Where do I start for my business’ social media activities?

Here are a few steps you can follow if you want to get started in a simple and affordable way.
 

1. Make sure you have a website and a blog

Your website and blog is your most important online asset. Period. All your social media activities should in some way be about growing your blog and website and email database and you can only do that with amazing content.

2. Set up a Facebook Page

Every business should have a Facebook Page. In many cases as strategic channel, but this is NOT alsways true, it might be a placeholder you need to have but not intended as one of your strategic channels. If you are in the building tiles business, a Facebook page will not work as a strategic channel for you (customers will not search on Facebook for a building tiles company), although you still need to have one and might receive questions and complaints posted through this channel. 

And as they are quite simple to set up and run you can practice on Facebook before expanding out to other social media sites. I 

Here are the steps you can follow:

• Research the best Facebook Pages
  I think the best thing you can do in the beginning is research some of the best Facebook Pages out there. These are individuals and companies who are getting it right. Some of them include Pat Flynn, Problogger, Neil Patel, Porsche, Battlefield, etc. Have a look at those guys and take note of not just how they look, but how they interact with their customers.
   
• Set up a Page
  You need to get a Facebook Page, not a profile. If you have a profile you need to change as Facebook regularly takes these down.
   
• Add your information
  Make sure you add a really detailed set of information like your business address, services, opening hours and what it is that you do. Make it as comprehensive as possible.
   
• Add some photos
  Click the “Photo” link up the top and then “Create an album” and go ahead and add some photos of your shopfront. Then create another album for your various product lines. People can now share these with their friends. Make sure you give them all meaningful captions.
   
• Add a profile photo
  You’ll need a profile photo. This is the little photo on the left hand side. It needs to include your logo as well as a high definition image that really conveys what it is that you do. It should be at least 180 pixels wide.
   
• Invite your friends
  If you are already active on Facebook as a personal user it is a good idea to invite all your friends and get them to spread the word. This can give you a really important initial boost.
   
• Start interacting
  Now you can begin interacting with current and potential customers. You can share photos, ideas, tips – anything that will compliment your brand and make people loyal to yourself. Not sure what to do? Check out down below.

Once you have mucked around with Facebook for a while you will start to develop enough confidence to move in to other areas.

3. Decide where else you need to be

The next step is to decide after a couple of months what other social media sites work for a small business like yours. Sign up for a few test accounts on Twitter, Google+ and Youtube and see what the “vibe” is like for your niche. If something looks promising then give it a go.