Marketing

Why You Can’t Trust Your Social Media Manager Too Much

As small business social media service providers, we at Wobizzle definitely support the idea of a small business owner delegating social media to a trusted staff member, freelancer or agency. That said, I recently found myself untangling a social media access mess for a small company that had placed a little too much trust in their social media manager.

It’s not the first time I have encountered the issue. So, I thought it was a case study worth sharing.

The Problem

The company hired me to take on their social media activity which had been stagnant for some time. I met with the owner and key staff members to discuss the business and formulate a plan.

I started the process of updating the company accounts, freshening cover and thumbnail images, and creating evergreen content. That’s when I discovered that there was no login or password information on file for two of the company’s four social media accounts. Further investigation revealed the accounts had been set up by a former staff member. That staff member had failed to share the information with others on the staff team. She had also failed to assign any secondary administrators to the accounts.

Basically, these accounts were still controlled by the social media manager who had left the company five years before I had been called in to help. The accounts in question were on Twitter and LinkedIn. The company had no access to the accounts. Staff members could not post updates. They could not assign new administrators. They could not make any changes to the pages. The control remained in the hands of the former social media manager.

I’m sure I don’t need to point out that not having control over your social media accounts is not only a hassle, but also a potentially compromising situation.

In my process, I reached out to the former employee to transfer access. She was unresponsive. She either overlooked the requests, or did not feel obliged to help. I don’t believe there was underlying malice in this case. I think the failure to share was just an oversight.

Regaining Control

Regaining control of the company accounts was a time-consuming endeavor. We started by sending a message from the owner’s email account to the support centers of Twitter and LinkedIn. We explained the situation and asked for help to take control back. Twitter responded within a few days with instructions on how to proceed. The process involved uploading a statement on company letterhead to a link provided by Twitter. Twitter offered information on what the statement needed to address, and instructions on ensuring that the statement would be received by the proper contact at Twitter.

LinkedIn took a little more effort. After more than a week of waiting for a response on the support ticket, we decided to call a customer service number I found online. After several travels through a loop of “press 1 for…press 2 for…” my client was able to speak to a real person. That real person moved the request forward, and within a few hours, we had regained control over the page and removed the former admin. Before suggesting that you try this at home, I would point out that I think it made a difference that my client was a premium member (aka paying customer) of LinkedIn.

All in all, it took more than a week for us to regain control of the platforms. Imagine if that former employee had decided to use her power for evil, and had posted rogue updates during the time the accounts were not in our control. Perhaps, Twitter and LinkedIn would have acted more quickly in that situation. But regardless, damage would have been done.

Best Practices

Unfortunately, there is no across-the-board fix for managing the security of your social media accounts. Facebook’s set up is the easiest to work around. For a small business, having the business owner as the administrator on the account and assigning “editor” roles to other key players makes sense. The administrator maintains full control of the account. Assigned staff members or service providers are able to post updates and make some edits to the page.

For Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest it’s trickier. You must share your login and password information with anyone who you want to manage the account. The best security here is to make sure the account is listed under an email address and phone number that you, as the business owner, control. That would help protect you if the worst case scenario happened and your social media manager went rogue and changed the password. You’d be able to reset it or communicate with Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest to resolve your problem.

Perhaps the best option is using a third party scheduling software program like Hootsuite, eClincher, Buffer, etc. These programs not only allow you to schedule social media posts in advance, they also allow you to maintain control of your account while assigning staff members or outsourced service providers posting responsibilities to your accounts.

Are you a social media manager or social media consultant? Share your best practices for managing access to business social media accounts in the comments below.

Freshness Test: Is Your Business Website Up To Date?

Does your business website pass the freshness test? When was the last time you checked in on it?

An outdated website is bad for business. Think about it. Have you ever visited a website that was woefully out of date? You know the type; one with old events being advertised on the homepage, broken links, or the latest post on the blog is two years old.

What did you think? Did you wonder if the business was still in business? You’re not the only one.

Your business website serves as an online destination for your customers and potential customers. For some, it may be the first impression they get of your business. That’s why it’s important that it be up to date.

So, bring up your website right now in another window and review these things to see if your business website passes the freshness test.

