PPB January 2016

QUESTION

Danielle Rogers

Communications & Training Coordinator

The Vernon Company

UPIC: Vernon

As a member of the Millennial gen-

eration, I think there are two extremes

when it comes to social media in the

promotional products industry. It’s either

radio silence or content overload.

Whether it’s because distributors don’t

have enough time in their day or

because they take automation to a whole

new level, social media has lost some of

its humanity. Trust me when I say there

is a happy medium that will work for

your business and will make your online

presence more human.

My first piece of advice is to find out

where your customers and prospects are.

If they aren’t on Twitter—there’s no rea-

son to create a profile. If they aren’t on

Facebook, why create a page that no one

will like? You don’t have to be on every

social network. Find what works for you.

Since the promotional marketing

industry is mostly B2B, my suggestion is

that you spend your time on LinkedIn.

Why? Most of your buyers are in man-

agement, marketing or professional posi-

tions and will have a LinkedIn profile.

You should have one too. This one pro-

file gives you the ability to write posts,

upload photos, share updates, connect

with customers

and

prospects, and join

conversations in groups.

My second tip is to make sure that

you create content to share. What do I

mean by that? Social media isn’t just

about broadcasting items, specials and

sales at an audience. It’s about building a

relationship. And to build a relationship,

you need to have a story to tell. One

piece of content can be shared three or

four different ways, giving you plenty of

things to share with minimal effort.

A Distributor Asks:

I’ve heard a lot about how social media can help a small business

by helping to build our brand and further relationships with our

customers. However, our company is small and I have no one

who can take this on, even part time. If I’ve only got a couple of

hours a week to devote to promoting my company through

social media, where should I spend my time? What activities are

most important?

SOCIAL (MEDIA) ANXIETY

JANUARY 2016 •

PPB

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