10 Signs Your Bail Agency Isn’t Ready for Social Media
- August 27, 2012
- by AboutBail Staff
Social media marketing is like a romantic relationship: If you don’t do enough to keep the other person interested, they will probably move on to someone who shows more interest in them and is great at conversation. And if you don’t keep your social media presence fresh and intriguing, your potential customers might just stray to a different bail agency.
Do you think you already have what it takes to keep your social media followers enamored with your bail agency? Find out if you really do by reading our 10 reasons that your agency isn’t ready for social media!
1. Your other marketing efforts need work
Although social media can be a very effective part of your marketing plan, you need to make sure that the rest of your marketing efforts are finely tuned. You need to have a high-quality website, be showing up in local search results online, and have solidified other marketing efforts. When you add a consistent, creative social media marketing plan to the rest of these pieces, you will truly be connected with your customers.
2. You underestimate the power of social media
Even though social media is here to stay, some people remain unconvinced that their businesses will benefit from using it. Unfortunately, many of these same people are giving their competitors a free shot at winning over all of the customers who are hanging out online. Businesses big and small have hopped aboard the social media train because they know that it’s a free and effective way to interact with existing and potential customers.
3. You have never used social media websites
Before you are able to fully use social media sites to your advantage, you need to know about their various features and how to use them. You can find out a lot of this on your own by experimenting, but you can get a bigger head-start by reading about it, using online tutorials, and having a more experienced user to show you the ropes.
4. You’re not prepared for the long-term involvement
Setting up your social media accounts and learning how to use them is just the tip of the iceberg. You need to be prepared to make a long-term commitment to establishing more connections online and keeping them engaged. The best way to keep track of this is to develop a plan regarding what your goals are and how you will use social media to accomplish them.
5. You have nothing to say
You might be thinking, “I don’t have anything to say on any of these social media sites.” That’s usually only true if you haven’t taken the time to plan out what you will say. Many businesses put together at least a rough schedule for when and what they are going to publish online. Having the plan mapped out for future months means that you won’t be stuck without ideas when it comes time for your daily or weekly social media interaction.
6. You don’t know how to say it
We know, we know … not everyone is a great writer. Even if you are at a loss when it comes to writing, don’t let it stand in the way of using social media to market your business. Your alternatives include finding someone at your office who can write, enlisting the help of a friend or family member to write for you, or hiring someone to do it. Providing informative, timely content is one of the cornerstones of successful social media, and you can accomplish this by examining your available resources.
7. You’re low on time
Social media will not cost you any money to use, but it will cost you some time. If you are fairly low on time because you are focused on running the core business, you can consider hiring someone to manage your social media, or you can share the duties with others in your agency. You can always hire someone to do it part-time, or you can find college students who are looking for an internship.
8. You aren’t in touch with your creative side
The best social media marketers use creativity to keep their followers interested and willing to interact. You can come up with your own strategy for this and continue to refine it as time goes on, but typical successful social media marketing strategies include sharing interesting articles, starting relevant discussions, posting polls or quizzes, and sharing interesting videos. This is where it is beneficial to know your audience and be able to keep them engaged with you online.
9. You aren’t ready to experiment
An effective social media marketing plan usually requires some trial and error. You have to experiment with one tactic and measure its effectiveness, then try something else to see if it produces better results. Even large corporations are continually refining their strategies, so this is your chance to have some fun and try some new things.
10. You haven’t learned to use your filter
There is such a thing as sharing too much online, and the consequences can range from simply annoying some of your followers to kicking off a backlash that can hurt your business. You need to use your discretion to decide whether something you are intending to post will offend or alienate any of your online connections. The one thing you need to ensure is that you are in total control of all messages that are being sent out by your company. The last thing you want is for another employee to post something online that could damage your reputation or cost you business.
Congratulations if you have reached the end of this article and feel like you are primed to begin social media marketing! If not, all you need is a bit of planning and research to get yourself ready.
Ready to get started? Check out these articles for more information on being an active bail agent on social media:
- 50 Bail Professionals to Follow on Twitter
- 8 Ways for Bail Agents to Use Twitter for Business
- 7 Steps for Using Facebook to Market Your Business
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