Business Website Freshness Test

Calendars & Events

Scan your website for any time-sensitive items. Look for outdated events, promotions, expired discounts or coupons and get rid of them.

Blog

If you have a blog, when was the last time you posted? If it’s been longer than 30 days, you need to remedy that. Set aside a few minutes to brainstorm some post ideas. Make a list, and then make a commitment to update that blog at least once a month.

You don’t have to write a 10-page white paper. Short articles – 400-500 words – are fine. Just remember when you are writing, to set aside the sales pitch and instead opt for blog topics that will deliver helpful information and value to your website visitors.

Don’t have a blog? You should consider adding one to your business website. A regularly updated blog is one of the best tools for improving your search engine rankings. It can also prove to be an unmatched marketing tool. A blog allows you to showcase your expertise, and gain credibility with your audience. That credibility makes it easier to persuade them to make a purchase or contract a service from you.

Links

Go through your website page by page and check for broken links. Delete or fix any that you find, and while you are at it, look for opportunities to add some fresh links. Up-to-date internal and outbound links can help improve your search engine rankings.

SEO

Speaking of search engine rankings, check in on your website’s SEO. Do you have keywords assigned to your pages and posts? Are your posts and images optimized? Make adjustments as needed, or hire an expert to help.

Grammar & Spelling

As a writer, nothing screams “unprofessional” louder to me than a website with spelling or grammar errors. Though the majority of your website visitors may not be writers, they will notice. Proofread your website. Have a friend do the same and clean up any spelling mistakes or poor grammar.

Design & Navigation

Now that you have some of the immediate concerns addressed, take a thoughtful look at the design of your website. Does it look good? Is it a website that you are proud of? Does it have a clean, modern look? Are you using high quality images?

Think about it from the perspective of a potential customer. Is it easy to navigate? Does it give them the information you want them to know as well as the information they are seeking?

How does it read? You want your website copy to communicate in a clear and concise way. You need to say just enough to give a good overview of your business, your products or services and what makes you different and better than your competitors. Too much copy can clutter the page and overwhelm the reader.

If you’re not happy with your website, consider a redesign. Hire a professional to help. If your budget is tight, you could consider using a DIY website platform like SquareSpace.

Make It A Habit

Once you’ve gone through the steps and made much needed updates to your business website, make it a habit to review these things on a regular basis.

Gone are the days when you could build a website and then forget about it for a few years. Effective, lead-generating business websites are living things. They evolve. They grow. And they should be updated on a regular basis. So, keep your website fresh. Your credibility depends on it.

RELATED CONTENT: Why You Must Have A Business Website

Keep Religion, Politics, and the Great Pumpkin Out of Your Marketing Mix

There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin – Linus

My husband recently came home raving about a new local restaurant. It was very small, with an owner who was working hard to make it the place to be. The food was great, the prices were great, and he was hooked.

The owner had done a lot of things right in his brief visit. The service was amazing, the atmosphere was very tasteful, and the quality of the food was superior. After he was served, the owner introduced herself and answered a few questions. She had it down – personal service, nice atmosphere, and excellent product – all very well done.

While he was sold, I decided to check out the restaurant’s website before committing.

Mistake #1 – they didn’t HAVE a website. That’s an entirely different post but suffice it to say that every small business or service professional must have a website before they open their doors.

Mistake #2 – she was letting her political agenda fly free on her Facebook page. In addition to a couple of political posts, her business “likes” displayed several very polarizing national politicians. Those displays alienated me immediately, and it wasn’t just because of the “likes” she had, but because she “liked” several politicians on her business page, period.

She’s not alone. There are many, many, many other businesses and entrepreneurial service professionals that do the same thing. Sign this petition or that one; call your Congressman; say NO to this, YES to that. Trust me on this, you cannot change someone’s political beliefs on your Facebook business page, and while you can debate and debate and debate, you’re still more often than not talking to a wall. A wall that could very well prevent that visitor from becoming your customer or client. People believe what they believe, and really their beliefs shouldn’t have anything to do with whether or not they frequent your restaurant, call for a hair appointment, attend your yoga class, or schedule a massage.

