Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business

 

By Courtney Spritzer & Stephanie Abrams, Founders of Socialfly, a social media marketing and PR agency in NYC

 

Let’s start with the term “Entreprenista,” which Courtney & Stephanie define as, “a woman, who operates a business, has the drive, passion and vision with an undying determination to succeed. She is someone who is fiercely motivated, ambitious and competitive, forging her own path to independence and success.” This pretty much sums up these two spirited and social media savvy women.

 

It seems they were both born to be entreprenistas. Courtney grew up in a family of strong female figures and business owners. Stephanie exhibited early Entreprenista skills at age five with her first lemonade stand and by the age of ten had the hottest Beanie Babies resale business in town.

 

They were, as they put it, “two females filled with big dreams, sprinkled with good ideas mixed with drive and self-belief.” This book is their way of showing gratitude to their support network and paying it forward.  Their goal is to help other entreprenistas and small business owners market their business through social media.Their efforts have paid off – now when consumers search for a social media agency in NYC, Socialfly shows up Google’s first page - but it didn’t come without a lot of sweat, blood and “tweets.”

 

In their book, they share how they got that ranking and address which social media platforms are needed for business today, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google+. They walk through each platform providing “Do’s” and “Don’ts” and also devote chapters on metrics and management tools. Their efforts paid off but not without a lot of sweat, blood and “tweets.”

 

“An unhappy customer? Handle it well and you can turn a detractor into a brand advocate.”

 

Some take aways:

•  Social media is like digital word of mouth, but on three shots of espresso

• An unhappy customer? Handle it well and you can turn a detractor into a brand advocate

• Connect rather than solicit

• Offer value before expecting prospective customers to give you business

Twitter

• A great branding tool

• The quickest way to grow a following is to be a follower

Facebook

• Invaluable for targeting new customers

• Likes are great but if they aren’t from someone genuinely interested in what you do, they’re meaningless

Instagram

• On Instagram everyone’s an influencer

• cost effective way to showcase your personality and brand through imagery

Pinterest

• Think of Pinterest as a digital bulletin board

• Use it to be inspirational and aspirational

Google+

• A must from an SEO (search engine optimization) standpoint

• Consistent posting has proven results in SEO

LinkedIn

• On line networking at its finest

• The key is being an active user

 

And lastly: Be likeable, loveable and followable!