Which social media platforms should you be using to grow your business?<\/p>\n
In this article, you\u2019re going to learn how to leverage social media platforms to your advantage, use them, make them work for you, and then get off before you get sucked into a time-wasting vacuum.<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Many of your current and potential clients are on social media, and it\u2019s why so many businesses use it to grow their customer bases and bottom lines.<\/span><\/p>\n The number of platforms has EXPLODED recently: Social media first became popular with Myspace, then Facebook, and now you have an almost UNLIMITED number of options to grow your business.<\/p>\n Which brings up a problem: How do you know which social media platform to use for your business?<\/p>\n You might be thinking that Facebook is the only platform you need to grow your business. While Facebook is great for the ability to share visual content, post ads targeted to your previous visitors using <\/span>pixels<\/span><\/a> and more\u2026 There are TONS of other options out there.<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019re going to learn about other potential platforms available to help you:<\/p>\n Your business, large or small, needs to be on Periscope!<\/span><\/p>\n This is a streaming video platform that provides the means for business owners to make a personal connection with potential clients.<\/p>\n Although the ability to reach a large audience is limited, the feature allowing live viewers to invite their followers increases the amount of exposure the business gains.<\/p>\n Live scopes are the perfect place to get the attention of viewers and it\u2019s a golden opportunity to offer genuine insight about what your business can do for them.<\/p>\n Go ahead! Try out the scope and see how your business transforms.<\/p>\n Chris Ducker<\/span><\/a> is known to use and recommend Periscope heavily. Check out his live casts if you\u2019re interested in learning about business management, entrepreneurship and outsourcing.<\/span><\/p>\n Of course, you\u2019ve seen the pretty little boards with all the great pins but what exactly is Pinterest all about?<\/span><\/p>\n You must have noticed by now that almost every time you Google a product or service, Pinterest pops up! That\u2019s because it\u2019s the world\u2019s greatest resource of catalog ideas, and your business could gain massive exposure simply by being pinned in various categories.<\/p>\n Someone sees your pin, immediately clicks on it and bingo! Your site link appears and there you have it, another potential customer.<\/p>\n Pinterest is an excellent visual platform to show off not only blog posts, but users using your products and more.<\/p>\n Snapchat is a newer platform. You can send and receive videos and photos, but they only last a certain amount of time. Once you view, they disappear forever.<\/span><\/p>\n Snapchat is an innovative way to connect with people around the world, but it\u2019s not the ideal option for business networking. It can be a fun way to let your customers into your life and show them what you do, though.<\/span><\/p>\n Twitter may not be the ideal platform for lead generation, but it\u2019s a great place for brand loyalty.<\/span><\/p>\n Twitter is the hangout for average people and celebrities alike. To put it boldly, Twitter is always jumping. The <\/span>average user<\/span><\/a> typically averages around 200 followers, 300 tweets and is active for about 160 minutes of the day.<\/span><\/p>\n Needless to say, there is potential to catch the eye or retweet a user or two.<\/p>\n This is a great brand building platform as many followers become loyal to a certain brand (hopefully yours), they become eager to retweet and follow those brands religiously.<\/p>\n Your main option for lead generation is to include a link in your bio or use the lead generation link as your main URL.<\/p>\n LinkedIn is more \u201cprofessional\u201d than the other platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n When most businesses are contemplating which social media sites to advertise or promote their business, LinkedIn is last on the list.<\/p>\n This platform works primarily for B2B marketing and not so much for B2C engagement. Therefore, if you\u2019re not aiming to engage other businesses, you\u2019re probably better off connecting with your customers over the other platforms.<\/p>\n Keep in mind, LinkedIn acquires about <\/span>2 new users per second<\/span><\/a>. It doesn\u2019t hurt to have a presence here. You never know who could see your business and decide you\u2019re just the professional they need.<\/span><\/p>\n About two years ago, all of the writers and marketers declared that the year of Google was upon us.<\/span><\/p>\n They were almost right, except it may be the decade of Google.<\/p>\n Google+ is a dominating algorithmic factor and has an audience base that would break fire codes around the world. This platform includes the perfect trio: a powerful search engine, Google Authorship, and a social media platform that merges them into one place.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t sleep on Google+ because it can be the lifeline of your business.<\/p>\n Instagram allows you to show your followers your daily life, where you are and even small videos.<\/span><\/p>\n It also allows you to place one link in your bio, for example, to your latest blog post or lead generation material.<\/p>\n If you can show you have an interesting life and can share great content, Instagram can help you grow your business.<\/p>\n An excellent resource to check out is Foundr\u2019s <\/span>Instagram guide<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Social media business basics 101: You\u2019ve got to know when to scroll them, when to read them, and sometimes when things get bad, how to block all websites.<\/p>\n Simply put, not everything on social media requires your attention, reaction, or your time… ESPECIALLY when it comes to your business.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to recognize the difference between quality content and just the junk that so many people put out there.<\/p>\n Wasting time on this type of content is simply a distraction from what\u2019s really important in growing your business.<\/p>\n Here are 5 ways to control getting sucked into the void of social media:<\/p>\n As a business owner or entrepreneur, consider blocking off an hour or two for personal social media use each day. During this allotted time, you can browse personal feeds and chat with others about non-business related issues. <\/span><\/p>\n Consider this as a break or a time to rejuvenate the thought process. Fuel your brain with a little downtime. It can actually help you to become more productive during business hours.<\/p>\n You can also consider restricting your browser use to Google Chrome, and installing <\/span>News Feed Eradicator<\/span><\/a> – which replaces the ENTIRE Facebook news feed with a motivational quote.<\/span><\/p>\n While this only helps with Facebook, it\u2019s a good step in the right direction.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have a standard process of which you actually conduct business on social media, you\u2019re far more likely to go off the beaten path into \u201cthe void.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Consider writing a set of processes, a checklist, or a SOP to confine you to the tasks you actually NEED to do on social media. Having a list of what to do will help keep your mind on task.<\/p>\n 4. Use penalties and accountability.<\/p>\n You can set a specific amount of time you\u2019re allowed to check social media, and stick to that. You can then combine that with accountability and tell someone that if you go over that set amount, you have to pay them $50\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Or if you\u2019re like Maneesh Sethi, <\/span>you can get someone to slap you<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s difficult to remain focused on business with so many distractions out there. This is why apps like <\/span>FocusMe<\/span><\/a> were created. They allow you to focus on what\u2019s important while it blocks the distractions.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"blue\"](\"https:\/\/focusme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/blue.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIntroduction to Social Media Platforms and Your Business<\/span><\/h2>\n
Different Social Media Platforms and How They Can Help You Grow Your Business<\/span><\/h2>\n
Periscope<\/span><\/h3>\n
Pinterest<\/span><\/h3>\n
Snapchat<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nTwitter<\/span><\/h3>\n
LinkedIn<\/span><\/h3>\n
Google+<\/span><\/h3>\n
Instagram<\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/p>\nHow to Respect Your Internet Time Limit – 5 Ways to Limit Social Media Use<\/span><\/h2>\n
1. Set time checks and an internet time limit.<\/span><\/h3>\n
2. Use news feed eradicator.<\/span><\/h3>\n
3. Use a standard operating procedure (SOP) for social media.<\/span><\/h3>\n
5. How to block all websites: Use an app like FocusMe to block social media altogether when not working.<\/span><\/h3>\n