Last week we talked about 3 Reasons Why You Should Have A Website. We talked about how having a website gives your business a place to tell its story, it legitimizes your business and it’s a piece of the internet that you own! If you missed it, click here to read all the details.
Now, what about BEYOND your website? If you have read our blog series, “How To Brand Your Business”, you know that the biggest thing about creating a properly branded business is consistency. Without consistency, you are creating a hurdle for your clients to overcome in becoming familiar with your brand! And your branding consistency must be carried over to all aspects of online. Especially social media engagement.
So let’s talk about Laying A Good Foundation For Your Business Online.
There are many social media platforms you can utilize for your business to not only engage with clients but also promote your services and products.
I’m sure the ones that jump out to you the most are the ones you personally use on a daily basis. Are you an avid Facebooker? Do you love Instagram? Or are you a serial Pinner on Pinterest?
Choosing Your Social Media Platforms
You probably use 2-3 social media platforms on a daily basis. But did you know there are over 60 to choose from??? In thinking about the online presence for your business, you need to pick out the ones that are best for your type of business. Unless you hire a social media manager or team you probably will need to pick your top 2 to 4 for your business to effectively manage.
Which ones should you use?! Here are some of the top social media platforms that are used by businesses.
- Facebook: Facebook is the most widely used social platform with 1.32 billion daily active user
- Instagram: Instagram, now owned by Facebook, has over 500 million daily active users.
- Pinterest: Do you own a creative business or one that caters more to women? Then Pinterest is a social media platform for you! Pinterest has over 175 million monthly active users with over 80% being women.
- Snapchat: Does your business target the younger crowds? Then Snapchat is a great social media platform to use! It has over 300 million active monthly users with 71% being under 34 years old and 50% of its users are between the ages of 18-24.
- YouTube: YouTube has 1.57 billion monthly active users and over 30+ million daily active users. This gives you a great opportunity to get your business out in front of a lot of people.
- Twitter: With over 330 million monthly active users, Twitter is still a great social media platform to consider for your business.
- Tumblr: With being ranked #7 as the top social platform worldwide, Tumblr is one to be considered for your business. Tumblr gives you the capability to post videos photos, chats, audio messages and quotes.
- LinkedIn: If your business targets other like-minded business people, then LinkedIn is a great way to engage with potential clients.
- Yelp: Surprised to see Yelp? Yelp has 145 million active monthly visitors that not only give but look for word of mouth recommendations. It’s a great site that can be used to help maintain your brand and image.
Consistency With Social Media Handles
So when you create an account with one of these social media platforms, you will be given a unique URL that can be used to quickly access your account by yourself and your clients.
If you look at Brand Mentors Facebook account, our unique URL is www.facebook.com/brandmentors. This is the usual setup for social media accounts: www.websitename.com/accountname. That last part of the URL in bold is called your handle. It is your unique identity that allows people to find you or your business with ease.
The problem with social media handles is that there can be only one! There cannot be a duplicate out there. Just like with domain names, once it is taken, it is gone. There may be an opportunity to grab that handle later if, by chance, the original owner deletes their account OR you may be able to contact the owner and see if they will sell it to you.
Once you have selected your social media avenues, you must then think of the account name you wish to have aka what is your handle going to be? If it is available, choose your business name first! Remember, we desire consistency with our branding in order to obtain maximum branding results. If your business name is not available, start making versions that resemble your business name.
Examples: My Amazing Business Name
- MABM
- MyAmazingBiz
- TheAmazingBusinessName
- MABName
Check your top name choices across all the social media platforms that are best for your business. Even check with social media platforms that you are thinking about using maybe later on.
Pick the business name that best resembles your name and the one that can be used consistently across all your social media platforms.
Next, grab those handles!!! Remember, just because you see those account names available today does not ensure they will be there tomorrow. Setup your accounts and finalize your ownership of those handles.
When you have completed these steps, you will have laid a good foundation for your business online by building brand consistency through all of your social media platforms!
As a business owner in the modern world, it is time well spent and a job well done for the future of business.
Way to go, you!