We live in some pretty divisive times, and with social media taking the lead for many entrepreneurial marketing efforts, it’s important to keep things that are polarizing, like religion, politics, and for some yes, even the Great Pumpkin, out of it. The ultimate goal of the business Facebook page, and any social media or marketing effort, is to build your business into one that people will know, love, and trust. If you have a client, or fan, or even a neighbor that feels strongly about a politician or political issue, and you get on Facebook and post something derogatory or that directly counters what they believe, they will probably begin to take a different view of you both personally and professionally.

And THAT can cost you money.

RELATED CONTENT: Why You Must Have A Business Website

Blogging For Your Business: A Beginner’s Guide

If you’ve done the research, you probably know that blogging for your business is one of the most effective ways to communicate with your customers. Maybe you’ve even added a blog to your business website, or have it on your to-do list. The question now is – content.

While the design of your website plays an important role in catching a visitor’s attention, when it comes to blogging for your business, content is king.

How Blogging For Your Business Helps

Blog articles are synonymous with the term “content,” but content can come in many different forms, including infographics and videos.

It works for you, educating your audience about your products or services and building your credibility as an expert in your industry.

As a bonus, regular updates to your company blog can help increase your search engine rankings, making it easier for potential clients or customers to find you.

The better your content, the better your blog. Here are a few tips to help you get off to a good start.

Table The Sales Pitch

Your company blog is not a place to advertise. It’s not a sales tool. It’s a place for potential customers to get to know you and your business. It also serves as a platform for you to position your business as a valuable resource for the audience you are trying to reach.

The value of blogging for business is that it helps you build trust and credibility with your audience. Those are two things that can ultimately convert prospects into customers or keep existing customers coming back for more.

Post With Purpose

Though blogging may have had its start as a place for dreamers to post deep thoughts, when you are blogging for business, it’s different. You want every single blog to have a purpose, and potential for the reader to benefit from it.

Your posts need to be relevant to your audience, and be something that they actually might read. If not, what’s the point of putting it online in the first place? Spend a little time brainstorming some topics. A good place to start is by thinking about common problems that your customers or clients face and offering your expert advice or pro tips for solving them.

For example, if you are a massage therapist you might put together a list of stretches for relieving neck tension associated with sitting behind a desk all day. A life coach could post articles with tips for finding motivation to achieve goals. Own a café? Do a blog post on your favorite herb and how you like to use it. You get the drift.

Brainstorm and come up with a list so you will never be short of ideas when you have the time to write. Try to post at least once a month, more often if you are able. When you have time to write, even if it’s not time to post yet, go ahead and write your article. You can schedule it or hold it for later.

You Don’t Have To Do It Alone

If you’re too busy to write blog posts yourself and don’t have a staff member who can do it for you, there are ways you can still have an active and engaging blog.

You can hire someone to write for you. Quality freelance writers are skilled at becoming “experts for a day” on whatever topic you would like them to write about. Find someone in your local area or consult websites like Upwork to find a writer who can help. Ask to review samples of their work before you hire them for the job.

It’s also possible to purchase content that’s already written. Services like Constant Content offer pre-written articles for a small fee. You can also order custom articles on topics of your choice for a higher fee.

Whatever route you choose to keep your blog updated, make sure what you are posting passes a quality check. Poor content and poorly written articles will undermine any potential that your online presence has. Misspellings and poor grammar will make you AND your company look amateur at best, and that is NOT what you want people to think of when they think of you. Proofread before you post.

If you’re just starting out, the idea of making regular updates to your blog on top of everything else you need to do can seem a little overwhelming. But blogging for your business can be an effective and inexpensive way to get the word out about what you have to offer. It is well worth the effort. Stick with it and just keep in mind that content is king.

Why You Must Have A Business Website

Here’s some surprising news, or at least it was for me. A 2018 survey by the marketing firm Clutch revealed that about one-third of small businesses do not have a business website.

If you own one of them, I urge you to make building a business website your most important priority.

Granted, through online listing sites and social media, there are plenty of ways you can have an online presence without investing in a website. But, they don’t come close to the power of a having your own little piece of online property.

Now, you may be thinking, “I’m just one woman shop,” or “I’m just a freelancer. I don’t need a website.”

