Tell us about your business
CBO Projects specialise in project and programme management services in an IT and Business environment. We have only been in business for 7 months, but the guys in the team have been delivering these types of services for over 10 years. We aim to have a refreshingly simple approach to our work and we really enjoy partnering with our clients and seeing them achieve their business goals and objectives.
Has social media been of benefit to your business?
As soon as the business started we started using Twitter and Facebook. We were new to Twitter but we have seen a real benefit of using the Twitter platform as a tool for information gathering on specific topics, receiving updates from industry leaders and we are beginning to see awareness of our business increase locally through Twitter. We have a blog on our website and we try and post regularly, focusing on subjects relevant to us, and hopefully beneficial to people in the same space as us. We also like to share articles and posts by other organisations that we just think contain really good content.
How much business can you attribute to social media marketing in comparison to other forms of marketing?
It’s early days, but so far we have carried out zero marketing apart from investment in our website and an active presence in social media platforms. If you were to ask the same question in 6 months’ time I think the answer would be very positive with the social media environment generating a significant number of opportunities for us as a business.
Have you encountered any problems using social media?
People using it to advertise. It’s called social media for a reason, be social and share media. Share interesting information that will benefit your industry rather than 140 characters or a status update telling everyone how great you are.
From the perspective of us using it, it’s mainly trying to post content that people will read, rather than posting content just for the sake of looking active. Also trying to come up with interesting ways of structuring content, rather than just posting random content based on our immediate thought process (if that makes sense).
Which social media platform have you had the most success with?
At present it has to be Twitter, but I can’t explain why exactly, just that it has been a source for new relationships, new business, and most of all a place to share our content and access content of people we work with and are influenced by.
Have you found that utilising social media has generated success or exposure both locally and to wider audiences.
Locally the response has been interesting, as it appears that Guernsey (not all companies or individuals) are late adopters of using social media in business. It has certainly had an impact on the wider scale, I probably wouldn’t call it success from a revenue generating perspective just yet, but from a business/service awareness we have seen huge success.
Has social media changed the relationship you have with your customers?
Being honest, it hasn’t yet as it’s early days in our journey into social media, but I can see it changing them in the long term if clients confidently adopt social media as a platform.
Have you encountered any misconceptions regarding social media marketing?
I think a big one is around using social media for advertising, as in my view (which could be wildly incorrect) is that it’s not a platform to promote how brilliant you are and that you are next to join the Forbes Top Companies list. Your brilliance will be on display through the content you produce and share with your audience (followers and friends).
The other issue is fear. I’m not sure why there is a fear, but many people fear the area of social media and business. I hear several reasons why, data privacy concerns, too much focus on social or that it will just be used as a platform for customers to complain in public. When used properly (and we are still learning) there is nothing to fear.