ShareThis
How well are you taking advantage of your digital marketing and social media assets? If done well, you can be sure that the results will be increased sales, improved customer service, and a nice pop to your bottom line. Of course, in order to generate all of these delicious benefits, it may be a good idea to step back and get a big picture of which social media platforms are most valuable and how to maximize their effectiveness.
As you put your feet up on the desk to dive into all of this pearly wisdom, we need to decide which social media alternatives to spend our valuable time utilizing. Right now, the big three are Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Each have their own unique benefits and should be used in different ways to produce the best results.
Are You Using Social Media for Radio Sales? Click Here to vote in our Poll.
Twitter
The only thing more hyped these days than Twitter, may be the cast of Jersey Shore. And yes, Snookie and The Situation are on Twitter. But of course, we’re more interested in Twitter for generating business, not sharing the tawdry details about our personal lives (if only our personal lives were so interesting).
Twitter can be a huge time sink that devolves into useless drivel with strangers, or it can be used to extend your reach with current and potential advertisers. Here are 5 tips for maximizing Twitter:
1. Setup a free account with your own name or your station name (personal name recommended).
2. Search for businesses and other professionals that use Twitter in your market. Then “follow” them.
3. Anytime you find a link to an interesting article or have a helpful advertising tip that comes to mind, share it with your followers.
4. Create more followers by having a link to your Twitter page in your email signature, on business cards, and in all your sales materials.
5. Find your Twitter balance. 1-3 Tweets a day is jussssst right.
Join iRadioSales on Twitter Here
Facebook
The first thing you need to decide is whether you want to use Facebook for just your personal life or a combination along with your work life. Hmmmmm. Thought about it? OK. Let me help you out. Keep it separate. Unlike Twitter, Facebook has become split into two camps, personal and business. Your family and friends love you, but they just don’t want to know about your weekday remote package or your new morning show hire.
If you want to use Facebook for business, create a “fan page.” You’ll need to have a personal Facebook page in order to create your fan page, so that should be step one for you. A Facebook fan page is perfect for your radio station or even your sales department if you’re looking into it as a group outlet. But, if you’re an AE or manager, and you want to create a Facebook fan page, think of utilizing it from the perspective of being an advertising consultant. This way you can create your business persona on Facebook, while still utilizing your personal page to tell your high school friends how well your kids did in their soccer game over the weekend.
LinkedIn
If there is an unsung hero in the social media world for professionals, it’s LinkedIn. Everyone in business should have their own LinkedIn profile. Although it may take a couple hours to setup your profile so it’s just right, it’s worth the time. And the best part about LinkedIn is that it’s virtually no-maintenance once your profile is finished. The only thing you need to do is occasionally check in and find more connections to be part of your network. Here are 5 tips to maximize your LinkedIn profile:
1. Complete your profile. LinkedIn even provides you a “percentage done” icon to let you know when your profile is complete.
2. Use your connections to build your network. Once you’ve found folks to add to your network, look at their connections and invite those you know to become part of your network.
3. Get recommendations from happy advertisers that are part of your network. Testimonials rule!
4. Grow your network by joining relevant industry and alumni groups.
5. Use the free LinkedIn Twitter application so your daily Tweets are automatically added to your LinkedIn status updates.
Generating new advertisers and maintaining positive relationships with current clients is easier than ever with social media. By utilizing Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, you can be sure that you’re expanding your reach and maintaining a helpful dose of top-of-mind-awareness with those that pay the bills for you.
