Today is Social Media Day. It’s also a chance to talk about Social Media, how did it permeate our lives (admittedly some more than others) and news of FREE Training on how can we use it better for business.
The history
World Social Media Day, 'So what?' you may say. Well for the Chamber it is a chance to say thank you to all those who follow and engage with us on our social channels: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn (and if you're not following us on one of those platforms then why not pop over to connect and say hello?
Social Media platforms have been around for nearly 20 years now:
- Dec 2002 – LinkedIn launched in Mountain View, Calif
- Feb 2004 – Facebook launched in Cambridge, Mass
- Jul 2006 – twitter launched in San Francisco, Calif
- Oct 2010 – Instagram launched in San Francisco, Calif
Obviously there are a plethora of other platforms that have come (and gone) over the years such as YouTube, Meercat, MyLife, Snapchat, Google+, Periscope, Digg, Delicious, Reddit, Pintrest, MySpace, Vimeo, Flickr to name but a few.
Social Media Day was launched by Mashable on June 30 2010 as a way to recognise and celebrate social media’s impact on global communication. However, in 2018 Mashable announced (appropriately by social media) they were no longer hosting the day as they were proudly passing the concept over to the online community at large.
We are no longer hosting the Mashable Social Media Day. In 2018, we proudly passed the concept on to you. However, we do not permit third parties to use our name in association with any events.
— Social Media Day (@mashSMday) February 4, 2019
How can Social Media help in business?
There is much hype around how social media can generate you leads and often unreasonable sales targets promised by so called 'gurus'. However, social media as part of a well thought through digital marketing plan can increase your sales and there are many businesses who put it to good use.
There are three aspects we love about using social media in business:
- Post ... and post again! - its a good opportunity to connect with the online community, to get your brand seen
- Get connected - its a great way to build a community for your business, to talk directly to your customers
- Take it offline - while the global reach of social media may not always make it possible, if your community is locally based, or you can bring them to you with an event for example, there is nothing like getting together IRL (in real life) if you can. You can always post pics of your meetup on your favoured platform!
How can you do it well?
There are a number of factors affecting how you can do social media for your business well and every business is different, but will include:
- Understanding your target audience and the platforms they use will dictate to a certain extent what platform you use.
- Making sure you have a clear strategy and you understand how to measure your ROI (return on investment)
- How you set your 'tone of voice' - they communication style you adopt is key to your audience engagement
- The 'social etiquette' of the platform you are using and the type of post relevant to it
How to use social media effectively is a huge topic - far more than we can cover in our short blog here, but don't worry - help is at hand!
FREE Training
If you want to know more about Social Media and building your own Digital Marketing Strategy, then then we are pleased to let you know there is a FREE training opportunity, organised by our partners at the HotSWLEP Digital Skills Partnership (DSP), on which our President, Paula Byers, represents Northern Devon.
The DSP have arranged to bring the Lloyds Digital KnowHow sessions to Chamber members Barnstaple Library on 10 September 2019, 9am – 1.30pm and will cover:
- Social Media – an insight into how to grow your social media presence and engage proactively with your target audience
- Build a Digital Marketing Plan - Learn how to create and structure a digital marketing plan utilising the main digital marketing channels
Delivered in conjunction with their digital partners, Google, through their Digital Garage program to upskill businesses with simple, jargon free training that includes practical tips and free tools to help your business adopt social media as part of your digital marketing plan.
Please book the event direct here on the Lloyds Digital KnowHow Eventbrite page.
Connect with us!
We love connecting with our members, along with businesses across Northern Devon and beyond - on Social Media or in person at any of our events. Make sure you've followed us on your platforms of choice from Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and why not take a look at our Eventbrite page, to come and see us in person at any Chamber events, you don't have to be a member to come along!
