Social Media – Recently Asked Questions – Part 1

As a Social Media Company we get asked questions all the time from businesses as how to use Social Media better or just the Social Media basics

As part of a new feature – we’re bringing you Recently Asked Questions on Social Media to help you with your business

Each Part will feature up 5 Question & Answers and as always feel free to email us any more

Our answers as based on working on Social Media accounts daily and training 100’s of businesses – real practical advice rather than theoretical!

Q:  I have tried Facebook advertising and while it increased my likes, I received no orders at all. Unless you can prove a return, I will be a little hesitant to try Social Media over traditional marketing?
I totally agree with your experience of Facebook Advertising – many find the same who I have spoken to about it.

Examples of businesses we worked with include

• Holt Business Solutions – 6 in 10 people that walk through the doors of the retail store are from twitter
• Phanthong – 30% of their business is from Twitter
• Essence – around 40 new customers each month visit the restaurant – many who return for repeat visits
• Zipyard – 15-20% of their business is from Twitter
• The Window Co / Prestige Flooring – £5-7000 orders won via twitter

They’re just a few examples of names you probably know

Q: I want to set up a facebook page that only certain people can see / use. How do I do this?

Pages are always public – which is what you really want if you are a public facing businessBut if you want just a select few, what you need a “Secret Facebook Group” – really easy to set up

1. Click on a group like this – https://www.facebook.com/groups/493651750742675/

2. Look Top right – “Create Group”
3. Tick Secret Group – it explains the difference of each type of group on here
4. Just invite the members you want in by either facebook friend names if you’re friends with them or emails

Notifications always come up on your personal facebook page when somebody posts in the group so it’s really easy to keep track of things
Q: I know photos are important on Social Media – but i’m a small business so can’t afford a full time photographer – can I use my phone?
As long as you don’t have a Nokia brick phone from 10 years ago most smart phones can take web suitable images

We work with international businesses who have the luxury of having full time photographers and designers who can supply content when needed and this is great, but for most small businesses it’s not affordable to hire a photographer to producer 30 quality images a monthHave a look at Eat Fresh Cafe facebook page in Altrincham – they’re a business who use phone pictures and get a great response from customers who then come in and try the foodwww.facebook.com/eatfreshcafe
Q: I can’t find the time to do Social Media – how do businesses find the time?
Something to think about – 30 minutes on Social Media is just 2% of  24 hoursSocial Media can be managed easily in 30 minutes a day and there are tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, IFTTTThe importance is how you use that 30 minutes a day. Many people think there are cheat tactics such as Twitter Hours, but they can often end up using your time more for little benefitSocial Media strategy is important and businesses could definitely benefit from Social Media TrainingIf you really don’t have the time consider outsourcing your Social Media to a company such as ours. We measure the activity we do against your ROI and are constantly on Social Media so keep ahead of any changes and can constantly adapt

NEXT MONTH – ANY QUESTIONS
If you have any burning questions – simply email them to alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk and we’ll answer the burning ones next  month