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The Total Image Group   ...Business Alchemists

A regularly updated resource of information and news items.

Archive for October 2011

Why I’m closing my Facebook page…..

Posted Monday, October 24th, 2011

The number of Facebook business pages that keep popping up from a multinational brand to the shop down the road selling cat food continues to increase. But that doesn’t mean that those who have been put in charge of managing the sites understand what they should be doing any better.

I recently researched an industry in Bournemouth to pitch to a client and discovered numerous Facebook pages with very little activity. In fact only one business was regularly updating of the 15 Facebook pages I found. What was interesting was that the 14 inactive had clearly launched their page and then posted with a frenzied enthusiasm for 2 or 3 months and then got bored, the posts became less frequent until they stopped completely and then haven’t touched it since. In one instance a user had commented on a page ‘will someone please call me’, they were clearly not answering their phones and then publicly not answering their comment on Facebook- a double whammy!

Social media requires time and input and there are significant results on offer as a reward. Most companies fail because they decide on a Monday morning meeting to have a Facebook page and by Tuesday they’ve uploaded a bio from the website, a profile picture, a few images of the owners and ‘hello everyone, we’re on Facebook’, by Friday they’ve uploaded everything the company does and what it has ever done and by the following Monday they’re struggling for content, bored and when too many emails come through, it’s forgotten and their social media experience is over because it didn’t work and social media is a load of baloney! Unsurprisingly, social media requires a plan and a strategy and most importantly, knowing where you’re content is going to come from on a regular basis. What it also requires too is realistic targets, so that after 6 months of updates and interactions, you can assess whether it has been a success and what the company has archived by using social media.

Don’t embark in social media if you already know you’re not going to update your profiles with regular interesting news, don’t allow your customers to find poorly managed pages. Close down your existing pages if you know you’re never going to update it again or you’re not going to invest the necessary time. But if you’re serious about social media, make a plan and devise a strategy. How are you going to connect with your audience and what results do you expect to see?

With 50% of the UK population on Facebook and half logging in very day, you shouldn’t be dreaming of closing down your page or not getting involved!


Why are pensioners using social media?

Posted Friday, October 14th, 2011

A recent survey conducted by social media agency Umpf found that 55% of the UK’s pensionable age has an active Facebook page and two-thirds regularly view videos on YouTube.

This is obviously great news for businesses on the social networking sites who are continuing to witness their social media investment reap better rewards as result of increased usage and the continued expansion of the active demographic. More companies are discovering that their target audience are involved in and active on the social networks and therefore can no longer discard social media as a tool used only by the young or people who have ‘nothing better to do with their time’.

But why are pensioners taking to social media?

  • Family updates: It’s a great way to keep track of what the family is up to by viewing status updates and photo uploads
  • Social lives: many have active social lives and therefore communicating and arranging plans is easy to coordinate of Facebook and is to many, easier than having to use a mobile phone
  • Technology: the use of the computers and the internet is far more accessible than it was 10 years ago. What’s more, ‘young’ pensioner’s age have had time to get used to technology like computers and mobiles and therefore using Facebook does necessitate a steep learning curve.

What does this mean for businesses?

  • Whereas only 3 years ago social media data was being uploaded mainly by 19-35 year olds, Facebook users from the 45-and-over category generate 400million plus stories each month, which means they are just as engaged content wise as 19-year-olds. It demonstrates that data is being uploaded and importantly consumed by an older generation.
  • Use of social media for businesses is not only broadening in the demographic they can communicate with. A company may have used previously used social media to communicate with a section of their audience but now they could potentially talk to their entire audience.
  • More companies will be looking to invest in social media who previously thought their audience were not active.

Think about if your business is on the social networks and whether your updates are catering for all demographics. Does your strategy need to be reviewed and your content adjusted accordingly?

Social media has once again proved that it is an indispensible tool to any business-  we shouldn’t be surprised any longer really.

 

 


 
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