• Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Flickr
  • Slideshare
  • Rss
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
SBDC Tampa Bay
  • Home
  • Solutions
    • Certifications
      • Business Certifications
      • Minority-Owned Business
      • Woman-Owned Business
      • Veteran-Owned Business
    • Consulting & Training
      • Training
      • Training Calendar
      • Consulting
      • Schedule a Consultant
      • Consultación
    • Business Solutions
      • Growth Acceleration
      • Government Contracting
      • International Trade
      • Starting Your Business
      • Disaster Preparedness
      • Student Teams
      • Organizational Development
  • Resources
    • Business Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Insights
    • Blog
    • Media Inquiries
  • About Us
    • Mission / Vision
    • Consultants
    • Meet the Staff
    • Meet Our Clients
    • Partners / Affiliates
  • Training
    • Training Calendar
    • On-Demand Training
  • Results
    • Success Stories
    • Economic Impact
  • Locations
    • Tampa
    • Hillsborough
    • Hernando County
    • Pinellas County
    • Highlands, Hardee, DeSoto
    • Polk County
    • Manatee
    • Sarasota
  • Contact
  • Schedule a Consultant
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
Blog

Social media requires engagement, not presence

Blog, Featured News

These days we hear so much about tweets, followers and posts that social media can quickly become overwhelming.  It has inundated every curriculum relating to starting, growing and running a business but is it really that important?

Yes.  Social media is without a doubt vital to any company in today’s economy.  It is becoming so increasingly important that it’s starting to look unprofessional if a company doesn’t have a Facebook or Twitter account.

In addition to the two dominant platforms, there is a secondary group of social platforms emerging in the professional world; Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. Yes, Snapchat. The app best known for teenage selfies is now making its way into the professional realm.

  • Snapchat: An app that lets users quickly send temporary videos and pictures to one another. Snapchat has recently developed a feature called “My Story” which lets users subscribe to an account, essentially allowing information to be more easily dispersed.
    • Example: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, username: LACMA_museum, has established a successful presence with their creatively captioned images.  Being the most informal medium, Snapchat success typically requires a good amount of wit and creativity.
  • Instagram: An app that lets users post photos and videos. Unlike Snapchat you’re not sending media to other users, you’re only posting.  Instagram relies exclusively on visuals. There’s no place to post business information, hours, prices; it’s all about engagement.
    • Example: National Geographic, username: natgeo, has reached great success.  Posting photographs by award-winning photographers on a social platform made for pictures leaves no question why they have nearly 43 million followers.
  • Pinterest: A website that’s created a name for itself regarding instructional-based posts including recipes, do-it-yourself projects, and other crafts. “Boards” allow users to categorize their posts. These boards are created by the user and typically range from professional all the way to goofy.
    • Example: Salesforce, username: salesfroce, is the company behind one of the largest customer relationship management systems. They’re a seemingly straight-laced company that engages followers with posts ranging from Silicon Valley Trends to Salesforce Office Style.
  • Tumblr: A website that acts like a mixture of a social media and blogging site. While accounts vary far a wide, fashion and media groups are most dominant.  While it relies on visuals, Tumblr is information heavy as well.  It’s a great platform if you’re creating original content, whether it be articles, infographics, or videos.
    • Example: The Huffington Post, username: huffingtonpost, encompasses a wide range of what Tumblr offers.  They go with a simplistic blog look and use a combination of photos and links to format their page.  Compare that to Glamour’s Tumblr, which is very stylized.

Every social platform has a specific use and it’s important to analyze which ones are necessary for your business. Companies are too worried about presence on every platform instead of being focused on two or three quality accounts.  Stop concerning yourself with what other companies are doing and critically think about what works best for yours.

BlueGrace Logistics, a small business in the Tampa Bay area and client of the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida, has demonstrated expert use of social media.  They’ve taken the time to develop their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube platforms.  One might think, how can a shipping company devise 2-4 tweets a day? It takes time, effort and creativity.

It’s no secret the more platforms a company’s on, the harder it becomes to manage. Depending on the size of a company, social media is now important enough to warrant hiring a distinct employee.  Create a plan that will address how often and what you will post.

Three things to remember when creating posts:

  1. Original content trumps all. While it’s okay to repost links and articles, original content makes a social media page much stronger.
  2. It’s okay to be goofy on social media. Of course the ultimate goal is to grow revenue but you can still have fun with it.  Use social media to let your personality shine.
  3. Be visual. Most social platforms lend themselves to multimedia more than text.  While traditional writing can still be effective, work on incorporating photos, links, and videos into posts.

Bobby Bishop is the Marketing Intern at the Florida SBDC at University of South Florida, and a graduate student in the Digital Journalism & Design master’s program at University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://sbdctampabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/image02048180716.jpg 500 500 admin /wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Locked-Host-Logos-Horizontal-USF-Small-e1635274663378.png admin2016-02-17 23:13:142021-12-23 20:37:23Social media requires engagement, not presence
Subscribe to Newsletter

Categories

  • Business Essentials
  • Business Plans
  • Buying a Business
  • Certifications
  • COVID-19
  • Crowdfunding
  • Disaster Preparedness
  • Economic Development
  • Finance
  • Government Contracting
  • Growing Your Business
  • Healthcare
  • Human Resources
  • International Trade
  • Marketing
  • Press Releases
  • Radio and Podcast
  • Starting a Business
  • Success Stories
  • Success Stories Videos
  • Tech Commercialization/Tech Transfer
  • Veteran
  • Web and Social Media

Contact Us

Regional Office Contact Info

USF CONNECT
3802 Spectrum Blvd., Suite 201
Tampa, FL 33612

813-396-2700

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Florida SBDC Network

The Florida SBDC at the University of South Florida is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide partnership program nationally accredited by the Association of America’s SBDCs and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida, and other private and public partners, with the University of West Florida serving as the network’s lead host institution. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for limited English proficient individuals.

Logos

Business Assistance

USFMuma

State Designated as Florida’s Principal Provider of Business Assistance [§ 288.01, Fla. Stat.]

© Florida SBDC at USF | contact webmaster
John Hale, Keynote Speaker at 29th Annual Government Small Business Confere...Strength in numbers: International trade missions
Scroll to top