5 simple steps to take before creating a business social media account.
Is your business ready for social media, but you haven’t a clue where to start?
You’re not alone.
Many business owners know they need to be on social media, but don’t know how to take that first step to build their brand and client base online.
Social media can be such a powerful tool when used correctly and for the right reasons. However, preparing yourself and your business for the online world is the key to reaching the right audiences.
1.Who are you?
No doubt you have your business name, and you’ve registered your company, and possibly been trading under that name for a few years. However, do you know your story, have you got it clear in your mind and on paper where the company came from.
People buy from people, and bringing your audience along for the ride of how your company was created is a great way to build that relationship from the start.
Take out a piece of paper, or start a note on your phone, and write down the story of how you created your company. Go into as much detail as possible.
Recount all the hardships you may have faced when you started. What barriers did you overcome? What successes did you have?
Write it all down and have it clear in your mind, who are you? And where did you come from?
2.Where do you want to go?
Next up, where is it that you want your business to go?
Over the next two, or five or even ten years, where do you want the business to go? Do you want to expand into new markets? Do you want to sell x number of products? Do you want to sell the business and retire early?
Write down all the things you want to achieve within your business, make note of all the successes you want, and the milestones you want to hit.
3.What do you want to be known for?
If your business could be the leader in its field, what is it that you want to be known for? What is it that you know more than anyone else about? And what do people come to you for?
Businesses don’t just open and become an industry leader, they spend time developing their skills, hiring the right people, building the right knowledge to become the leader. So start today and get specific on what it is exactly that you want to be known for.
You might not be there now, and that is okay, this activity is to help you get specific about where you want to go and what you want to be when you get there.
4 Who is your ideal client?
Do you know who your ideal client or customer is? Do you know what they like? What do they spend their money on? Who are they buying from right now? How old are they? Where do they live and who do they live with?
In this activity I want you to write down an ideal client, you should give them a name, give them some hobbies, a job, and an address. The more details you have about your ideal client the better. Where do they hang out?
Spend some time fine-tuning your client persona, really give it some thought, as this will help you to understand who you are talking to when you start to create content for your brand online.
5.What is the goal of your business on social media?
It’s all well and good to have a social media account and post a few random pieces of content now and again, but this won’t help you to bring in additional clients. It will just add another job to your to-do list, which will eventually fall to the wayside.
Before embarking on a social media journey you need to have a clear goal about what it is you want to achieve with your presence online.
Is it that you want to get to know your customers? So that they can ask you questions about your product, and you can help them in real-time?
Or is it that you want to reach a new target audience, and get them to become your new clients?
Do you want to use it for self-promotion? Highlighting all the wonderful things your business is doing, and showcasing all your happy customers?
Whatever it is that you want to achieve, write it all down, and get specific about what you’d like to achieve and by when. Whether or not the timeframes are realistic, doesn’t matter too much by this exercise, it will help you to priorities what it is that is most important about your business being on social media.
Now you know:
Who you are?
Where do you want to go?
What do you want to be known for?
Who is your ideal client?
What are your goals for social media
By completing these activities, you are now better prepared to understand where your ideal client is, and what platform they are on. This way you are not wasting your time trying to build your brand on Facebook when in fact your ideal client is using LinkedIn or Instagram instead.
If you decide to seek the help of a marketing company or social media virtual assistant, you are now better prepared to meet with them. As you have done all the hard work before their clock starts, and you’re not left paying for something you could have done on your own.
Being prepared will also make sure the social media virtual assistant understands exactly what you’re expecting and now they can spend their time being productive and doing what they do best, and that is creating brands online.
Haven’t heard of a virtual assistant or think you might need one? Send me an email and we can have a chat – Ra@RebeccaAnnVa.com
Author ~ Rebecca Selkirk, Virtual Assistant, Rebecca Ann VA
Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash