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Just because you can, doesn't mean you should!

12th Jun 2014
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I had an epiphany last week. I was dashing to the car during a torrential downpour, when my cat Eric, ran out from under a parked car. Then it struck me - umbrellas for cats! I dashed in to tell my husband, who got straight onto Google, convinced that someone out there had already come up with the idea. It turns out no-one has. I wonder why?

Okay, so umbrellas for cats was an astoundingly crap idea, but it kept us amused for 10 minutes. My point is, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. This is an important principle when it comes to choosing the social media tools to use to promote your practice.

It is very tempting to go for the whole kit and kaboodle, most of the tools are free after all! But just because you can doesn't mean you should. Some tools will work better for certain groups of clients than others, so you must set out a clear strategy before you get stuck in.

Of course if you don't have a clear idea of who your ideal target market is, you need to step away from your social media marketing and have a good hard think! The scattergun approach will cost you precious time and yield very little in return.

That's it from me for now. I'm off to find Eric and strap a mini umbrella to his head.

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By tom123
13th Jun 2014 18:53

Are there any that you avoid

Hi Sarah,

Are there any platforms (if that's the word) that you avoid?

We are launching a small business and using a website, facebook, linkedin.

Are there any that we should add, do you think?

(The product is greetings cards, and the prospective customers would be retailers)

 

Thanks

 

Tom

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By thecreativeaccountant
16th Jun 2014 11:26

I would start with Pinterest

Hi Tom,

Pinterest would be a great place to start with a business that is focusing on products with visual appeal. You would be able to create several boards to showcase your new ranges, linking each Pin back to your business website. You can also add the 'Pin it' widget to the products on your online shop. Not only will this allow other Pinterest users to Pin your products to their boards, promoting it to their followers, this could also be used to demonstrate to any potential new customers how popular your ranges are, by sending them links to your most followed boards to see for themselves (this could potentially fit in with an email campaign or newsletter).

I don't think you would find many prospects on Linkedin if you are aiming for small independent retailers, who are more likely to be on Facebook.

Small businesses seem to be choosing a facebook page as a default option for social media marketing. The added benefit for businesses with a premises is that they can use the Check In function, so customers can tell their friends that they have visited their shops. You can also set up a Facebook shop for free!

I also think it would be unlikely to find many independent retailers on Twitter, as they tend to sell products and would therefore favour social media platforms with a focus on visual marketing (ie Facebook and Pinterest).

I hope that helps and the best of luck with your new venture!

Sarah

 

 

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