The FSA Group

Social networking can be a great tool to get the word out about your business, make contact with potential new customers, and engage customers in a less stifling environment – when it is used properly.  While it’s important to engage your clients, it’s never advisable to use Twitter to attack people for criticising your business or go into detail about your drunken escapades when representing your business.

While consulting with a friend about their new online business, I was asked to take a look at their Facebook and Twitter posts to see why they were being unfriended and clients were running away as fast as they possibly could.  I read over the most recent posts and couldn’t help but to laugh out loud at the ridiculous status updates, tweets, and photos I was seeing for their business.  Here is what I found:

1. Tweets that make you seem like the village idiot – even if you aren’t. Using commas and capital letters can transform your writing into something readable.  When you tweet, you are representing yourself, your business, and the abstract idea of who your clients believe you to be – think about that before you send your next tweet out.  Respect yourself enough to monitor what is going out of your head and onto the screen.  Tweeting that your new accounting app is “s0OoO0OOo AweSOme!!!!!!!!!!!” is so not awesome.
2. The Facebook status updates that make you seem like you hate your job. If you are constantly whining about how terrible your job is and that you hate what you do – stop!  Your customers don’t want to hear this, and this sort of behavior will not bring in new business.  Reevaluate what you are doing and figure out how to make yourself happier.  In the short-term, just stop spewing negativity about your company and job by focusing on what you do enjoy.
   
3. Complaints and whining about customers or staff. I’m not sure when the trend started to complain about customers via social networking sites, but you shouldn’t be doing it.  Save this type of complaining for when you get together with your friends or family.  It shouldn’t be a surprise that clients don’t want to hear how much you hate them.
4. Grossly inappropriate photos. I’m not even going to cover posting drunken photos of yourself on your company Facebook page.  If you are doing that, you should not be anywhere near Facebook.  But, I have seen friends and clients posting photos of their product in compromising situations.  If you own a bakery, don’t take photos of that roach that fell into your cake batter.  It makes people wonder if you don’t take bugs seriously, and even worse, it makes people think you sold a roach infested cake to some unsuspecting person. 
   
5. Providing constant updates with mundane information that is in no way relevant to your clients. Do you clients really need to know that you are heading to Taco Bell for some Nachos?  Do they really need to hear that you’re on your way to the bathroom?  The correct answer is no.  Clients don’t need or want to know any of this information.  If you are sharing this type of information, you are a oversharer – so stop already.

Are you committing any of these five social networking sins?

You are not getting any hits on your website.

No one is commenting on your blog.

Your content is not being shared by anyone on Facebook or Twitter.

Sound familiar?

We all want traffic for our blogs, but it usually does not come as quickly as we want!  If you have quality content then the problem is easily fixed.

By understanding how people search and read content, you can make certain that your content is easy to read and will keep your visitors coming back for more.

Continue reading “5 Smart Ways to Get Your Posts Read” »

During the last few years the number of new shops popping up on the web has skyrocketed.  Armed with a free open-source shopping cart most anyone can open a shop.  New merchants can start an online business with few start-up costs other than the cost of the products they are putting in the store.  Many people think this is the end of the selling process, but this is really just the beginning of the process!

Once your online store is open, you have to find customers.  Unlike brick and mortar stores, you don’t have a central location next to a large anchor to bring in new business.  You can’t afford to sit and wait for customers to find you – you must be proactive.  Search engines will send you some traffic if you are providing valuable content, but you shouldn’t depend only on search engine traffic as a means to secure the success of your business.

Continue reading “10 Tips to Optimize your Online Store” »

Because social media is new to many businesses, it often seems like strategies to engage potential customers are hit-or-miss.  Developing the right persona to talk to your customers is key to keeping and obtaining customers via social media.  I hope I can demystify the process a bit for you so you can find the voice your customers want to hear.

Do you know who your customers are?  What are they talking about on social networking sites?  What influences them to recommend a service or to buy a product?

Continue reading “Developing the Right Personas for Social Media Marketing” »

Everyone knows about social media, but what about social commerce?  Social Commerce is a hot topic right now, and many people online are talking about it.  I have seen many articles, blog posts, and e-books on the topic.  By now, you are probably asking  yourself what social commerce is all about and what does it mean for your business?

Quite simply, social commerce is this:

Social Commerce = Social Networking + Shopping

Continue reading “Is Social Commerce Right For Your Business?” »

Every morning when you arrive at work, without a doubt you know that SPAM will be waiting for you.  While some companies may choose to send unwanted email, this is not a choice for serious small business owners.  Obtaining your customer’s permission to send your newsletter is not optional, it’s a necessity.

Unscrupulous email marketers often sell lists with thousands or millions of email addresses may seem perfect for someone who has no mailing list, but often this will just get you banned.  Avoid these lists at all costs!  Instead, pursue customers that you know are interested in what your company has to offer and are more likely to buy from you again.

Continue reading “3 Easy Ideas to Build Your Email Marketing List” »