subject: Managing your businesses online presence- dos and don'ts [print this page] Managing your businesses online presence- dos and don'ts
Working ongoingly with 250+ to promote their lunch trade online has taught us a lot about what to do and what not to do when it comes to online promotion , how results can be dramatically improved with a few adjustments to approach and mindset.
Social media presence growth, i.e. expanding the number of people who follow your page and your posts, very much relies on generating strong word of mouth, developed from people following your presence and giving it a seal of approval, through interactions, which are also visible to their friends, and which will spark the interest of these friends.
A tactical approach is required, much as this may sound professional and impersonal. But you can be friendly and engaging whilst also being tactical. A balance has to be struck. Sure you can promote the latest lunch deals Cork, Dublin etc. consumers can avail of at your store of the latest products that make your venue the place to go for lunch in Dublin, but promotion, promotion, promotion gets very boring after a while and is very impersonal. You don't always have to talk about your business in your posts, you could even limit it to every 4th post, talk about industry related things in intermittently and then talk about any general musings you have or interesting stories that caught your eye. In the social media setting, the word promotion should be replaced with engagement in whatever strategy you are thinking of. People are just as quick to opt out of a page as they are to opt in so keeping the engagement and interest level up is critical.
Incentives to join a page are worthwhile, e.g. competitions, but if you can still to providing good content then you should have success without forking out on prizes.
Our experience is based on promoting the lunch trade but the above is all very much applicable to any industry in any market.
As a starting point, engage with the people you know, family, friends, etc. but also anyone who is a regular at your premises or a frequent user of your service. They will be the easiest to convince to spread the word about your offering, but only if they see that you are making a interesting and well thought out effort.
