When I started my first business in 1988, a men’s fashion store, it would be 7 years before I first touched the internet. In 1988 there were few options for free publicity for a new Micro- Business. It’s a different world in 2014. I explain here the basics of social media for a small business in the uk.

If you are starting a business, there are a few things that you should do yesterday. First up put yourself on the map, Google Maps to be exact. Google is the most powerful search engine on the planet and nearly every potential customer has access to Google Maps through their smart phone, laptop or PC. If they’re searching for a perm for their poodle in Portsmouth and your business can help, you need to make sure they can find you. You’ll need to set up a Gmail account and Google+ before moving over to Google Local to set up a G+Page for your business. Before you know it, Penelope visiting Peter in Portsmouth from Paris will be able to find your Poodle Parlour, or a competitors.

Now for Facebook. You’ve probably got your own personal Facebook account but for your business you’ll need a separate Facebook Page, which you can claim from your existing account. It’s a straightforward procedure that will ask you quite a few questions about your business. Answer them in as much detail as possible as it’s often a really useful information point for new customers. I helped the Grouse Pub & Chinese Restaurant set up theirs. Its amazing what a difference easy access to opening hours, a telephone number, address and in this case a menu can make to a new business. The Grouse also started getting really good feedback from day one which went viral locally from one persons 200 local friends to another persons 500 friends etc. Facebook is really good for communicating with Joe Public, Coca Cola can’t be wrong can they?

Next up is Twitter. No, its not full of people talking crap about Arsenal FC. My 2 favourite uses of Twitter are B2B and competitor research. My own business in2wrk was surprised to find out that one of the great things about Twitter was communicating with Job Centre Plus offices. JCP send us many of our customers and they recently appointed a digital champion in each office. We tweet them (and our followers) information about our courses and they tweet us information about job vacancies. Once you’ve set up your Twitter account your first step might be to follow your suppliers, interesting personalities connected with your line of business and potential customers. The next step is to interact with them. You might choose to set up a phony Twitter account to follow your competitors. Your smartphone will have the ability to handle multiple Twitter accounts.

Now its movie time and your business may be the star! While you’re getting all social on Facebook, Twitter and Google + why not share some home movies on YouTube. If you’ve already set up a Google+ account it’ll be a cinch to set up your You Tube account. While you’re thinking about some content of your own, subscribe to and share some movies relevant to your business and customers. Maybe you sell DJ gear, how about a few words from a Superstar DJ, a major manufacturer and a “useful how to”. There’s a phrase bandied around in the digital world, “content is king” and the way that applies to video is that your video doesn’t need to have a Hollywood budget; it just needs to be interesting and relevant. Go on, get that Smart phone out, Camera! Action!

That’s the basics done, when you have the time, and depending on your business, (certain social media channels are better for certain types of business) here’s the best of the rest. But first pop over to 123reg and buy a domain name. You might even have time to set up a web site one day.

Instagram: A great place to store and share (square) photos.

Pinterest: Another photo site, great for things like fashion, jewellery and food.

LinkedIn: A place where people look for jobs, and jobs look for people.

That should keep you busy for a while. If you get stuck, theres almost certainly an instructional video that will help you out on You Tube. One last tip, be a little careful what you post, you wouldn’t want a PR disaster would you?

If you live in Leeds or Manchester and you’d like to learn more about social media for a small business in the uk, We are running a 1 week training course called “Social Media for Small Businesses” in January 2015.

 

Richard Hallam is MD of in2wrk. Find him @richardhallam and it @in2wrk on Twitter. He has run a training business, in2wrk.com since 2002 that delivers learndirect training mainly to Jobseekers.

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