Wrong answer. First of all, you’re not “just” anything. You are a business owner.

And even the smallest of businesses benefit from the online presence that a website provides.

A Business Website Helps Customers Find You

At the most basic level, a website helps your business be discovered by customers or clients that might not otherwise know you exist.

It’s as important, or in some cases, more important than having a phone. Your web address serves as a destination that can and should be linked to all of your digital marketing efforts and included on any printed marketing materials you use to promote your products or services.

It gives potential clients and customers a place to go to find out more about what you offer, and it works on your behalf, 24/7 to promote your business.

A Business Website Gives You Credibility

A business website also lends legitimacy and credibility to your business.

Whether you are serving the consumer market or doing business with other businesses, people are discerning about the companies they buy from. A well designed business website communicates success and professionalism.

Redirecting your domain name to your company Facebook page just doesn’t cut it. It is a temporary solution at best, and by temporary I mean days or weeks, not months or years.

I always cringe a bit when I click on a business website link and it sends me to Facebook. It just makes me think the company isn’t very successful. Potential clients or customers want to know that you are good at what you do and having a business website gives that impression.

This is particularly important for freelancers who are offering services to businesses. Potential clients want to know as much about you as possible before they contact you for a proposal or meeting. Certainly, your LinkedIn profile can give them the rundown on your career experience. But a having a business website says loud and clear that you are serious about what you do, and successful enough to be investing back into your business.

A Business Website Gives You Control & Ownership

If you are relying on a redirect to your company’s Facebook page as a stand-in for having a business website, let me remind you of something. You don’t own Facebook.

You have no control over decisions and changes that Facebook makes to policies, algorithms and such. If Facebook decided tomorrow to pull the plug on business pages or start charging a fee for businesses to have a Facebook presence, you’d be left scrambling to find another solution. Your online presence is essentially your digital storefront. Wouldn’t you prefer to have control and ownership over it?

Enough about why you should have a business website, let’s get to the how. You have a few options.

Use DIY Business Website Builder Software

Cost is often an obstacle and the reason that small businesses forego building a website. But, there’s been a rise of DIY website builders like Wix, SquareSpace, and others. These companies are making it more affordable and easier than ever to build small business websites.

If you’re short on cash, one of these platforms can help you get a good-looking business website up and running quickly.

There are some downsides to using these services though. You’ll have to contend with shared hosting and design limitations. Your website visitors may experience slower load times and you may not be able to get your website to look or function exactly the way you want.

Also, some of the DIY platforms do not offer complete backups of your site. That means if you want to move your site elsewhere in the future, it may not be easy to do so.

Hire A Website Developer

If you can afford the investment, I highly recommend hiring a professional web developer to build your business website. That could be a freelancer or an agency that specializes in website design.

A professional website developer can work with you on securing your domain name and hosting as well as the navigation, functionality, layout and design of your new site.

It’s essential that your site be easily accessed on a mobile device. Your developer can ensure that as well.

Content management systems like WordPress, make it easy for you to make ongoing content changes and updates to your website. Let your developer know if that’s something that you want to be able to do. He or she can build the site with that in mind and train you to use the system.

Cost of a new website will depend on where you are located and the complexity of your site. It can range from $500-$10,000+. Many developers offer hosting and maintenance services as part of their website build packages. A reliable hosting service is a must. If your web developer does not offer hosting, he or she can likely recommend a service for you.

My first business website in 2012 cost $1000. A year later I spent another $1200 for a redesign. A year of two later, I dropped another grand on another redesign. Looking back, I should have sprung for $2500 – $3000 initially to get the site I wanted to begin with.

I wish I had thought of it not as an expense, but as an investment in my business, because it is. My business website generates revenue for me and attracts new clients. It’s critical to my business. It’s paid for itself over and over again.

Bottom Line

Whether you sell online or not, a business website is essential if you want to attract new customers or clients and be competitive.

Having a website for your business gives you an opportunity to tell your story, differentiate yourself from your competition, and communicate your value proposition.

Still don’t think you need one? Do a Google search of your competition. If your competitors are online and you’re not, who do you think will get the call when a potential customer or client is searching for the products or services you offer?