Why ‘Staying Updated’ on Social Media is Important

Over the years, several people have told me that they don’t really update their Social Media pages/profiles for different reasons, the most common being — they want to stay private or they don’t have time.

(This will be focusing on business/consultant/service pages, not personal profiles.)

Two things to understand.

1. Social Media is powerful — if you still don’t believe that social media is powerful, you’re probably on a different universe. It’s quite obvious if you’d ask me. Not to be arrogant but it is one of the most powerful mediums, in this day and age.
2. Social Media is simple — this may sound ridiculous but it’s true. Social media is really simple, it is very easy to use — especially to your benefit. Don’t get overwhelmed by what all the ‘digital marketers’ say. They make it sound ‘complicated’ so that you’ll hire them. Believe me, I learned everything by myself.

Social Media will get you business or it will cause you to lose business.

The ideas shared in this article are based on what I’ve discovered over time. If you don’t agree or you think your ideas are better — so be it.

a) They Don’t Have Time…

Come on! You can’t tell me that you don’t have time. Most people these days spend at least 4 hours a day on their mobile phone and at least 50% of that time is spent on social media. (*Time Spent on Mobile Phones)

It’s like saying that you don’t have time to eat. I understand that work gets busy at times, but everyone seems to squeeze in a Tweet, IG or FB post, even in meetings.

Now, if you really don’t have time, it’s about time to MAKE TIME. If you want to grow your business and reach more people then you need to be on social media.

Before I go to a new restaurant, I like to check Instagram and Zomato to view pics and reviews, to see if it’s any good. Imagine if your restaurant was ON social media? You’d get MORE business, believe me. I’m not the only person who checks out a place before going to it.

Here are some things to do to reach more people and get exposure.

• Post pics
• Post stories
• Use hashtags
• Use locations
• Tag relevant profiles
• Share follower posts
• Run simple campaigns
• Advertise and target based on location, age, etc.

Notice I didn’t explain anything on those 8 items? Well, I don’t intend to. Maybe I’ll write something about Social Media campaigns and advertising, but to be honest, it’s kind of easy to figure out.

If you really don’t have time to post on your business page then make use of all the tools out there like Hootsuite and other social media management dashboards.

b) They want to Stay ‘Private’…

I agree we all want to keep some things private — no issue there. But, to keep everything private? Geez! You cannot keep anything private these days, no matter how hard you try.

If you want to keep your personal profile ‘private’ — that’s perfectly okay, and I won’t argue why you should make it ‘public’.

Again, we are focusing on business pages and similar — if you want to generate income, you CANNOT have a ‘private’ account/profile.

There are times that I want to purchase something then when I go to the Instagram page of the business, it’s private — I need to ‘request to follow’. Do you know how ridiculous that is?

There are potential customers who are interested in your product but you make it private because you don’t want spammers or for some other reason.

Don’t lose potential customers because you have a ‘private’ profile.

If you really want to take your business to the next level — MAKE IT PUBLIC. Let the customers come to you — don’t make them wait 3 days before you ‘ACCEPT’ their request to follow.

Now, why should you ‘stay updated’ on social media?

Here’s why:

1. It brings in traffic — to your profile and physical store.
2. It builds your brand — be yourself, be real.
3. It gives you credibility — show people what you’ve got!
4. It builds awareness — let people know about your business.
5. It creates business — people can share your content, others will see that others will purchase, you get more business!

Need help with your social media? Contact me.

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