Social Media for Business: Orange County Companies and Emerging Platforms for Connecting with Customers
When it comes to social media management, Orange County companies are often familiar with the most popular platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. The media coverage that both of these sites get along with the promotional efforts that many businesses use to win “likes” and “followers” have made Facebook and Twitter synonymous with “social media companies.”
Orange County businesses that focus only on these sites are missing out on other opportunities, however. Often, there are platforms that are a better fit for the company’s needs, audience, and capabilities.
Firm Media, a leading interactive and social media management company in Orange County, helps businesses identify where and how to focus their online efforts. Three of the emerging platforms to which we often guide clients are described below. Read on, and then get in touch to see how we can support your business.
LinkedIn is an especially good fit for B2B clients who are interested in using social media for business. Orange County companies can leverage the service to attract new customers and to expand their existing customer base.
LinkedIn began as a way of developing a personal professional network. Over time, the site has added the ability for companies to create their own pages and for members to see the information that these companies share. Savvy businesses post content, job listings, event announcements, and other resources. When they provide this information, people who follow the company’s page can re-share the content. This helps to expose the company to other online professionals.
Pinterest is a great medium for businesses that are trying to reach consumers and that have a lot of visually-engaging content that they can share. For restaurants, this might be photographs of new dishes. For artists, this might include images of early sketches. When someone “repins” the content they have posted, it is shared with a new audience.
Even companies that do not produce physical products can take advantage of Pinterest. A cloud computing business might share photographs of cool technology being developed in universities or stories about breakthroughs in processing power. As a result, Pinterest followers associate the cloud computing company’s brand with cutting edge ideas.
Yelp
Reputation management is a specialized area of social media management. Orange County businesses are often being reviewed online by customers, and it is essential that companies engage with these reviews through websites like Yelp.
Here’s why: if a customer uses a product or service and complains, other people may see that review and choose an alternate business. If a customer writes a positive review and the company says nothing, it discourages future positive reviews. Participating in review sites like Yelp allows a company to show that it cares about its customers. It also lets the company address specific concerns, fix problems, and reward loyalty.
To learn about other social media management platforms, San Bernardino residents can visit our local offices, call us at (855) 912-0573, “like” us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
