Here’s an excerpt from a recent interview I did for an upcoming magazine article:
How did you build your audience on each social media platform?
By being authentic, generous, positive and coming across as always being a learner. Think of the CAGE method, to help you: Consistency, Authenticity, Generosity and Excellence (wash, rinse and repeat).
On my personal Facebook profile, I NEVER post anything negative, political or derogatory. That habit has translated into my brand (#FahimFix) and also into my reputation. So, when I go from one social media platform to the next, I automatically get followers, because they know and like my style. I’m a huge fan of motivation and inspiration.
We have a wall in our store dedicated to weekly positive quotes; using chalk on chalkboard paint, we change the quotes every week on Wednesdays, and then post them to our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, using the hashtag #WednesdayWisdom – I also encourage clients in the store to post selfies taken against this wall to their own social media accounts and tag the Island Ship Center. This process has been largely successful in getting the younger crowd interested in coming to my store, just out of curiosity to see the “selfie wall,” or the “wisdom wall…”
What type of content do your customers respond strongly to (text? Pictures? Videos?).
Pics & videos are huge. It’s all about the visual. Instagram made $1 Billion in the first 500 days because of its completely visual nature. And store owners in our industry can relate to the importance of transferring visual signs onto social media sites. For example, the “WE SELL BOXES” sign outside our store, which is familiar to many store owners, is in the shape of 3 box sizes with the the verbiage, “WE SELL BOXES.” We were able to sell more boxes as a result of getting this sign placed outside our store. Similarly, posting short videos of packaging jobs on Facebook and Instagram gets a lot of fans and followers interested in what we do. Remember, it’s social media, not solicitation media, so please, be social and engage with others. Don’t try to sell, sell, sell! That’s the biggest hurdle facing long time store owners who are trying to get into social media. This platform is NOT TRANSACTIONAL in nature. Rather, it’s all about building and strengthening relationships, which in turn, will translate into more business in the long run.
Snapchat users are watching 10 billion videos a day and there are 100 million users of Snapchat now. So that’s a lot of videos per user. Keep in mind, that each video is only 9 seconds in length. But Snapchat cannot be ignored as a platform for business any longer. Brands like CNN, Lowes and JetBlue have all gotten on the Snapchat bandwagon. It’s time for you to start as well. Oh, and by the way, 41% of 18-34 year olds on in the US are on Snapchat…still wondering how to reach them?
Facebook live is also a robust platform and one that Facebook uses to compete with Snapchat. If you post a Facebook live video, it does get saved in your Facebook feed for others to view at a later date. Plus, the length can be up to an hour long now. If you post a Facebook live video, Facebook gives it viewing preference over other forms of info in your feed, so it’s a valuable asset to use when you have real time content to share.
Until next time, my friends, stay positive end remember to exude excellence!
With gratitude and effervescence,
Fahim Mojawalla, AMBC Director of Social Media
Co-owner of Island Ship Center
AMBC Certified Store
#FahimFix #SpaOfShipping #ExudeExcellence
10 Minutes from Niagara Falls, USA
1879 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island, NY 14072
Phone: 716-773-6300 Website: www.FahimFix.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/FahimShips Facebook: www.Facebook.com/IslandShipCenter
Source: AMBC Blog