OR – Social Media Tips for Boring Businesses
In my last blog post on How to Use Social Media for Your Business, I provided ideas/topics that could work well as tweets or Facebook posts. In this post, I’m going to address an issue that many business owners claim to be an obstacle to social media success – Lack of an Audience. Several people I talk to claim they just don’t have an audience for what they do. Their business is in a particular niche and A) most people don’t care about what they do OR B) they don’t want to market to a lot of people – they just have a small group for whom their product or service is applicable. A cable manufacturing company that creates cabling for airplanes or medical equipment seems to have BOTH of these issues. Most people don’t care about cable manufacturing, and the company is really only targeting a very specific audience.
Oh dear.
Perhaps there is no social media help for such a company.
But there is. Just because your company’s Facebook profile or LinkedIn page might not have the stature of Coca-Cola’s doesn’t mean that your company’s ventures into social media are pointless. You might be targeting a smaller, niche audience, but maintaining a robust social profile will still help establish your company as an authority in your industry – especially if your competitors aren’t doing much in the social media arena.
But what can you post about?
Industry News
Most companies often claim to be leaders in their industries, but how do they prove it? For the cable manufacturer, perhaps this would mean posting or tweeting about a new cable designed to withstand more extreme temperature in airplanes. Or they can comment on/congratulate advancements in technology made by some of their clients.
Take the time to post about any industry trade shows that your company attends. Making these efforts reveals your company’s dedication to staying up-to-date in its industry.
Company Events
Posting about company events can be a great way to communicate your company’s values to your consumers. For example, if your business holds a small birthday celebration for its employees, post some pictures of the event. Such events send the message that you care about your employees, which sends the larger message that you care about and are positively invested in what you do. These types of images also help humanize your corporation.
Local Events
Is there a blood drive going on in your local community? What about a Walk for the Cure event? Show that your company is an active member in the local community by helping to spread the word about these events through your company’s social media accounts. Once again, these kinds of posts show the softer side of your company.
These are just a few ideas to help businesses that think they’re too boring to work in social media. However, if you view social media not as an opportunity to spew out ads to thousands of fans but instead as a chance to showcase the depth and scope of your company’s work, you’ll find that it quickly becomes applicable to all business – boring or not.
