"I hope you enjoy this video & the article, it's full of quotes from the interview!
Thank you, Kate McLaren, The Daily Press, Timmins for writing this article and posting this video! I hope you all enjoy it" Sofie
Live Interview!
"Online social graces.
BUSINESS: Social media sites ideal for promoting biz
By Kate McLaren, The Daily Press
Updated May 2011
In a world where tweeting, Facebooking, and YouTubing are part of the everyday vernacular, social media expert Sofie Andreou is making sure businesses are not missing out on the action.
An author and Trent University professor, Andreou was in Timmins Monday to deliver a workshop presented by the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.
She explained although social media tools like Facebook and Twitter are extremely popular for personal use, only 20% of businesses are currently utilizing them.
"A lot of businesses are still using traditional media, and they see social media as a waste of time.
"But there have been changes to social media, making it a lot more viable to use."
Tools like Hootsuite and Tweetdeck are useful to help time management when using social media, she said.
"These are websites that will allow you to plan out your posts and tweets and will then post them for you at a later time."
"It's a great way to create synergy and energy for events and products, and will allow a company's social media policy to spread through its employees."
Andreou also gave business owners specific tips, pointing out that when using social media, less is more.
"The top reason people stop following businesses or even individuals is that they post too many times"
"Whether you're a brand or a company, the rule of thumb is twice a day. Also, if you do six posts a week, five of those posts should be knowledge-based, providing information to people, and only one of those posts should be promotional."
She added when using social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, or LinkedIn, it's important for businesses to pinpoint their specialties and play them up.
"Promotional videos and photos are a huge thing. People want to experience the services that a businesses clients have experienced, so videos are a great way to do that."
Linking posts to a company website is also an effective way to build awareness, she said.
"The No. 1 thing I tell people is to set up your space properly so your brand sticks out. If people don't know what you're about in two second, you've lost them.
"So many people are already connected online, so if these businesses don't get connected as well, their competitors are going to start creating a community and a trust online."
"When clients start thinking about products and services they want, they're going to think immediately of the person they've already seen online and start trusting them as the knowledge expert."
While Andreou is an advocate for business online, she explained the social media world may not be for everyone.
"This is actually an important point, and it's something I always put on my exams for my students.
"The kids think that everyone should be on every single social media medium, but that's just not the case.
"It's extremely important to get to know your target market, and that's one of the tools that I show.
"If your target market isn't a big social media user, then maybe you should rethink it."
Social media expert Sofie Andreou was in Timmins Monday, May 9, 2011 for a Timmins Chamber of Commerce workshop, giving local businesses the skinny on social media. She discussed tools."
I hope you enjoyed that article! :)
Sof
Sof
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