Anita Kirkbride 
Every social media presentation I give participants ask which network they should focus on first, and many assume it’s Facebook. Chances are, for most small businesses, Facebook is going to be the first stop on your social media strategy. Here are some of my top tips for marketing your business on Facebook.
I have come to understand that you only understand that which you have an express interest in understanding. Thus, I do not understand quantum physics, the legal aspects of a corporate takeover, or dog people (Cats rule, dogs drool. #SorryNotSorry). Similarly, many small business owners simply do not have the express interest in truly understanding the complexities of social media. Some simply want it to bring in the money and others just want someone else to handle it. This leads to a lot of misunderstanding about social media in general. Here are some of my favourite social media myths.
So maybe you haven’t quite made it to Twitter yet and yesterday’s post listing 12 great Halifax Twitter accounts to follow wasn’t the best fit for you. Today’s post is all about Facebook. Whether you’re looking for local pages to follow (AHEM Twirp Communications), or sources of social media information, there is something for everyone on Facebook. Here are some great Pages to get you started.
Twitter still seems to be the mysterious social network for many new entrepreneurs. The @ and # symbols make it look like we’re speaking another language…and sometimes we are! Twitter is actually one of the easiest social networks to use, when you compare it to the complexity of Facebook or Linkedin, yet so many people are scared off by the symbols, acronyms, short-cut phrases and hashtags. Sometimes all you need is a good list of people to follow to get you going on Twitter.
Having worked with several local Halifax charities on social media, I know that many board members are just scratching the surface of social media. They’ve just joined because they know they need to for their charity work. Or they’re only there to keep up on the antics of their children or grandchildren. If you want to have a successful social media campaign, whether it’s to raise funds, win a voting contest, crowdfund, sell event tickets or advocate for services, you need to ensure your supporters know what to do.
Potential clients and customers are looking for your products and services on Twitter. Are you there to collect the leads?
The next installment of Finding Leads on Twitter sees unmet needs in parking, hockey jerseys, and locally farmed beef, but a nice save from one of the big cable companies.
There are lots of reasons to online voting competitions: ego, visibility, MONEY! Here are some of the non-monetary ways in which you could benefit from entering an online voting competition:
Twitter lists are one of the hidden gems of Twitter that power users have discovered. Today I’m going to uncover the wonders of Twitter lists and show you how they can be used to filter that firehose down to a trickle you can actually manage!
While I watched the game, and flipped through the US commercials online, I was also following the #SB48 discussions on Twitter, through a real-time stream in my Hootsuite dashboard–this is one of the reasons I love Hootsuite. Every once in a while, a brand tweet would break the monotony of the Broncos hate or the Seahawks gloating. Unfortunately, not all of the hashtag hijacking was relevant, or well done.
