Social media”™s usefulness in business has come under scrutiny in Rockland County. The Palisades Institute, which was created in 1990 as part of Dominican College located in Blauvelt, on March 1 held a virtual event aimed at helping businesses do more with the internet and social media. The forum also recognized that creating and maintaining a virtual presence can be a full-time job for small business owners.
Stan Jacobi, the executive director of the Palisades Institute hosted the online forum that featured Matthew Schiering, a Dominican faculty member specializing in marketing and Chrisopher Jagielski, social media specialist for Orange & Rockland Utilities. Both have an extensive background in working with the most-used social media sites for business owners: Linkedin; Facebook; Instagram; Snapchat; and TikTok.
“Forty-four percent of millennials and more than 50% of Gen Z individuals do not seek a direct rep experience,” Shiering said, “They prefer to check out what social media has to say.”
Schiering said that among the business sites that offer the most B2B connections and services, Linkedin is the place to start dipping your toes into the world of social media. He said that 25% of business owners use Linkedin daily.
“Since the pandemic began in March, 2020, the time people have spent online has greatly accelerated”¦they are even posting their Wordle scores,” Schiering said. “In 2010, people spent an average of a half-hour a day online; today, they”™re spending an average of 4-1/2 hours a day, a 500% growth.
Schiering said that business customers and prospects spend so much time looking at their phones that if businesses are not actively trying to reach them through their phones they”™re probably not reaching them.
Jagielski has been with Orange & Rockland since 2019. Originally starting out as a graphic designer, he became more interested in copywriting and social media, particularly since O&R”™s customers have been turning to social media when they want to contact the company.
“Time is a precious thing”¦and many would rather speak virtually,” Jagielski said. “It also gives the company a great way to share information, letting the public know what it does for the community it serves.”
Jagielski recommended using photos of employees performing real-time services and attending community-related events and to avoid using stock photos when designing visual content for the internet.
Jagielski said that the internet also helps businesses to communicate with customers during a crisis.
“One of the worst things for a company to do is come off as ”˜tone deaf,”™” Jagielski said. “When Covid-19 hit two years ago, many companies started to humanize their interactions with the public. Rather than promoting services, successful companies used their social media pages to reflect the company”™s values and highlight local participation whenever possible.”
Both Schiering and Jagielski recommended using LinkedIn tutorials and gave the site high marks for helping businesses begin a dialogue with customers either by sharing blog posts or creating links that will take them back to a company”™s home page.
A page presenting frequently asked questions was recommended for companies that want to share the core values and challenges they are prepared to take for their would-be customers. Building a buyer”™s profile helps a business understand their target audience, and knowing where you target audience is coming from can be measured. Schierling recommended businesses just starting out in social media not overdo posting, limiting it to one to two times a week.
Jagielski said the best way to connect with a virtual audience is to understand the challenges it faces.
“Take small but measured steps. Choose one platform, and make sure your employees are on board and (know) the role they play in your social media endeavor and take it slow,” Jagielski said. “There are experts in this field that tend to work all hours. They understand how the platforms work. Interview two or three and chose one that works best for your company.”
When it comes to internet codes and lingo such as hashtags, viewers of the Palisades Institute forum were advised to learn how to use them. They also were told that if criticism of a business appears on an online site such as at Trip Advisor or Yelp!, it is critical to respond in a non-combative way. They were reminded that outside experts easily can be hired to help manage a company”™s social media presence.
