For the next in our series of case studies looking at how small businesses are using social media, we caught up with Victoria Dixon from Enhance Me
In no more than 50 words explain what your business is.
http://www.enhance-me.com offer a range of beautifully enchanting personalised Magical portraits. A very unique keepsake or a wonderful gift. A number of new products are being launched including The Family Tree and a range of personalised books in the near future.
How do you use social media as a business?
I use it in a number of ways and find that it has been invaluable for my business. It’s like an online word-of-mouth and allows me to connect with people and other businesses that I may never have had the opportunity to before. I use facebook – one fantastic example of how I used this to promote my business was recently I managed to get my company endorsed by customers on Very Good service’s Facebook page and from there was listed on their website http://www.verygoodservice.com/ all through the use of social media and a collection of fantastic customers who gave wonderful feedback!
I also use Twitter to announce news, competitions, new products and to connect with businesses and bloggers. This has resulted in a number of marketing opportunities and very beneficial business contacts. I also feel that twitter allows my customers to see the person behind the business to an extent and adds a new level of personalised care. I also have a blog which I update as often as possible – I think the great thing about social media is that you can connect everything together – when I update my blog a tweet is automatically sent out announcing the update as well as a post on facebook!
What are your business/marketing objectives for social media?
To continue to explore other social media sites and keep on top of trends. I also would like to think that I can communicate just how beneficial social media can be to other companies when it is used correctly. I would like to concentrate more on my blog and make it more interactive and increase readership. I also would like to explore some of the social media platforms such a tweetdeck etc to see if I can make my experience easier and perhaps plan tweets so I can manage my time more effectively.
Do you measure the success of your social media marketing? If so, how?
I track all my statistics and it is very positive to see that my stats reveal that Twitter and facebook are two of the highest generators of traffic to my website! I also keep a record of business and marketing opportunities that have come directly from social media.
How does social media fit in with the other marketing your company does?
I don’t feel social media has decreased or taken away from my normal marketing objectives but it has been a positive addition to my campaigns…allowing me to tie everything together and add another dimension to my marketing plan.
Do you have plans to increase your use of social media in 2010?
I must explore a few other Social Media sites such as LinkedIn and I have a number of Ning sites I joined ages ago that I should update more frequently!
What would be your top 3 tips for businesses looking to get involved in social media?
- Try to Focus on what you want your social media objectives to achieve: Do you want to connect with new customers? Do you want to market a new product? Do you want to network with peers, finding ways to help promote your business? Do you want to strengthen the relationship you have with your current customers by offering say a discount code to them or running a competition only available to you facebook fans!?
- Select the correct social media platform for you – some people find facebook tricky to update, or perhaps they don’t want to limit their conversations or announcements to 140 characters as you have to on Twitter so it’s worthwhile becoming aware of what is available and using it confidently.
- Time can be an issue – you have to find a way to manage your time effectively while using social media – it can be very addictive and distracting too! Will you be able to respond to a customer request or response on Twitter without pulling you away from work? It can be really tricky to find that balance but you will find it becomes part of your daily/weekly routine eventually.
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