A few things before I start this article.

  • November is the National Novel Writing Month. I will be participating, and as such, I will only be blogging once per week instead of twice.
  • The maintenance guide I'm working on seems to be losing direction. I am putting it on hold until I find something better for it.
  • Tell me what you'd like to learn about from me over the next month in the comments. I have some post ideas but ultimately this blog is for _you, not me. Example questions: "How do I fix this bug with my website?" "I can't figure out what to do with this page." "How do I write a good About page?" _
  • For that matter, if you feel like there's something missing at all in my blog, website, or resources let me know!

With that out of the way, on to the learning, soldiers!

What is the ROI of Social Media?

Scott Stratten of UnMarketing recently posted a video that I loved. (By the way, if you're not reading the UnMarketing blog, you really should be. Scott is really awesome. Make sure you subscribe to his newsletter.)

Hold on... there is no ROI?

slow clap

In the comments following that video, I've seen arguments to companies actually doing the math of what the return on investment is to answer the phones. Tell me what the return on investment was to calculate that return on investment?

It's an insane, illogical circle I tell you.

"Okay!" you shout, "we get it! We should be on social media. I mean, we even read your [guide on using social media as a marketing tool]({{ site.url }}/small-business-guide-social-media-marketing "social media for small business")." (Oh, I just went there.)

Fine. If you insist.

3 Easy Steps to Social

3 steps to social media 300x224

Step One:

Show up.

I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to just give a shout out to a business when I talk about them on Twitter (mostly positive!) but there is no Twitter handle to use.

Often, this means I don't send that tweet. Why would I? Then I have to go to a lot of extra work to find a link or some sort of information that will allow my followers to figure out who the hell I am talking about.

If I send this out on Twitter: "Just had a bomb burger at @yourbusinesshere", then my followers can find your business and it's information by clicking through and finding out who you are on your terms.

Fixing the problem:

Time to sign up for any given social media account:

30 seconds

Step Two: Visit.

So you signed up for a Twitter account (or Facebook page, or what have you).

That's great.

Except not.

"What the heck Anne? You told me this is what I NEEDED."

I'm sorry - I lied. Well, I didn't really lie, but we're only on Step Two so you just know we're not finished yet. I really hope that you don't feel deceived.

So what comes next?

Well, the only thing worse than not having a social media account is having one and then completely forgetting it exists.

Update irregularly? Not optimal, but it still works.

Creating an account and never doing a damn thing with it EVER? Why bother? You're sending the message to your customers that you forgot about it and you'll forget about them too.

Fixing the problem:

Time it takes to update your social media profile even just once per week:

30 seconds/week

Up to 5 minutes if you include some research time for ideas.

Step Three: Listen and respond.

This is the most vital step. The first two were just warming you up to get to this stage.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Social media is high tech relationship marketing.

Say it out loud.

"I will develop relationships with my customers."

Depending on how active your customers are on any given social media service, you'll want to check for conversation around your business once or twice per day.

If people aren't talking about you, you're going to want to check for conversation around the type of service or products that your business offers.

If you have time, do both anyways.

You should make it a goal to reply to a set number of people every day. Maybe 3. Maybe 5. Maybe 10. I recommend starting small. Let's say your minimum is 3. Find 3 conversations to get involved with.

Now, when I say to reply to these people, I don't mean just shoot them a link to your website.

Make it useful.

I am constantly giving away free tips and advice to people because it helps me establish authority in my field. It also helps that I honestly enjoy helping people. I cannot count the number of "THANK YOU SO MUCH" replies I have received.

Here's one of my favorites:

That sort of response should be your goal with every reply you give.

The key here is that social media is not useful to you if you are not useful to social media.

Fixing the problem:

Time it takes to monitor for mentions of your business and reply:

5 minutes/day

Go forth and be social.

What are you waiting for?

Oh, and when you get there make sure you follow me on Twitter and circle me on Google+