Lindsay Chambers - Make Your Business Social

Make Your Business Social

Make Your Business Social

Engage Your Customers with Social Media

Lindsay Chambers, Jennifer Morehead, and Heather Sallee

Make your Business Social: Engage your Customers with Social Media

Copyright Business Expert Press, LLC, 2020.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations, not to exceed 250 words, without the prior permission of the publisher.

First published in 2020 by

Business Expert Press, LLC

222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017

www.businessexpertpress.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-95253-800-1 (paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-1-95253-801-8 (e-book)

Business Expert Press Digital and Social Media Marketing and Advertising Collection

Collection ISSN: 2333-8822 (print)

Collection ISSN: 2333-8830 (electronic)

Cover image licensed by Ingram Image, StockPhotoSecrets.comCover and interior design by S4Carlisle Publishing Services Private Ltd., Chennai, India

First edition: 2020

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America.

We dedicate this book to the Salesboxer customers who trust us to help them grow. We profoundly appreciate the opportunity to work closely with you each day. Also, we are grateful to the business owners who contributed their thoughts and experience to our featured case studies. Finally, we have a few personal dedications to make.

Lindsay Chambers: To my husband Paul, my partner and best friend, thank you for your unwavering love and support.

Jennifer Morehead: To my loving and always fun fraternity family, including my husband Brad and three boys.

Heather Sallee: To my husband, who tolerates my wild ideas, DIY home projects, and marketing talk.

Abstract

Social media has exploded, not only for individuals but for businesses too. Today, more than 83% of small business owners say they believe social media is essential for their companies. Make Your Business Social provides actionable solutions for business owners to create and sustain a successful social media presence.

In Make Your Business Social you will learn how to

• Build or expand a social media audience for your business.
• Create graphics, even if youre not a designer.
• Choose the right platforms for your business.
• Cultivate strategies for present and future social media.
• Use real-life experience from current business owners.

Make Your Business Social brings fresh insights from its three authors, who have spent years creating and managing social media for businesses. Within these pages, you will find the inspiration you need to expand your social media presence and add an appealing new dimension to your branding and marketing efforts.

Keywords

social media marketing; business marketing; social media; e-mail marketing; salesboxer; marketing; digital marketing; digital marketing plan; business advertising; advertising; branding; content marketing; Facebook; Twitter; Instagram; LinkedIn; YouTube; social media advertising; manage social media; manage social media for business; marketing plan; setting up social media for marketing; best social media platforms for businesses; free marketing for small businesses; social media for small business owners

Contents

Introduction

By now, almost everyone on the planet has experienced some form of social media. Social media, of course, is a somewhat newer mode of communication than the invention of hieroglyphics, Morse code, or the telephone but wont be going away anytime soon. Social media, whether you personally like it or not, has become necessary for every business communicating with their audience.

The evidence speaks for itself: When you figure out how to share the human aspect of your business and the lives you have touched through it, people buy into not only what you are selling, but also into your story as a business. It turns out that having an audience that buys into your story is always good for business.

Today, more than 83 percent of small business owners say they believe social media is essential for their business. We have put this book together to ensure you have the best plan and approach to win at social media.

We can all agree social media is polarizing. Fake news, changing platforms, and password management can all be frustrating. Social media harnesses the excitement of extroverts, who like to have continuous conversations. It highlights the reluctance of introverts, who might feel like its an invasion during private moments. Social media also gives a platform to the jerks of the world, who use it to troll others and show us the fun we arent having and the vacations we are missing.

On the other hand, social media is a tremendous way to connect. During the COVID-19 outbreak, businesses found that social media was a crucial way to stay in touch with their customers. Social media allows for old high school friends to connect updated about one anothers lives. You can view pictures of your nieces and nephews birthday parties, even if you cant be there for those moments. Social media can open the doors to make meaningful connections with others during a pandemic or in normal circumstances.

If you dont care for social media, dont worry. This book is not going to talk you into liking social media for yourself. Our book will not address whether social media should or should not exist. We have put this introduction together to explain that we understand the feelings around social media, both good and bad, but you will have to save those comments for watercooler conversations at work, the Thanksgiving dinner table, and online comment sections.

You may wonder: Why another book on using social media for business? If you check the bookshelves of your local bookstore, you will see a sleek selection of books offering quick tips or a single strategy for marketing your business through social media. Our book offers a different approach. Our tips arent just theoretical; they are tested and true.

We want to take you behind the scenes and share with you our success stories working with many different businesses, along with the stories of others. We have connected with numerous small business owners just like you, who have grown steadily over the years by having an intentional social media presence.

Who should be interested in this book? In short, everyone. But especially those who run a business or online brand. We fight for the little guy. We understand what its like to start out or feel stuckfor instance, no matter what you do, your business is surviving at best. We also know the road to getting unstuck, as we have traveled it with many clients.

For example, lets say you are a plumber in your community. Youve distinguished yourself from your competition by steadily building a reputation for high-quality work at fair prices. You dont quite grasp how to use social media to build your business, but you know you need a steady, growing stream of customers. Many of your potential clients spend a considerable amount of time on social media, but you dont know how to connect to them and continue the conversation to build awareness around your brand.

Or perhaps you install pavers and hardscapes to upgrade home patios and lay asphalt and cement to help brick-and-mortar businesses get more customers. You have a ton of before-and-after pictures of job sites youd love to showcase on social media, but you have no idea where to start.