what do you say?

This morning I called a client out of the blue and told him I had a case of the Mondays. A little while later a new customer came in and the first thing I told her was that I thought the closing ceremonies of the Olympics were weak. Then, I did a mass emailing of all my business contacts and told them the score of my lunchtime Bejeweled game. In each exchange, I concluded by saying, "Peace. Out."

OK. In all honesty I didn't do any of these things, but every day on social media across the web, these types of conversations are taking place.

Social media is simple to use. So simple, it's easy to forget that real people are on the receiving end of your messages. Before you post, it's important to remember who you are talking with and, most importantly, why you are talking to them.

It's also important to remember that the Internet is forever. You might delete a post, but it will never go away.

So what do you say? Just think back to your reason for initiating social media in the first place - your marketing objectives.

Are you trying to get more people into your shop? Talk about a reason for them to come in and visit - new merchandising, a new shipment, a special event. Are you trying to sell more of a specific item? Tell users you have them in stock and give a link to an article from a reputable source telling how amazing that item is. Want to get people to review your business, ask them and give them a direct link to Yelp.

It's also a good idea to really think about who you are talking with. Chances are, you approach conversations with customers and potential customers differently than you do your friends. Maintaining that same voice is critical to using social media successfully. (This is an important point, and I'll post more about it later this week.)

As long as you stay focused on what you want your social media to achieve for your small business, you will always know what to say.

Look for tomorrow's post: how do you say it?