

·        Learn by example. There are numerous examples – politicians and otherwise – who have used social media for success and have also suffered embarrassment, tarnished images, and damaged reputations. Certainly, Rep. Weiner’s denial and then admittance only made the situation worse as the evidence that he was using social media in a questionable way was already apparent (despite the hacker story, which was as believable as the “dog ate my homework” tale).

Go where your customers are, join their groups, engage them in conversation and share with them (just think about what and how much you share) in a way that helps enhance your brand and/or your company.

 Share your questions or ideas below on what you think are the best do’s and don’ts of social media and we’ll share them in future posts.