Social media is one of the tools used to promote businesses and organizations.
Community members learned a few strategies at Social Media Panel: The Power of Facebook Communities on Wednesday. It was hosted by the Prince William Chamber of Commerce at its headquarters in Manassas.
The panelists were John Fillipone from Western Prince William Chatter, Tamieka Smith from Military Wives & Moms of Woodbridge, Liz Whitt-Lee from Get Social with Liz and ST Billingsley from What’s Up Prince William.
Joining Facebook groups and pages was one recommendation they had for business owners. Western Prince William Chatter is one resource that’s available.
“It enhances awareness for your business, it enables you to interact with your customers in a way that you’ve never been able to before,” Fillipone explained.
Those planning to join Facebook groups should do their research and know the rules, according to Whitt-Lee. She also suggests that they actively participate and be consistent.
Business owners can use social media to get to know other people and learn how they can serve them.
“The biggest way to grow your business online is find a way to help people without being overly promotional,” Whitt-Lee said.
Trying different methods can help members of the business community determine what type of social media work best for them.
“Don’t worry about being on every platform, it’s too much work for one person,” Billingsley said. “The other thing I say is — don’t hire a kid just saying because they know how to post something, that doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing. There’s a lot that goes in behind it.”
Sending everyone a Facebook friend request and unsolicited links are a couple of tactics they should avoid.
“If you don’t want somebody to send you a bunch of stuff you didn’t ask for, don’t do that in kind,” Whitt-Lee added.
