Developing your online presence is essential in today's digital age. That's why so many have turned to a web developer like this web development company in Sydney to engage online customers and draw them in. However, it's not just your website that needs to be at the top of its game. Your social media presence needs to be top-notch too. We love when we spot "customers being super" with social media. So, let's take a few minutes to celebrate excellent social media efforts of a few who are unique. Plato's Closet in Chicago https://www.facebook.com/platosclosetchitown/ First up is a Chicago presence of the hip resale franchise. Downright picky about what they'll purchase to resell, their groovy vibe makes us all want to buy used clothes, especially with their impressive social media presence. A TON OF FANS Three locations in Chicago team up behind one Facebook business page. Together, these stores have garnered over 10,000 fans, an impressive number for any small business. Learn more about how to get more fans here. VIDEO COMMERCIAL When you land at their Facebook page, the first thing you notice is a prominent "Watch Video" button. Clicking the button launches an educational video that explains how it works to sell your clothes to them. PRODUCT IS FRONT AND CENTER Plato's Closet in Chicago also does a spectacular job of putting their products on their stream. Why pay for stock photos when you can use photos of items right under your nose? CONTENT MIX The mix of content is interesting, informative and educational. Their topics include being beautiful & healthy, seasonal trends, and notes from the staff – all topics which they believe their target customer finds interesting. INSTAGRAM CONNECTION To make their life a little easier, they've also linked up their Instagram account to post automatically to their Facebook page -leaving no post unposted! TO DO FOR YOU Continue to work on building fans. (Request a complimentary help session here.) Use your camera to build photography of your product. Simple is acceptable. Mix up your content. If you haven't subscribed to free HOT!Content™, that sends you daily free content for your industry to share, get it here. Connect other social channels if you can. FASTSIGNS (Rochester, MN) https://www.facebook.com/FASTSIGNS2078/ If clothing sales is not up your alley, check out FASTSIGNS in Rochester, MN, who sells primarily to small businesses. BEHIND THE SCENES These gentlemen make the sign business seem fun. The first video that I came across was a short 10-second drone video showing how you can be a little "creative" when making signs for sign spinners. REVIEWS This business has some very nice Facebook reviews. The wonderful thing about Facebook reviews is that since you can see who posted the review, these reviews present a more authentic feel to your visitors, than reviews that you report about your own business. GET IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA It may be uncomfortable at first, but put your own smiling face in front of that camera. Remember, people ultimately [...]

Help yourself by simplifying your small business social media. You signed up to run a business and didn't realize you'd also be the person in charge of your small business social media strategy. Independent stores of large franchise brands, as well as mom & pop businesses, face this same challenge. When creating your small business social media strategy, there are many ways to approach it. It isn't always as simple as choosing to buy automatic Instagram likes monthly or buying Instagram followers, and gaining genuine engagement that way. You have to have a strategy in place regarding what you are posting, when you are posting and who you are posting for. What's important is that you design a plan to which you can commit and that you can measure. Understanding your small business social media approach will help you decide later whether you were successful. A simple and easy to measure approach is to manage your social media with one of two key goals: Community Building Business Building Get a complimentary social media help session. Small Business Social Media Strategy: Community Building Community Building is the creation of a digital presence – a place to be found – a place where your customers and prospective customers can stay up-to-date with what's going on at your business. In doing this, you create an engaging digital place, from which you can cultivate your marketplace - for both customers and prospective customers. You're creating, "Hey, the water is warm, get in!" Social media is uniquely positioned to do this, simply because of the nature of it. It's a channel of communication that people have come to prefer, in general. It provides a much more immediate and low-friction channel than the previous years of: Writing a letter Making a phone call Sending a carrier pigeon People can ask a question, comment, share, or even review your business, without a lot of effort. As a business owner, you can trust social media to do the work for you. For example, if your business does a lot of charity work, trust the social media process to promote you and your fundraising sites by viewers using word of mouth after seeing charity related posts. Over the holidays, more than once I wondered about the hours of a nearby business. Rather than going to their webpage, which isn't quite as "real time" as social media, I went to their Facebook page to ensure that they were open. There are several components to community building. Some include: Being on social media in the first place. Posting regularly. Sharing useful information on your social channels. Targeted advertising – the goal of which is to grow your social community. Responding to posts on your wall, comments, messages, reviews, etc. If you read our blog regularly, you know that we strongly suggest mixing up the type of content that you share on your social pages. This is what creates the "ambiance" of your social presence. Think about how you respond to people [...]